Family fun in Fort Wayne, take 2

This post is a continuation of a previous post, which you can find here.

One thing my youngest child was most looking forward to during our Fall Break trip to Fort Wayne was Wild Zoo Halloween at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo.  He’s an animal lover, for sure. Our last visit to the Children’s Zoo was more than eight years ago, before Robbie was even born. We had a terrific time then and I had no doubt that our return visit would be just a wonderful. I was not disappointed.

Though the zoo was already closed for the season (it re-opens on April 23), it was opened for this special holiday event that included trick-or-treating, photo ops, pony rides and a free pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Because the zoo’s official season was over, some of the animals were off exhibit. But you might have had to look twice to notice that because the zoo had crafted “replacement animals” out of pumpkins and gourds. It was so clever and a delight to see.

The grounds of the zoo are very walkable; no one complained of tired feet once.  We did get to see several animals still on display, including wallabies, lemurs, peacocks, sea lions and African penguins (who knew there are penguins in Africa?!).

I would not hesitate to return for the special “Santa and the Reindeer Visit the Zoo” event on Saturday, December 18.

Though the kids probably could have gone on to another activity, Mom and Dad called a rest break after the zoo. So we headed back to the hotel to rest for an hour or so. (Almost) fully recharged, we headed to Crazy Pinz for pizza, bowling and arcade games.

What we found at Crazy Pinz was more of what we’d experienced all over the city. Genuinely friendly people. The staff, who didn’t know I was there to write about the city and its offerings, were cordial and responsive. The bowling — done in cosmic light — was fun. And we could opt to use bumpers for just one player! I’ve never seen that before. Annie wasn’t so thrilled; it turns out she’s not a great bowler.

In addition to the pizzas for dinner, we ordered breadsticks and I am so glad we did. The pizza was good, but not outstanding. But the breadsticks? Probably the best ‘sticks I’ve had in a long time. Lightly crunchy on the outside, soft and yummy on the inside. I could eat those for dinner every night of the week and twice on Tuesday, for sure.

After two games of bowling and plenty of pizza, soft drinks, and breadsticks, we headed to the arcade area to play a few games. Of course, what was the first thing Robbie wanted to play mini bowling.  There was also mini golf, a roller coaster simulator, a 3-story “Ballopolis” play structure and plenty of traditional video games. The kids had so much fun that they didn’t even mind when we gave our cache of prize credit to someone who lived in town.

The Fort Wayne Convention and Visitors Bureau, which invited us to come, wanted to show us the best the city has to offer. They were wildly successful…we will be back!