Happy Hump Day - The Riverbanks Zoo Edition

I love Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia, SC. We’ve been going there since I was a little kid, and Nick and I go every year around my birthday. It’s a great zoo. The animals are well cared for, and the zoo does a lot of conservation work. It’s one of my favorite places.

I’ve been worried about the zoo and the animals with all of the flooding that’s going on there right now, so I was delighted to read on their Facebook page that the animals are safe. The zoo is set to re-open today, though the garden and bridge leading to it will remain closed.

In celebration of the animals’ safety and the re-opening of the zoo, I decided to share zoo pictures for today’s hump day pictures.

Zoo Membership

I absolutely love going to the zoo.  Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, SC is my favorite.  I’ve been going there since I was a little kid, and every year Nick and I go on or near my birthday.  The zoo is one of my happy places.

Last year we decided to become members.  We bought a fairly low-level membership since it’s just the two of us.  Basically our membership pass allows us both as many regular visits as we’d like, one visit to the holiday lights, access to any members only events, and six guest passes.  It also gives us a discount (usually half off) if we choose to visit other zoos.  It’s good for one year. 

 

We didn’t go as much as we’d hoped to last year since we had a lot of unusual things going on, but we did go for one Members Night Out event, and we were able to use one of our guest passes when my friend Crystal went with me. 

 

After much discussion we decided to renew our membership at the same level when it expired earlier this month.  We anticipate being able to go a few more times this year, and we really enjoyed the Members Night Out.   

 

I think it will be good since we both love the zoo so much, and it’s a great excuse to go since we don’t want to waste our visits.

 

So what about you?  Do you enjoy visiting the zoo?  Would you sign up for a zoo membership?

Happy Places

The Lodge @ Table Rock

I think most of us have a place (or maybe more than one if we’re lucky) that just makes us happy. Maybe it’s a place that’s soothing or comforting, or a place where nothing but good things have happened, or maybe it’s a place that for some reason just speaks to our soul.

We need happy places. Everyone needs at least one place to go that will put a smile on their face, make them feel at peace, or just make them happy.

These are my happy places:


Folly Beach, SC

Table Rock State Park: I’ve always liked Table Rock, but it’s also where Nick and I got married, and that made me love it. It’s beautiful there, the lodge has a really neat history (built by the Civilian Conservation Corps), and I loved our wedding. I know it sounds a little cliche, but it really was a perfect day. We like to go back, around our anniversary if possible, and take the dogs hiking. I love that the place we got married is a place we can return to over and over again. 

 Folly Beach, South Carolina: This is possibly one of the most beautiful places on earth. Standing on the shore, it just feels like all is right with the world. It’s also just a short drive away from Charleston. I love the laid back atmosphere of Folly Beach and the fact that the beach isn’t crowded. And it’s dog friendly!

Meerkat @ Riverbanks

Riverbanks Zoo & Garden: My earliest memory of going to Riverbanks is when I was five years old. My grandparents lived in Columbia, so we went to the zoo sometimes when we went to see them. They loved being grandparents, so we were incredibly spoiled by them, and they just seemed to take it up a level at the zoo. It’s also where we went on the last visit we had with them before they died, and it was one of those days that you can look back on as being one of the perfect days in life. Now, going to the zoo is something that I get to share with Nick, and I still love it as much as I did when I was a little girl.

Garden @ Riverbanks


Our House: Our house isn’t big or fancy (if we have a style it’s probably best described as informal), but I love it. It’s where we’ve chosen to build our life together, focusing on the people, ideals, and things that matter to us. I’d like to think (hope) that our house is welcoming. Entertaining family and friends at home is something that’s really important to me, and I always want anyone we invite to be comfortable and happy. Our house is also very pet friendly, and we wouldn’t have it any other way since the fur kids are such an important part of our lives. Coming home just feels right and safe; it’s where I want to be at the end of a long day. 

So what about you? What are your happy places?



Stress Free Saturday

I think this bear definitely has the right idea about how to spend Saturday!  Sometimes you just need a lazy day.  

I took this picture on one of our trips to Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, SC.  It's one of my all all time favorite places.