Sarasota, Florida – We took a break from the beach to visit the lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!) at the Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary. It’s like a zoo, except all of the animals are rescues.…
Cayman Turtle Center
West Bay, Grand Cayman – I have spent all week deliberating about the Cayman Turtle Center — reading about it, questioning locals and grilling tourists about their experiences. On my last day, I finally went to check it out in person. Why all…
Monteverde
Monteverde, Costa Rica – Our week in Monteverde just flew by, and we barely scratched the surface on the cool things to do here. When I’m doing these gigs, we often rent a house, so we have a little room…
New England Picks for Kids
Somerville, Mass – I’ve been traipsing around the lower New England states to update the Lonely Planet USA guide. This big book covers a lot of territory, so we can’t give too much attention to any one place (in the…
Franklin Park Zoo – Playground
Boston, Mass – Last year, in a post about the Franklin Park Zoo, I wondered: is it really necessary to drive all the way across town to the zoo, just to go to the playground? Now I can answer definitively.…
Moscow Zoo
Moscow, Russia – The Moscow Zoo is celebrating its 150th anniversary. In honor of this event, the entire zoo is pod remont, or “under renovation.” Okay, I’m exaggerating. Three-quarters of the zoo is under renovation. There’s nothing like spending a…
Franklin Park Zoo
Boston, Mass – Neither of the two zoos in the Greater Boston area is particularly impressive. It’s a great disappointment to zoo-lovers such as Daddio and I. That said, we are members of Zoo New England and the Franklin Park…
Twins to the Rescue
La Fortuna, Costa Rica – Daddio and I like to go to the zoo. (In fact, one of our first “dates” was to the National Zoo in Washington DC, but that’s another story.) As a result, the twins are pretty…
Bat Jungle
Monteverde, Costa Rica – Welcome to the cloud forest. This is what the sky looked like at sunset yesterday. And this is what it looked like this afternoon. Amazing! We spent the day getting settled in our new…
Zoo Ave
La Garita, Costa Rica – En route to our `new’ Costa Rica house, we stopped at Zoo Ave, a zoo and rescue center. Contrary to its name, it’s not only for the birds. I’m pretty sure the twins’ highlight was…