the rest of the midwest trip

The morning after Enzo's birthday, my parents and I packed up and drove off to Michigan to visit extended family on my mother's side.  On the way, we stopped at Hazelhurst on Lake Michigan, where my mother and her family had often stayed, and our family also visited when I was little.

on the shore of lake michigan at hazelhurst

We arrived in time for dinner, and the next day headed off to Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, MI.  My cousin Annie works there as a zookeeper, so we got an extra special behind-the-scenes view of the zoo.  We watched 3 tiger cubs at play - Annie bottle-fed these three when they were tiny because illness caused their mother to abandon them.

Next, we watched as Annie fed Koda the lion and Sivaki the tiger.  It's amazing how she's got them trained to respond to certain cues so that it's possible to have them into certain positions when necessary for inspection or medical interventions.

face to face with koda

sivaki yawning

When Sivaki's food was mostly eaten, Annie offered us the chance to feed him ourselves and test his trained behaviors.  Most of us took her up on that offer.  Here's Cousin Neil getting him to go up for food.

Our next stop took us to see Dopsee the rhinoceros.  We got to pet her, both outdoors between logs of an enclosure for humans, and inside through the bars.  She definitely enjoyed it!

reaching between the logs to pet dopsee

it's intimidating to face down a full grown rhinoceros, even with metal bars between!

We watched the penguins being fed, then got to go "backstage" and be within 18 inches of them when Annie opened a nesting box (with a pair that wasn't currently nesting).

my parents, cousins neil, ellen, alan, tami, and annie watching penguin feeding

up close with the penguins

We got to meet Logan and took some nice three-generation pictures, then went out for a delicious dinner.

ryan, leslie, logan, aunt joey, ellen, and alan

ellen's face is hidden behind alan's but otherwise everyone's visible!

The next day was low-key and finished off with barbecue at Cousin Neil and Tami's house.  Possibly the highlight of the entire trip for my father was using the riding mower in Cousin Alan's back yard that afternoon.

cruising on the riding mower - look at that grin!

We drove back to Wisconsin the following day and had dinner with Alan, Elizabeth, and Enzo at the Terrace at the University of Wisconsin on Lake Mendota.  We enjoyed the sunset, good food, ice cream, and exploring before heading back.

enzo and elizabeth walking on a dock

enjoying popcorn and the sunset

hooray for ice cream!

Our last day in the midwest, we met Alan, Elizabeth, and Enzo at their house, then joined them for a picnic at a park with a playground Enzo says is magical.

enzo entertained grandma in his "tree house"

one of the features at the "magical" playground

One final family dinner - Chinese food - and we were off to our respective homes early the next morning!