Staycations ROCK! Scrap Fx journaling notes and New York’s Bronx Zoo.
by MichelleH
Hello !
Today I have an unusually structured page and a story about our visit to The Bronx Zoo, NY, USA. We are skipping the annual family vacation this year but have decided to treat NYC like we are tourists.
On the docket for the next week?
- Take an open top tourist bus
- Visiting the 9/11 Memorial
- Walking over Brooklyn Bridge
- Traditional tourist photos in 42nd street
You’ll see those pages in a mini book coming soon.
If you visit The Big Apple and have the time schlep ALL the way uptown I suggest you take in a New York Yankees Baseball Game or The Zoo.
I used the Scrap FX Journal Notes Kraft item #2012191k for this page as well as Amy Tangerine and Basic Grey stickers and papers I had been hoarding for a while. The flair pins are from A Flair For Buttons on Etsy. I also found GRID PATTERN VELLUM! LOVE!
The Bronx Zoo opened it’s doors in 1899 (!!) and now spreads over 265 acres (107 ha) and houses over 650 species.
Wednesdays are free which means you will have to deal with all sorts of crowd shenanigans- skip visiting on this day if possible. We became members to avoid paying for 5 special exhibit tickets and I’m so GLAD we did.
I designed the page and got really enthusiastic about the orderly final design when I realized- I didn’t leave room for the items I planned to use on this page! Can you BELIEVE it? So plan B was to use the journaling notes behind photos- something I tend to do all the time because I prefer seeing pretty embellishments or photos rather than my handwriting.
We arrived just in time to wait in line for 30 minutes in the hot mid day sun, not the best way to start the day.
The next 3 hours were a series of marches from one natural enclosure (great for the animals but hard for parents of impatient toddlers) to another. The animals were all asleep and/or hiding (proof of their intelligence). The crowds made it difficult to see anything that was moving and even the two patient, non-complaining and totally awesome teenage family members we brought along were starting to make little noises of distress.
Poor kid! She was SO not into the Zoo after 2 hours of trying to spot animals that were all hiding from the heat.
Thankfully we stumbled on the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. This place is perfect for frazzled families! Air conditioned, smaller crowds due to an extra charge (for non-members) and a MOVIE (cue angels singing).
The kids had a chance to sit down, I got to watch people gawk at the gorillas (and think of snarky behavioral comparisons) and Lola got to see a baby Gorilla- it was awesome.
These journaling note sets have quickly become my favorites. They come in three colors- manila, kraft and white. You can check them out here: Journal Notes
What about you, what are your favorite local “staycation” spots?
Thanks for stopping by!