Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Cleveland Zoo.

Okay, so I'm ready to share pictures of our trip to the Cleveland Metropark Zoo ... but first ... I have to tell you ... I went to an Archiver's!!!


I have always wanted to go to one of these stores however I've never had the opportunity until I went to Cleveland. If you have never heard of Archiver's, it is an amazing scrapbooking store with over 40 locations! They have some really wonderful items ... I found some cool things (like owl brads!) that I've never seen before. If you would like to see pictures of the store then click
here!


And look what I found while we were away ... a Martha Stewart Owl Paper Punch! Oh my goodness ... I wasn't expecting to find it, I didn't even know it existed. But, I have to tell you ... it was absolutely one of the highlights of my trip!

If interested in some punched pieces from this cute punch ... I have them in my Ebay Store ... you can click
here for more information.

And now on to our trip to the zoo ...


I love this picture of Griffin in front of the words made from plants ... it reads Cleveland 2008 if you can't make it out.


And the sign welcoming us to the zoo ...


Oh my goodness ... what is that WILD animal standing there? Is it a monkey? A parrot? Why noooooo ... it's a Griffin!


Of course I had to share pictures of the giraffes, seeing as it is my favorite animal


And Griffin and I love flamingos too ...

We had a really nice time at the zoo ...


But going back to the hotel was a little scary for me. Our hotel was about 30 minutes away from the zoo, so I put the address in my handy little GPS and off we went. We got there just fine ... but on the way back to the hotel, it sent me a back a completely different way. I am the first to admit I am NOT good with directions or maps, that's why I rely on my GPS (which Mike says is not a good thing and I agree now). I knew something was wrong when all of a sudden the huge buildings in downtown Cleveland were staring me in the face and the huge football stadium was right in front of us. The GPS had me turning here and turning there, finally landing me in an area that I was totally scared to be in. It was a pretty rough looking area (that I had to drive in for 8 miles!). Apparently the road I was on was supposedly 4 lanes (2 lanes each way), but there was only a middle line painted and to me it looked like there was room for only one lane on each side. Buses were passing me in a lane that really didn't exist in my mind! I was scared ... really scared. My friend Heidi called me on the telephone when I first started on this scary 8 mile adventure and she was sweet enough to "hold my hand" over the phone while I made it through. Honestly folks ... this was one of the scariest moments of my life.

Heidi ... thank you for being there for me when I needed you!

11 comments:

Bonnie said...

I loved the pictures of the zoo. I never got a chance to go when I was in Cleveland, but I have always heard it was a great place. I haven't even been to the zoo in Tampa. I love the "Griffin" animal the best. The Archiver's store looks wonderful. I checked out the website, too bad there are none in Florida. I'm betting you went to the one in North Olmsted? When I was in Cleveland, I was staying pretty close to that town. I am so sorry you got lost in a bad section of town. I was forunate that you brother did most of the driving and knew where to go, when I was there.

Colleen Wms said...

Zoos are so much fun!!
I'm glad you found that neat scrapbooking store too.

I always love checking out new towns. I'm glad you made it out of downtown Cleveland though!

merc3069 said...

The pictures are great, but I am LMAO over the Cleveland horror story;-)

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of that store but it sure looks fun!
Damn GPS!

Gary ("Old Dude") said...

OH MY GOSH you came across an original Matha Stewart Owl Paper Punch-----that is to die for. Who would have guess that Cleaveland was that sophisticated----if you don't use it and keep it in its original box, with its instructions and maybe the receipt to show when you bought it-----in fifty years it will be a real collectors ITem!!

Judi said...

We don't have a "Archiver's located anywhere near California. That is not good. On second thought it is probably not a bad thing.

Andi said...

Wonderful pictures from the zoo Missy! I like giraffes too!

Now I love that owl punch...looks like I'm going to have to find myself one of those. I've never been to an Archivers before. I'll have to check online to see if they have one in Florida.

Glad you made it back to the hotel safely. Sounds a little scary to me too!

Sue said...

Great pictures Missy! The Zoo is beautiful. I've never heard of Archiver's....but it sounds amazing...a toy store for scrappers. lol
I am off to Washington this morning. I'll have very little computer access but will try to check in with ya'll.

Jill LaFaye said...

My goodness what an awful/scary story..glad you are safe!

P.S. I am now on the hunt for a MS Owl punch..gotta have it:)

Cecile said...

Sorry to hear about your horror story on the road.I am so glad you had a buddy on the phone:))
The Zoo looks like fun and looks like G had a great time there...And Archiver's sounds like a great place to visit I have never been there but I want to go now:))
Hugs!
Cecile

Heidi Ann said...

Anytime. Has Griffin grown 6 inches or what??????