Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Lights Before Christmas

I love the Toledo Zoo - it is one of my favorite things about living in Northwest Ohio. The Toledo Zoo is one of the top ranked zoos in the country - and it does deserve that distinction. Every year the zoo holds "The Lights Before Christmas" - when they put up over 1 million lights all throughout the zoo property. I've been every year since I have been here, and it is a tradition I am sure to miss.

Jim and I decided to go to the zoo on Thursday, figuring that the ice storm wouldn't come through until later, and arrived at the zoo to discover we had the place practically to ourselves (we arrived at about 3:30). We had a chance to enjoy much of the zoo without actually seeing another person - it was amazing. We could actually hear the noises the animals were making (particularly the tiger, which "wuffed" at us as she/he walked past). Even as it started getting dark there weren't near the number of people there that the lights normally gather - good for us, if not so good for the zoo. It was so nice to walk around and take pictures, and not feel overcrowded.

Here are some pictures I took this past Thursday with my point-and-shoot Canon. I think they turned out pretty good, especially considering that I didn't have a tripod with me. Here's a link to the album:
Lights Before Christmas 2008



And a few of my favorite pictures:

From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008


From Lights Before Christmas 2008

1 comment:

Kate said...

The photos are so pretty, and how neat that you got to enjoy the zoo and all the sounds you don't normally hear when it is crowded. But I agree that it is sad for the zoo-people just don't have the disposable income anymore these days.