Lazy 5 Ranch

Lazy 5 Ranch with Grandma and Pop-Pop Tinkey!

Helping Grandma feed the sheep.

Swings with Pop-Pop!

Mommy and Katy in front of the lemurs, Katy's favorite exhibit.

Down on the Farm with Katy!

Today, we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. My 'rents are visiting during my mother's spring break so we decided that it'd be a fun and different thing to do with Katy. We had never visited before today- all I knew was that all of my friends with kids said that it's lots of fun for animal lovers. In essence, I would describe the Lazy 5 Ranch as a zoo, safari, petting zoo and park all rolled into one.

The main attraction is a three and a half mile drive through wide open spaces where animals from six different continents roam freely and come up to your car to be fed from the buckets of feed that you purchase. These aren't your ordinary farm animals, either! We had ostrich and zebra and llamas and water buffalo and pot-bellied pigs come right up to our car windows. We saw camels and giraffes and a rhino from afar. There were all sorts of deer and birds that roamed around the terrain. At first, Katy was a little frightened (I was too!) when the animals came right up to our car windows. However, she was content to view the animals from the enclosed safety of her car seat with the windows securely rolled up. Toward the end of the trek she was asking for more and really getting into it.

Aside from the three and a half mile drive through the animals, there is also a petting zoo/observatory area where you can walk past lemurs, sheep of all sorts, goats and other more tame animals and birds. Katy finally worked up enough courage to help Grandma feed the sheep and goats.

We lucked out with some great weather- sunny, breezy and cool. We got to the Ranch first thing in the morning  and just missed the crowds. After we saw the animals, we washed up and enjoyed our picnic lunch. After lunch, Katy enjoyed the playground with Pop-Pop.

All in all, it was a very unique experience. Even for city girl like me, it was nice to enjoy the animals as much (or as little!) as you wanted. When I asked Katy what her favorite animal was, she emphatically told me that it was the baby monkey (lemur) that we saw swinging and riding "piggy back" on his mommy and daddy's back. That's my little monkey!