White Oak Conservation

My wonderful friend brought me here for a birthday surprise, so when I arrived, all I knew was that we were headed towards some beautiful stables and there were rhinos in the pastures around us. Throughout the day, the surprises kept coming. We started off the day on horseback and rode through the system of trails through the property, passing by exotic animal after the next. One of the rhinos had just recently given birth, so we were lucky enough to get to see a 4 week old baby rhino. Our two hilarious hosts, Billy and Shannon, were incredibly knowledgeable on each animal and great company along the ride. Around 12:30, they led us to a deck overlooking the St Mary's river where picnic baskets awaited. This trip was a birthday present, so they even wrote "Happy Birthday!" on a chalk board sign to place on our lunch table. When dealing with picnic food, it's hard to pull off sophistication. However, the chefs at White Oak did it! 11/10 would say it's the best sandwich they've ever eaten. After lunch, we hopped back on the horses and rode to see some more of the animals and then headed back to the stables after about an hour and a half where we got into a door-less safari van and headed towards another side of the property. After we went through a series of gates and turned the corner, it opened up to a pasture with 10-15 giraffes. I started crying, it was so beautiful. We stopped, and another woman with a truck full of sweet gum branches pulled up as well. I asked her what she was doing, to which she replied, "Bringing up stuff for y'all to feed them with!" More tears. It was unlike any experience I have ever had, feeding those gentle giants. This place is amazing, and since almost of the animals are endangered, you'll see things you won't likely see anywhere else. I wish I could give more stars. Also, Shannon takes pictures of you while you ride, so you can be completely immersed in the experience without worrying about having to take pictures of your own

Shannon and Billy were fantastic guides. Thought it was going to be a fun time but never thought we would have had the experience we had.... from riding horses around to see the animals, to petting a rhino and then feeding all of the giraffes and then continuing on to see more animals..... a true animal lover's ideal day. Can't wait to go back!

My wife, daughter, and I went on the horse back tour.  This was an amazing experience. Billy and Shannon were great.  Wonderful pictures and just a great tour of a special place. Lunch was so good.  We were able to get vegan meals and they were delicious.  We are looking forward to another visit.

We had a wonderful experience on our Safari from the Saddle! Billy and Shannon were friendly and knowledgeable. We got to see several amazing animals close up, and gained a great understanding of the work at White Oak for animal conservancy.

I was looking for something to surprise my wife with for our 33rd anniversary when I read about the Safari Saddle Tour at White Oak. It sounded like the perfect idea and I could not be happier with our experience. White Oak Plantation is a magical place and our guides Billy and Shannon were simply amazing. The tour is small just 4 guests which gives you a very personal experience. Billy and Shannon are very knowledgeable about the animals and the mission of White Oak. They both have a long history with White Oak and are happy to share their stories. We felt as though we spent the day with great life long friends.
As part of the tour we were able to feed their giraffes and were fortunate enough to pet a white rhinoceros. I've been blessed with many wonderful experiences in my life but never imagined that I would one day have a giraffe eating from my hand or scratch a rhino behind his ear! The most magical place on earth doesn't have mouse ears it has Billy and Shannon!

Chinatown Central Plaza

Beautiful setting. It was mostly empty when we visited, so it was a leisurely walk through. We got some fun souvenirs and just enjoyed the setting. The shop owners were all very friendly.

Nice place, nice shops.
Great place for pictures.
You can shop for food, clothing, snacks and many other wonderful products.

Nice bit of history.  It's pretty clean n open feeling.  Lots of business are having a hard time n closing early. Come out and support them

We had great Fun on a beautiful December day. We visited Olvera St for yummy taquitos with East Coast guests, and then continued to Phoenix bakery in Chinatown for delicious almond cookies, bought 4 dozen. Great visit and delicious cookies!

We went on a Saturday and everything was closed. Except for 3-4 tourist trap shops. Wish everything was open. Would have been more fun. The LA Parking near by was $10 for the day when we went in and then a hour later they slapped a sticker on changing it to $30 for the day. Made me laugh but such a shame that they take advantage of people that way.

Baja Off the Grid Ocean Resort & Retreat Center

This place is an absolute hidden gem. The views and location are second to none, had one of the most relaxing experiences enjoying the views and exploring the near by tide pools. The host is great and super accommodating, the perfect getaway spot.

Remarkable location and facilities.  It is unique though - look through their website to know exactly what it is.  Can also book direct with them.

It is at the very end of the point.  Go down the dirt road and keep going, and going, and going, and going and you will get there.

Also, plan to bring your food.  Excellent kitchen facilities in the units and getting back and forth from town is not quick and simple.  All the ‘nearby’ establishments are part of a tourist trap debacle that is best avoided (and closes down at an unreasonably early hour).  If you head back towards Ensenada there are some good options.  But really, best to plan on cooking.

I can’t imagine a better place to stay in the area.

Relaxing,  quiet, and beautiful. The host was friendly and courteous.  Also enjoyed his dog, we ended up taking a walk. I will definitely stay at Off The Grid again.

Igor and Jorge are absolute legends. Incredibly accommodating. Will be coming back! We had a wonderful time staying in the avocado hut and spear fishing! Thank you so much!

El mirador is incredible! lots of little trails in the backyard to explore and whales to see right from the balcony! Igor was there whenever I had a question. 10/10 Experience. Will be returning!

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

Ticket prices are half price in the winter time. So I enjoyed a leisure Sunday with my grandson. The zoo is compact but every cage is filled. He was able to ride the carousel several times along with the train

We have been this zoo multiple times. Its really a great place to go with kids and friends. Lot of wild , african animals, birds , farm animals as well. Train ride was not that worth. We saw giraffe so many snakes , lion hippo, zebra, gorilla , polar bear elephant. It has been an awesome amazing experience . Its now under construction so you need to walk from entrance to the actual animals areas. However its good . Need to plan for 3-4 hrs to cover everything atleast. Food is available inside .

Went to the Baltimore zoo during my stay in the city and I was glad I did! As you can expect it's pretty fricken expansive in all avenues,  easy to move around in and very well kept! The animals are awesome,  well taken care of at a glance and if I had to pick my favorites? It'd be the rhinos, elephants wart hog and tortoises! Staff were great, nice to talk to and knew their stuff,  great people work there! If I had any gripes about the zoo ot was the entrance price is a little steep, the construction was annoying and...I wish i got there earlier to see EVERYTHING! Aside from that though, I had a lot of fun there and highly recommend it to people visiting Baltimore!

Pictures are of the wide outside expanse of the zoo, gift shop, Souvenir I got and VARIOUS animals I saw!!!

It had been years since a zoo visit, and it’s awesome to see all of the renovations and changes that have taken place. Zoo volunteers were well-spaced, friendly and helpful. Though we are local, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore remains one of our favorites in the country!

It was good. Niece wishes there were foxes and wolves. The historical older cages weren't all that appealing and there was a snow owl that arguably was not in a correct habitat and just had a fan to keep it cool. It was not ideal that we had to pay to ride the train when we paid admission for the zoo. Also no military discount at entrance, must go through base services.

Chimpanzee Forest

The Chimpanzee Forest is inside of the African Journey loop. This primate enclosure is a highlight of any trip to the Maryland Zoo. Apart from the animals themselves, the fact that it is a climate-controlled space makes it a very popular destination on hot summer days. The stars of the show are the Chimpanzees themselves, each of whom has a little biography with a photo on a board near their main enclosed habitat. The group has access to an outdoor area as well, and I believe there is also a private space visitors do not have access to. The Chimpanzee Forest is also home to a tank for the critically endangered Panamanian Golden Frog, along with a video display that explains the threat to them in their home jungles. It also has enclosures for the Colobus and several species of Lemur.

Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary

I never knew this park existed and it was within 15 minutes of me. It's great with the scenery, the trails, and I loved going on my Sierra Club hike/walk. I highly recommend for a naturegoer, nature enthusiast, and park lover!

Nice open, quiet area to walk or bike!! Or take the "driving tour" around the gravel roads on Sundays... nice for seniors who want to explore nature, but can't do much walking.

Perfect to go for a walk or to share moments with family or friends on the picnic area

The sanctuary has three walking trails, ranging in distance from 1.2 to 3.0 miles. But they also have astronomy observation evenings monthly (when open) and activities for kids. Great place for either the family, a field trip, or even a solo walk!

Nice, clean, the trail markers could have been better. We had to back track several times during our trek.

Petting Zoo Ocala

A great place to spend the entire morning. It can get hot in the afternoon, so best time to visit is at opening, usually 10am. The animals are very friendly, and fun to mingle with. If you venture inside the enclosure with the goats and a llama, do not bring the feed bag with you! Goats will jump at you like puppies, but unlike puppies they don't have soft paws :) Feeding ostriches is possible too - you can just hold up an open feed bag, and they'll eat right from it. There are parrots, and a terrarium in the back. Don't forget to buy a feed bag!

It's a little pricey for a petting zoo for a family of 5, but it's worth it to walk around and see the animals!  Not a ton of shade, so plan accordingly when visiting!  Fun little petting zoo! The kids loved the different types of animals and how friendly the animals were acting!

Great for just adults or with the kids! You can buy a bag of treats to feed to the animals and most of them you can pet. It was a very peaceful fun afternoon.

Nice little roadside petting (and feeding) zoo. More like the farm you remember as a child up north. Most animals are rescues and given a good home. Yes there is poo and there are flies. Welcome to nature. It's an extraordinary opportunity to get up close and feed and interact with live animals. Affordable. Fun. Wonderful! Friendly employees.

This was a sweet little petting zoo. There were a lot of different animals, entry was very reasonable, and everything was very clean and well maintained. We loved feeding and petting so many animals and supporting a local business!

Plumpton Park Zoo

My 3yr grandson loves animals, so i decided to bring him here. It's much smaller than the MD zoo, however he was able to walk the entire zoo without needing to be picked up. All of the animals are rescues, so they don't appear to be in the best of health, but there were tons of caretakers and they all took great pride in caring fir them. We purchased some feed for the animals and he had a great time.

All the animals are friendly and often come near the gates.

They have specific animals to feed and times to feed their giraffe which only cost 5 dollars.

We spent 39 dollars through Local Flavor and spent around an hour and half there. It is a small zoo.

They have a cute gift shop and a snack area where you can purchase items.

Many of the animals here have been rescued which is so neat.

Definitely worth a trip.

Animals include:
Giraffe
Zebras
Camels
Porcupines
Lions
Black, grizzly and brown bears
Tigers
Pigs, chickens, horses, llamas, goatsand donkeys
Monkeys
Peacocks
Wallabies
And a few more

I've been here a couple times and really like this zoo. It's not the biggest, but you can tell the animals are very well cared for and the staff genuinely loves them. Today I saw a keeper talking sweet to the cougar (Nicole) and you could tell that this person genuinely loved her job.

I recommend getting a cup of animal feed at the entrance - there are so many to feed!

Disappointing. We chose this Zoo as an enjoyable activity for our young children to do with both sets of Grandparents, one of whom was visiting from overseas. It was a Thursday afternoon and unbeknownst to us, was during a time that they had decorated for halloween. Such a struggle to spend so much of our time trying to shield the children’s innocent eyes from the scary and creepy displays around the place! Our toddlers were confused and unsettled by the things they did see and that made my wife angry. We were there to enjoy the animals and time together as a family as this made it difficult. We were extremely disappointed!

We enjoyed our visit on a weekday. The animals seemed well taken care of and healthy. Very nice little zoo!The Sicilian donkey was my favorite.

Brownwood Paddock Square

Fun evening with family.  Great music & fun atmosphere.  Plenty of racks of chairs set up for use of crowd.  That said, parking is horrendous and we had to park many blocks away….that really was the only negative.  Ate in a very good Mexican restaurant whose name I didn’t get.

Great place to visit, and from what I hear, live as well. Newest of the villages I find it a bit more advanced with construction and vendors. Worth checking out!

Wow!!! What to review?   There is so much to do in this area.   If your a golfer this is the region to be in.   Golf shops and Golf cart shops galore.   Food, that just depends on what you want to eat.  You can't go wrong.

Drinks have been great, and the atmosphere is not what I expected of an area with retirees.   They get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The music and events at the stage are awesome.  You see families of all ages enjoying the sights and sounds that are going on.  The djs have fun and liven up the crowds.

Also,on the Saturday market there are some delicious booths with samples of most things imaginable.   Lots of crafts for sale, food, fruits n veggies ,snacks, free samples and the people.  Just a great time to enjoy.  I even found myself a golf towel with a military emblem.

Go and enjoy anytime of the week but beware, you may spend more than you want.  Hahahhahaha

Beautiful place in The Villages, family friendly, great atmosphere, a variety of restaurants, with activities during the day and at night, very safe place I highly recommend it

Our special needs daughter LOVES live music. I love how kind people everyone has been. She loves dancing too.

Suncoast Primate Sanctuary Foundation, Inc.

Love this place. Our 5 year old really enjoys feeding them peanuts, and Magillan is hilarious. He's in the back on the left side of the Sanctuary. We probably spent the most time with him because he interacts more than the others. Pongo is LARGE and very interesting to watch as well. Their areas are clean and well-maintained.

First time visiting the sanctuary. It was really hot outside and the middle of the afternoon so the primates were not really active. Still was able to see the different types of primates the sanctuary is helping to take care of and protect. It's a nice little place.

Didn't know this place existed until we were taken for a holiday gift.  It's a true sanctuary for mostly primates but a couple of cows and a mini goat as well. A group of primates was from medical lab experimentation.  The place is run by volunteers who really care.  Check it out!

What a wonderful place then going there. Since I was a kid a month because I treated so good. It's fun to go out and see that.

It is a great place to see the primates and a few other animals. They appear to be well taken care of by the staff and volunteers.  The facility is rustic and not a sterile concrete zoo. They house mostly older animals and it is a good place for them to relax.  The admission is very reasonable and is not for profit. It is worth making a small donation on top of admission. Pongo was my favorite. He seemed interested in interacting, but since, like most other animal facilities, it is for seeing not touching.  Some of the animals can be fed peanuts that are purchased there. Again, it is worthy of visit and donations.

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