My boys love animals. So when we went to GE Kids Day in Albany’s Empire State Plaza, they loved seeing the different animals that were there.

First up were some bears.  Ok, perhaps these weren’t real animals, but they still loved seeing the Care Bears.

They also liked seeing some of the other costumed animals roaming around.

Onto the real animals, though.  As we approached the two by two petting zoo, we saw this cute turtle and rabbit pair.

From here, we moved on to some goats who were quite happy that kids were offering them leaves to eat.  It was like an all-you-can-eat-goat-salad-bar.

Moving on from the goats, there was a red kangaroo that was taking it easy in the hot, midday sun.

Then, there was a black and white lemur whose screech was quite impressive.  (Sadly, he stopped screeching as soon as I got my camera set on video mode.  Mischievous little lemur!)

A blue and gold macaw was sitting pretty on a perch.

Prowling around their cage were a pair of coatimundi – omnivorous animals that are related to raccoons.

There were also a few lizards and an alligator that NHL and JSL got to pet.

After the petting zoo, we moved onto an animal experience of a different kind.  NHL and JSL got to ride a pony.  NHL has ridden one before, but this was in kindergarten so he likely doesn’t remember it.  This was JSL’s first pony ride.  They both donned helmets and one after the other got atop Zoe the Pony for a ride.

Alongside the pony ride were some baby chicks, goats, and sheep to look at as well.

Given that the boys and I made lots of new memories and that this experience has deepened the boys’ love of animals, this was a wonderful way to spend a day.

As we left the Boma on our Wild Africa Trek, we got back into our special safari vehicle and rejoined the path.

First, we found some rhinos.

Um, some rhinos.

Ok, here is where I get huge photographer-envy for our tour guides.  They have not only the great camera and lens, but the knowledge of where to position themselves to get the great shots.

Next up was the lion.  Usually, when we go on the Kilimanjaro Safari, we see the lion’s rock cropping and no lions.  It doesn’t help that lions sleep over 20 hours every day.  And talk about stereotypical male fantasy.  The female lions do all the hunting while the guys take it easy.  The males will then eat what the females brought them and mate with the females in their pack.  The only thing the male lions need to worry about is a bigger, stronger lion taking over his spot and kicking him out.  That lion would then kill all of the other lion’s kids and claim the females as his own.  I’ll take my day job over a lion’s life any day!

Back to the trek, though.  We drove up to a spot that the normal tours don’t go so we were able to see the two lions – brother and sister – as they lounged on the rocks.  Again, my camera took nice photos, but the guide’s camera got up close and personal.

We drove on and saw some more sights, but all-too-soon, I saw the familiar geysers that signal the end of Kilimanjaro Safari.  Usually, on the safari ride, your tour guide begins driving fast and erratically as you try to catch some poachers who stole a baby elephant.  Instead, we were let in on a little secret.  A new resident is coming to the Kilimanjaro Safari.  Of all of the African animals, one very famous one is missing: Zebras.  They have some that are almost ready to make their debut, though.  (Sure enough, when we went on a Kilimanjaro Safari the next day, the "poacher" elements had already been removed to begin preparing the area for zebras.)

Disembarking from our vehicle, we walked back to our starting point.  Once there, we were given the chance to donate a portion of the proceeds from the trek towards lions, elephants, rhinos, or to the general Disney World conservation fund.  Yes, when you pay a fee to take the trek, you don’t just get an amazing experience, you don’t just get to see fantastic animals up close, but you get to help save them as well.  I put my stone in the lion area since NHL’s favorite animal is the lion.

After this, we got a commemorative pin to signify that we completed the Trek.  Finally, it was time to collect our items from our lockers and it was time to head out.  Before we did that, though, we took one last group photo.

I left the trek feeling a bit sad.  It was so much fun travelling through Africa talking with my trek-mates that I didn’t want it to end.  I would definitely recommend the Wild Africa Trek to anyone who can handle the hike, loves animals, and wants to get a closer look at them.

Disclaimer: We paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Though we were given an incredible deal from Disney, they never asked us to blog about this event. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Note: To see all of my posts on DisneySMMoms 2012, go here.

I left my last Wild Africa Trek post on something of a cliffhanger.  Well, not a cliffhanger, but a "bridge hanger."  Yes, we were about to cross this bridge.

Our guides helpfully let us know that they had prepped the bridge for us by jumping on and knocking out any rotten planks.  So we shouldn’t be worried.

First, we climbed a tower and got a quick tutorial on what to do.  Then, as each of us had our turn, we were clipped into the safety line (remember the monkey tails from the last post?), and were given the go ahead.  Then, we carefully made our way along the bridge.

Whenever a safari vehicle passed beneath us, the bridge would rumble a bit.  Luckily, the ropes on the sides helped keep everyone steady.  We were encourage to take our time and take photos, and we all took advantage of the view.

In addition to the photos we were taking, our guide was taking photos of us while we were crossing.

My crossing went smoothly except for one near-incident.  I was taking photos of the crocodiles below me and didn’t look where my foot was going.  As it went down, I realized there was no plank there.  I pulled my foot up and tried frantically to regain my balance.  Luckily, I was able to and continued on.  There would be no techy-snack for the crocs that day.  The whole incident probably took about half a second, but played out much slower for me.  (Yes, I know I was clipped into a safety line, but I really didn’t want to test its strength.)  I’m convinced that the trek photographer captured my near-plunge in this photo.

Once we were safely on the other side, we were unclipped and waited for our trek-mates to catch up.  Then, it was time to re-clip to get a closer look at the crocodiles.  We learned that all of the crocs were males.  Not a single female down there.  For good reason too.  If even one female was there, the guys would start fighting amongst themselves to figure out who got to mate with her.  Without any females to fight over, the male crocs spend most of their days relaxing in the sun.

When we were finished looking at the crocodiles, we were given the chance to refill our water bottles.  Then, it was time to move on.  Luckily, we didn’t have far to go this time.  We quickly reached the next stage of our journey.  After taking off our vests (but keeping our water bottles), we boarded a special safari vehicle, driven by a new (to us) trek cast member – Beverly.

Unlike the normal Kilimanjaro Safari vehicle, which has rows of seats for people to sit on, this one had one sitting area around the edge of the truck.  The inside was completely open so we could walk around.  Not while we were in motion, of course, but when we stopped we were allowed to get up and position ourselves for the best photographs.  And the vehicle stopped a lot more than the usual Kilimanjaro Safari vehicle does.  (Our trek photographer also kept snapping shots.)

Before long, we turned off the usual path and headed up to the Boma where we would have lunch.  As we disembarked, we were greeted with restrooms, Pog juice, and our meals (which I posted photos of here).  We were able to sit and talk amongst ourselves as well as get up, walk around, take more photos, and ask our guides plenty of questions.

All too soon, it was time to take the last part of our journey (which I shall describe in my final Wild Africa Trek post).

Disclaimer: We paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Though we were given an incredible deal from Disney, they never asked us to blog about this event. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Note: To see all of my posts on DisneySMMoms 2012, go here.

On Sunday, NHL had a birthday party to go to.  While he was having fun there with B, I decided that JSL and I should have a father-son day out.  After all, he had just endured 8 days of Passover food and none of the food he usually likes.

After a quick lunch at Five Guys (grilled veggie sandwich for me and grilled cheese for JSL), we headed to a big park.  There, JSL ran through the hedge maze, played tag with me in the big fields, led the way through a hike on the wooded path, and finally played on the playground.

As the time to leave approached, I let JSL know we’d only stay five minutes longer.  While we were waiting for a swing to free up, suddenly, the playground was invaded.  A hawk flew right behind the swinging kids and swooped towards a black bird on the ground nearby.  The bird got away so the hawk then, without skipping a beat, flew back up to the branches of a nearby tree.

Usually, I’d have went over to take photos with my DSLR.  However, in an effort to travel light, I decided to leave my DSLR at home.  I had my new camera phone, but JSL really wanted to swing.  So I resorted to that old parental standby: bribery.  I told JSL that if he came with me to get some hawk photos, I’d not only restart our "countdown until we leave the park" timer, but I’d also add five extra minutes.  JSL reluctantly left the swing area and came with me where I (and someone else with the same idea as me) took a few hawk photos.

Unfortunately, they didn’t come out great.  Camera phones can take decent photos in some situations, but this wasn’t one of them.  My DSLR would have taken a much better photo.  Still, at least I got some record of the hawk that almost turned the playground into a feeding ground.  I also learned an important lesson: The more times I can take my DSLR out with me, the better!

Wordless Wednesday Cheat: The above photos are of three stray cats in my parents’ backyard.  My parents saw them during the winter looking hungry and took pity on the strays.  They began setting some food out to help them survive the cold.