A mini-vacation to the Pittsburgh Zoo. See www.howyouspinit.com.

1. Vacation by the Hour Lions and Tigers and…

2. Usually vacationing means finding some place to vegetate away from home for a week or so, but this summer, I needed to condense that into a few hours. I needed one place that would be refreshing…a hint of childhood revisited…the Pittsburgh Zoo.

3. Of course, when it’s hot, the animals just like to lay around too.

6. Eating is high on the agenda too.

8. Don’t worry if you hear the elephants “growling” – it just means food is coming!

10. Learning to share?

11. Meet the new kids, Mel and Buddy. At 9 feet tall, they are only half grown!

12. It seems like even orangutan babies know when someone’s taking pictures!

17. Jellyfish, Sea Stars, and all types of fresh and saltwater fish can be found at the PPG Aquarium.

18. There are big tanks too, with a variety of sharks and sting rays.

19. These guys know how to keep cool, but don’t ask them about hockey…that’s for a different group of Pittsburgh Penguins!

21. It’s hard to get anything but action shots with the sea otters!