Walking in a Lit Up Wonderland

It was back to Detroit this weekend for a quick holiday visit. And it was back to the zoo for Wild Lights — an event put on by the Detroit Zoo, where more than 5 million LED lights illuminate trees, buildings and animal sculptures throughout the Zoo. If you have kids, it's worth walking through to see their excitement and wonder over the lights. 


BUT, if you're an adult, there is a way to experience the same wonderment and awe. I'm not about to suggest you get wasted or drop acid— no, instead I'm going to advise you spend the $1 on the 3D Holiday Specs.

These glasses are magic. So simple, and yet amazing. They turn every point of light into a snowflake. Sounds cheesy, yes, but the effect is delightful. Especially in a scene of 5 million lights. We were one of the only groups I saw wearing the specs, and I'm sure we looked ridiculous, but we were also experiencing a whole different evening than the rest of the guests. 

(click images to enlarge)

The glasses are a product of 3D Marketing — who sources 3D glasses for a variety of uses and occasions. Personally, I have never seen anything like this, and I was fascinated by it. It made the night very memorable and spontaneously fun. The drive home was especially exciting and trippy (I was a passenger.... not driving!). I plan to store my glasses in the car so my passengers can experience the same joy!

The wheels are already turning on potential opportunities to use this gimmick at future events!

Wild Lights continues on December 11-13, 18-23 and 26-31 from 5:30 to 9:00. We arrived at 7:30 and the freeway was backed up at the Woodward Zoo entrance. The line for tickets was also extremely long, but it moved very fast. Tickets are $11 at the gate ($9 online in advance)  — plus $1 for the glasses!!!

Among the Animals

When I was a kid, we used to fill out a football pool every week. I'd pick teams for arbitrary reasons... Tampa Bay because it was warm there, Jacksonville because I liked the colors of their uniforms and San Diego because they had a good zoo.

I had never been there, but, as far as zoos go, it's legendary. And, 20 years later, now that I finally made it there, it really is worth the hype. 

I spent 5.5+ hours in the 100 acre zoo. Which was enough time for me to see most of it, thoroughly. The animal selection was vast* (and fortunately I was there long enough to see most of them active), the staff was friendly, knowledgeable and for the most part seemed to genuinely care about the animals, and the landscaping, botanical aspect of it was amazing.

I would say, aside from my internal gut that struggles with seeing animals in cages, the only negative thing I have to say about the San Diego Zoo reflects on the people visiting it. Pushy parents with strollers the size of Montana, adults who crowd the glass so other kids/visitors can't see through or move past them, and kids banging on the glass while parents take iPhone videos. At times, I felt like the animals we were all fighting to see, were actually the civilized beings.

But the zoo, the zoo is great.

*Panda's are actually way cooler than I expected.