2012/10/21 - Willowbrook & Cosley
(10 Photos)
Photos 1-6 were taken at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, IL and photos 7-10 were taken at Cosley Zoo in Wheaton, IL. Note: photos 7-8 are of the new bobcat exhibit at the zoo.

2012/10/20 - Morton Arboretum (45 Photos)
Our annual fall trip to Morton Arboretum, this time including a visit to their glass pumpkin patch.

2012/10/02 - Niagara Falls (29 Photos)
Niagara Falls, on the Canada side, reminds me of a mashup between Las Vegas and Branson, Missouri. The falls themselves were cool, but the area surrounding them are very touristy. We rode the giant ferris wheel to see the falls at night but the pictures didn't turn out.

2012/10/01 - Acadia & Portland (52 Photos)
Photos 1-36 were taken at the breathtaking Acadia National Park. The rain kept us from seeing as much of the park as we would have liked so I would love to visit again someday. Photos 37-52 were taken at the waterfront in Portland, Maine.

2012/10/01 - Bar Harbor (18 Photos)
Views of Bar Harbor during sunrise from our hotel room's balcony.

2012/09/30 - Scenic Railroad (6 Photos)
Located in Ellsworth, Illinois, this railroad is not very scenic at all. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're interested in the historic train, since the view is disappointing, but the rain kept us from doing anything else so it passed the time at least.

2012/09/29 - Bar Harbor (10 Photos)
A couple of photos of Bar Harbor, Maine when we arrived in the evening. It was rainy out, but the view was still nice. Photos 1-6 were taken in town and photos 7-10 were taken from our hotel.

2012/09/28 - New England Aquarium
(26 Photos)
It was a rainy day in Boston so we decided to check out the New England Aquarium. They were experiencing a renovation so the penguins were mostly off exhibit but they have a nice stingray/shark touch tank and some great jellyfish species. One of my favorite aquariums of all I've visited thus far.

2012/09/27 - Boston (50 Photos)
Boston is a pretty neat city (and so less congested than New York, thank goodness), but I think my favorite thing there is Fenway Park which we took a tour of first thing in the morning (photos 1-38). Afterwards we took a trolley around the city to see the sights (photos 39-46) and a short cruise as well (photos 47-50).

2012/09/26 - RWP Zoo (12 Photos)
We decided to stop at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island on our way from New York to Boston. The zoo was ok. They had some nice exhibits, but nothing that really stood out.

2012/09/25 - Central Park & Times Square
(30 Photos)
Our second day in the city had us waiting to gain entrance to the Jimmy Fallon show (which we enjoyed very much) so we decided to keep in the general area by visiting the very small, yet very nice, Central Park Zoo (photos 1-9) and then Times Square (photos 10-30) in the afternoon and evening.

2012/09/24 - Bronx Zoo & 9/11 Memorial
(100 Photos)
Our first visit in New York City was the world-renowned Bronx Zoo (photos 1-86). It was huge and had a ton of animals. Later in the day we made our way back into Manhatten and visited the 9/11 Memorial (photos 87-100). What a moving experience... it put tears in my eyes thinking about all those innocent lives lost.

2012/09/23 - Statue of Liberty (34 Photos)
We hadn't intended to visit the Statue of Liberty (and couldn't go inside due to the renovation work being done) but when we arrived at Liberty State Park in New Jersey and saw the boats running to Liberty Island we decided to check it out. It was well worth it - the statue is really cool up-close.

2012/07/08 - Botanic Garden (47 Photos)
Butterflies, butterflies, and more butterflies! The Chicago Botanic Garden recently opened a new seasonal exhibit - a huge butterfly tent. It's by far the nicest butterfly exhibit I've been to with a few new species I had never seen before.

2012/06/24 - White Sox Game (14 Photos)
My husband got great seats through work to the White Sox Game so I took my DSLR and got a few nice shots of the players.

2012/05/18 - Milwaukee Zoo (35 Photos)
A trip to Wisconsin would not be complete without a visit to the Milwaukee County Zoo. They have the best tiger exhibit of all the zoos we've visited over the years. The tigers are beautiful creatures that alone are worth a visit.

2012/05/17 - Zoo & Gardens (37 Photos)
We took a two-day trip to Wisconsin and visited Henry Vilas Zoo (photos 1-13) and the beautiful Olbrich Botanical Gardens (photos 14-37), both in Madison. I wasn't too impressed with the zoo but would like to return to the gardens again someday.

2012/05/05 - Friendship Conservatory
(17 Photos)
Located in Des Plaines, Illinois, the Friendship Park Conservatory is small, but very cute. It's also very quiet. If I lived nearby I'd want to take my lunch there to sit back and reflect on life.