I had recently started a new job in March 2000, so I had to wait a year before I could take a vacation. We decided to take a couple of "Mini Vacations" that year and visit some places nearby that we had never seen before.

Back in April, we went to Cincinnatti, OH. This was the second time that I had ever been to Cincinnatti, and the first time for the rest of the family. While there, we visited the Cincinnatti Zoo. We enjoyed our visit there. Some of our favorite exhibits were the lions and the eagles. There was a cat house (and you could definately smell the kitty litter) and a reptile house. The kids especially enjoyed the orangutans, who were out upon a hill where you could watch them at play.

Cincinatti Zoo

We also visited the Newport Aquarium. I have been to several different aquariums, but I felt that this one had the best shark exhibit. At one point, you could walk through a tunnel that was surrounded by water above and below. This area was filled with sharks and other fish. It was an eerie feeling having sharks swim over my head. They had manatees on exhibit and we watched one of them eating lettuce. The aquarium was nice but there were a lot of stairs to climb and we couldn't bring Alex's stroller. I had to carry him on my back in a pack the entire time. Needless to say, I was sore when it was all over with.

Newport Aquarium

In May we visited Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom for the first time and enjoyed our visit there. The day that we went was set aside for home schoolers, so there wasn't a large crowd. There was a giant ferris wheel, and a couple of wooden coasters. We were a little disappointed because the water rides were not open until the following weekend, so we missed out on those. Ryan and I enjoyed the roller coasters, especially T2 and Chang.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom