Lazy 5 Ranch--Mooresville, North Carolina

Today I took the kids to the Lazy 5 Ranch. The Lazy 5 Ranch is a 3.5 mile drive-thru animal park located about an hour from where we live.


On the plus side:

• It is a great activity that gets you out of the house, but keeps you strapped in the car (unless you make the mistake of letting the kids roam around in the car like I did).
• It's good for those hot muggy days when you can't breathe the air and it is threatening rain.
• The animals included: pigs, deer, llamas, giraffes, zebras, horses, camels, a rhino, water buffalo, and ostriches. The pigs and ostriches had babies, and they were pretty cute.
• I took a detour through Davidson on my way home, which is really a very lovely college town.

On the minus side:

• I think it is pretty expensive for a one-shot one hour deal. It cost $25 for our car.
• I was a nervous wreck the whole time worried I was going to run something over. You have the option of purchasing a $3 bucket of feed, so all the animals think that you are bringing them lunch and practically attack the car when they see you coming. I certainly didn't feel that way when I would go to Wild Safari in New Jersey.
• Something with horns scraped up the side of my car and I had to spend some time with the buffer rags when I got home. (You can have a horse-drawn buggy take you through for an EXTRA $14 which I would recommend after my experience.)
  
• Bella screamed every time a llama came near her window.
• It stank. Nature of the beast I suppose.
• There wasn't really as much variety in the animals as I was hoping.

Honestly, it was a long (and especially expensive when you add in the cost of gas) way to go for something that I thought was just OK. I do think it would be more fun in the fall when the leaves are changing to do the hayride. But, for my time and money, I will head back to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina where an annual pass gets you a lot more for your money.