Front Porch: Lions, tigers, bears and dinosaurs, oh my!

I finally made it to Dublin!

But before I could say “Top o’ the morning to ya,” the city was in our rearview mirror.

That’s because it was Dublin, Ohio. We passed through the suburb on the way to take two of our sons and all of our grandkids to the Columbus Zoo.

At 3½, our twin grandsons Adam and Nick were ready for the adventure, and so was their big sister, Farrah.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is home to over 10,000 animals representing more than 600 species worldwide and sprawls across 580 acres.

We decided to start small with the barn and petting zoo, though Derek and our son Alex entered the goat pen with trepidation.

They swear they are still scarred from the time we visited a local petting zoo and they both got nipped by frisky goats. However, the goats at this zoo were sleepy and docile and allowed the kids to brush them.

From there, we visited the North America exhibit, where black bears ambled close to the barriers, delighting us all. We spotted reindeer and explained to the kids that these were the guys who pulled Santa’s sleigh.

“Where Santa?” asked Nick.

We quickly moved along to see river otters splash, moose meander, and a majestic bald eagle perched on a tree before trekking to the Polar Frontier to watch polar bears frolic.

Then it was on to Asia Quest featuring elephants, rhinos and my favorite animal – the red panda.

In the Heart of Africa, we watched giraffes munching leaves, and those with keener eyes than mine spotted zebras and hyenas lounging in the shade. The King of the Jungle moseyed by, and we glimpsed a beautiful tiger under a tree.

Our legs were getting tired, so we hopped aboard a boat to visit Dinosaur Island. The slow-moving boat ride provides a tour of the Zoo’s Australia and the Islands region, and of course, lots of animatronic dinosaurs.

Like most preschoolers, the twins adore dinosaurs. We bring them a couple of dino toys every visit, and they have lots of dino-themed shirts. But the creatures at the zoo were much larger and louder than anything the boys’ had previously encountered.

Adam at the front of the boat with his dad quickly summed up the situation.

“Bad guys! Bad guys! Bad guy dinosaur!” he hollered and pointed every time he spotted one.

Their glowing eyes and noisy roars scared Nick a bit, so he scooted closer to me.

“Just tell them to shush,” I said.

He put his finger to his lips and said, “Shhh! Dinosaur, shhh!”

And everyone was happy, especially the adults who got to rest their feet.

After visiting the aquarium and the reptile exhibit, Farrah and our sons headed off to ride the roller coaster and Ferris wheel while Derek and I caught a train with the twins.

The boys loved the choo-choo, and we loved another chance to rest our feet. By the end of the day our son Sam’s fitness app clocked over 17,000 steps.

It’s no wonder that within minutes of pulling out of the parking lot, the twins were sound asleep.

I was sure they’d still be exhausted the following day when we picked them up to take them to our Airbnb, but Nick raced out of the house, yelling “I wanna see the animals, Nana!”

Adam climbed into his car seat and declared, “Go see bad guys, Papa! Bad guy dinosaur!”

Derek groaned.

But the best thing about three-year-olds is they’re easily distracted.

“How ‘bout we go to McDonald’s and get French Fries?” I asked.

“McDonall! Fren fry!” they whooped.

Maybe someday we’ll journey to Dublin, Ireland, but for now passing through Dublin, Ohio, while making memories with our grandkids is adventure enough.

• Readers Weigh in on Summer Soundtracks

In regards to my recent column, Jan Abrams has a theory about why I detest hearing “Pop Goes the Weasel” when the ice cream truck is in our neighborhood.

“Your dislike of this song may trace to learning different lyrics than I did. I learned:

Round & round the mulberry bush,

The monkey chased the weasel.

The monkey thought ‘twas all in fun—

POP goes the weasel.

(The monkey was surprised that the weasel was upset and not having fun, so the weasel popped the monkey, probably on the nose.)

Granted this has nothing to do with ice cream, but neither does ‘It’s a Small World After All,’ my least favorite ice cream truck song! However, my aversion comes from standing with small children in the Disney ride line for too long!”

Marilyn Pearson has a lovelier summer soundtrack.

She wrote, “For me, the sounds of summer are a neighbor’s lawn mower and (an) outboard boat motor starting up and slowly accelerating reminding me of growing up with a daddy who loved fishing and took us out nearly every weekend.”

Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com. Hval is the author of “War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation” (Casemate Publishers, 2015) available at Auntie’s Bookstore and bookstores nationwide.