Once again, our little traveler is out getting in trouble. Obi has embarked on another adventure. This time he finds himself in the state of Ohio, specifically the Toledo Zoo. As usual, when Obi arrives at his destination, he always finds himself in the most precarious places. This time he finds himself dangling off the sign at the entrance to the zoo. Luckily nobody sees him appear from thin air.



Once he shimmies down off the sign, and before security catches up to him, he wanders about, taking in the sights and all the people. One of the first stops he comes to is this huge aquarium with a rather large sea lion floating around. He has swam with sea lions before back on Isola, and has even taken rides on them, though they don't care too much for carrying passengers.



Then he gets a wild idea, as only Obi can do. He decides he'll try and hitch a ride on this guy. It should be fun. This sea lion is much bigger than the ones back home. He should be able to go faster, and he wouldn't have to fear being towed too far out to sea. So he jumps in.



The sea lion is most curious about his new swimming partner but refuses to let Obi take a ride. Once again, Obi draws a crowd and from his previous experiences, he knows security will be here soon and they will kick him out. So Obi decides to not push his luck with either the sea lion or security, so he climbs out and ventures out to see what more this strange place has to offer.

The next place he finds himself is at the Reptile House. He really wants to go in and investigate this place but the word "Reptile" can only mean one thing. SNAKES! Obi really, really doesn't like snakes, so he hangs back to think about it a while.



He just can't seem to face his fear. What if they get out? What if they all jump at the glass and break through and get him? He just can't do it. He just cannot take the chance. The thought of all those slithery creatures that move without legs, all jumping on him and licking at him with those fluttering tongues is too much for our little adventurer. He's looking for adventure but this one has too much adventure and the possibilities are far too great for him to take the chance.

Obi then finds his next adventure at the ostrich enclosure. As luck would have it, at least for Obi, one of the ostriches comes right up to the fence where Obi is standing. As quick as a flash, he climbs the fence and perches himself right on top of the unsuspecting bird.



Like the sea lion, the ostrich was not very happy to have an uninvited passenger and soon took poor Obi for a ride he wouldn't soon forget. At first it was fun, exhilarating even, but soon his fun turned into fear as he had no control over what or where this bird went. Around and around the yard Obi and the ostrich went, bouncing along at horrifying speeds of up to 45 mph (70 km/h). Finally, as the poor ostrich tired, and slowed down, Obi found an opportunity to jump off and land on a patch of tall, soft grass. Luckily neither Obi or the ostrich were hurt. I think Obi learned his lesson on that one.

The next area he finds is the Polar Bear exhibit. He thinks to himself, "What a cute, furry little animal". So, with monkey-like agility, he scrambles to the exhibit floor.

Imagine his surprise to find out this "cute, furry LITTLE animal" was actually so large. He estimates the bear to be close to 1,000 lbs (454 Kg), which according to the plaque in front of this guys home, is an average weight for a polar bear.

The polar bear takes an immediate liking to Obi, in a good way. He doesn't become part of the lunch menu. Again, luckily for Obi. Obi reaches out and starts to pets the polar bear and soon finds the bear has a weakness. He likes it very much when Obi scratches behind his ear.



Soon, the bear decides it's time for a quick dip in the pool. Guess who follows?



After a quick dip with his new friend, Obi figures it is time to leave. On his way out, he views other animal enclosures. He see's the rhino's, and some red-eared slider turtles, giraffes, cheetah's, and an eagle. On his way out of the park, he spots an ostrich. "Oh, I have to ride this one. This seems a little more my speed when it comes to ostriches".



So after a few turns on the carousel, he finds himself a quiet place to take a nap. When he wakes up, he finds himself on Isola once again. As he hunts down his friends and tells them of his adventure, he wonders where his next adventure will take him... and if his friends think he's just totally nuts.

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**Thanks to The Chief for helping me pick Obi's final destination.**