What To Do Around Charlotte, NC: Lazy 5 Ranch

Recently my girlfriend and I road-tripped with our four girls to Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, NC. It was about an hour away but we all piled into her car (two infant carseats, two convertible carseats, two picnic lunches, and the mamas). 

Next on the agenda: find a Dunkin' with a drive-through.

We arrived at Lazy 5 caffeinated, donut holes in bellies, and ready to meet some animals. This is a drive-through safari -- hands on as can be. You can take your own car through (and literally feed the zebras pellets of food from your car window) or take the wagon ride. We opted for the wagon ride which was even more perfect for the little girls to get up close and personal with the animals since they weren't strapped in to carseats.   

I mean ... Charlotte even got her toes licked by an emu or something (she was in the Ergo carrier) -- I had no idea since my eyes were on Camille. My friend was laughing too hard at the situation to get any words out. And Charlotte was just giggling!

You are given buckets of food to feed the animals, and whenever the wagon would stop, they would SWARM the wagon ready for their treats. 

My pictures don't do this justice, but that's okay. That means that I was spending more time with my camera in my lap than behind the lens. :) 

We ended the day with a packed lunch of PB+Js and Goldfish under the covered picnic area. 

What was so cool to me about the whole experience (and different from most zoos) is that the animals are all living together in harmony in a "wild" environment. It's not like you have a monkey area, a flamingo area, a zebra area. The giraffes were the only animals that were in their own pen. Other than that, you'd have a camel lumber up to you with a little pig right at its feet, and three ostriches behind them, nudging a deer out of the way for treats. 

We will definitely be back -- this was the type of attraction you never get tired of experiencing.