Columbus Zoo And Aquarium – 2022 Trip

Columbus Zoo And Aquarium – 2022 Trip

We are back at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium after missing some time due to COVID. We typically come up once a year, stay in Dublin, eat dinner there, and move onto to COSI the next day. It’s a short, local trip that we really enjoy. Most people wouldn’t realize it but one of the best zoos and one of the best museums in the country are both in Columbus, Ohio.

This year’s visit was notable in the light crowds. We kind of had the entire place to ourselves. Even “Discovery Reef”, which is usually fairly crowded as people chill out in the air conditioning, was fairly empty. We even took advantage to visit Stingray bay, something we usually skip because of the crowds, and stayed there for some time while the boys petted stingrays. I think for the first time in my life I didn’t freak out at the “Lady Bug Park”, which is a large playground type climbing enclosure. It has a few ways in and out and I always remain hyper vigilant while the boys play in it. Typically when it is crowded we cut our visit short, which upsets the boys, but I just can’t keep track of them in it and it wears me out. This visit was different, it was open enough I could see them the entire time and relax.

We seemed to have most of the other spaces to ourselves too, like the Ice Bear Outpost where the boys played away. Usually I pull them out of the ice cavern when it gets too rough and rowdy but it was just them for like 15 minutes. Other than that we still didn’t get through Asia and Australia, so we missed two big chunks of the zoo. We did spend a lot of time in North American which we usually breeze through, which was nice. I am looking forward to next year though.

Dinner was in Dublin, at our favorite place called Z Cucina Di Spirito. We pig out there. My oldest son ate like three bowls of spaghetti. I was completely stuffed and full of cocktails. The people there are really nice. It’s just refreshing to eat dinner, have drinks, and not worry about driving home. We typically stay at the Spring Hill Suites right down the street and walk to dinner. That hotel is brand new too and pretty modern, I like it there.

Next year at the zoo we may try to two day it so we can see Zoombezi Bay. The boys are starting to get a little bigger and will age out of some of the kids rides so we’ll try to get in there before their next growth spurt.

Columbus Zoo And Aquarium
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Stingray Bay
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Stingray Bay
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Parrot
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Parrot
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Ice Bear Outpost
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Ice Bear Outpost
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium - Polar Bear Exhibit
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium – Polar Bear Exhibit
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Lady Bug Park
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium Lady Bug Park
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium - Reptile House
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium – Reptile House
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium - Reptile House
Columbus Zoo And Aquarium – Reptile House
Ice Cream In Dublin, OH
Ice Cream In Dublin, OH