catherineaq

We rode on the Conway Scenic Railroad on one of the Valley Trains for lunch. The scenery was pretty enough, but you can see prettier scenery on your own. You also see the back yards of homes a bit. We did the luncheon ride, and were not too impressed by the food, either.

However, for our son, it was fun to have the novelty of riding on a train, which he rarely does. And it was a very cool train, so that made it a bit more worthwhile.

If your expectations aren’t too high, and you just want a train ride, go ahead.

We stayed at Adventure Suites because it seemed like it would be fun, in a kitschy (sp?) kind of way. And it was! It’s not cheap, but it is very amusing, and comfortable and well-staffed.

We stayed in The Cave.

We were vacationing in Florida recently, and we spent most of the time relaxing at the beach, but we wanted to visit an attraction as well, yet we didn’t want to face the crowds or the expense of Orlando attractions.

Instead, we went to the Brevard Zoo, and we couldn’t have made a better choice. It’s a wonderful place! Most of the staff seems to be volunteers, and were very friendly and helpful. The zoo is easy to navigate. It has plenty of different animals, so it feels worth the visit, but is small enough that about the time that you’re beginning to tire, you’ve seen it all.

As a family, we do still-water kayaking, which is one of the reasons we chose to visit this zoo. You can kayak through part of the zoo! We were able to get a close look at animals that were keeping themselves away from the pedestrian visitors. (Note: Small children can’t kayak. I believe you have to be 5 or older.) The kayak ride was about 30 minutes.

Another charming feature of the zoo was the observation platform by the giraffe enclosure. You can buy crackers formulated for giraffes, and they’ll eat right out of your hand. It was delightful!

We also enjoyed feeding the lorrikeets. We didn’t know what to expect when we stepped into the aviary with little cups of nectar, so perhaps the volunteers should warn people. For us, it was a thrill to have birds mob us, but we’ve told others about it and they seemed unnerved at the idea. We couldn’t stop laughing, looking at each other covered with birds (and the nectar they were gobbling messily).

The grounds were well-kept, the zoo is quite near the highway (unfortunate, but it does make it easy to find), and the prices were surprisingly reasonable. The snack bar was also reasonably priced (considering that they have a monopoly and could charge more) and had a suprising variety of food.