Past Week's Excursions

This past week was a busy one.  On Monday, I went to the San Diego Zoo.  They have a sightseeing bus that travels through the park.  You can see everything and then, get off the bus and see the animals more closely.  If you pay to ride on this bus, you can also use an Express Bus to go back to see your favorite animals.  It stops at five different spots throughout the park.  You can get on and off at any of these spots at will. 

After getting off the bus, we had lunch at Sydney's (hamburgers and fries were good) and then, we headed for the giraffes.  Following this we went to the Australian Outback Koalafornia Dreaming exhibit.  The napping Koalas were cute.

And at the La Jolla Cove, the Gull was taking a walk across the road, but when a car came near he hightailed it back to the curb.  Why he didn't just fly across the street is beyond me.  He or she didn't seem injured.

At the La Jolla Children's Pool (which is really sort of a cove), an area of the rocks are populated by first on lower rocks, cormorants, secondly, closer to the water, seals (perhaps Elephant Seals), and thirdly, on a higher portion, the Brown Pelicans.

Brown pelicans

Cormorants

Seals

The Children's Pool at La Jolla Cove

The photo above shows the total area at the La Jolla Cove.  There is a small beach for swimmers and there were some.  Swimming so close to the large seals would not be my "cup of tea." 

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San Diego Night Zoo

This afternoon I went with my daughter and family, as they took two of my East Coast grandchildren to the San Diego Night Zoo. Our East Coast visitors are 14 years old.

We arrived around 3pm and headed for the "Urban Jungle." On the way, we visited the tropical birds including the Laughing Kookaburra, which my four-year old grandson can imitate perfectly and the peaceful koalas. This time there were nine koalas sitting, sleeping or eating on branches. The spectators are usually very quiet. It's almost like they are taking on the aura of this exhibit.

Finally, we reached the giraffes and crossed the street to see two rhinos cavorting. We were just in time to watch an employee named Heidi feeding Murphy (a red river hog). As we circled around past the rhinos, we found them playing roughly with each other. It was quite a spectacle to see these large, heavy animals actually pushing each other back and forth over a length of 30 or 40 feet. After that we stopped to see one of the Night Zoo acts, Jasmine and Jade Jumpers, performing there. After enjoying their acrobatic antics, we left to find a place to eat supper.

My daughter suggested the Sabertooth Grill at Elephant Odyssey. Everyone enjoyed their choice of dishes....macaroni and cheese for the four year old, a chili bowl, a hamburger with onion rings for the teens, chicken wrap and chicken rice plates for the adults while watching the elephants. As we were eating, my daughter told us she spotted Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna on a VIP tour as we were watching Heidi feed Murphy, the red river hog in the Urban Jungle. Not that I'm a celebrity hound, but it would have been nice if she told us at the time. I remember standing outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles with my Cardiff daughter to see the Wiggles. My daughter said, "Don't look now but there is an actor standing over there, but I can't remember his name." I immediately looked in that direction. She said, "You looked. I told you not to look." It was just a natural response. I guess that at the zoo today, my San Diego daughter decided that Harry, Lisa and the children deserved their privacy. Last year, I took my San Diego granddaughter to the zoo on the day the new Polar Bear Exhibit opened. That night the TV Newscaster related that Tori Spelling was at the exact same place that afternoon. I didn't see her, but most likely wouldn't have recognized her anyway. I'm sure many famous people visit the zoo without being noticed. Well, on another subject, with full stomachs, we ventured over to the elephants.

Then, back to the entrance to take the much anticipated tour bus, the last one of the day. We all sat on the upper level and had a great forty-minute ride. In some instances, being on the upper level prevents you from seeing some animals. However, I consider it fun anyway.

At 8pm, we saw the Front Street Finale. There is a short parade which includes the spectators. We returned to an act the grandchildren had seen last week. The young performers from China were very talented. We tried to congratulate and speak with them until we realized, as they nodded and smiled, that they most likely didn't speak English. Then, on to the Skyfari aerial tram, so that our guests could see the whole park.

Just as we were ready to go home, my teenage granddaughter asked where the iguanas were. As we were near the reptile house, in our entourage went. That is, except me. I don't go into reptile houses. They came out a short while later, satisfied with what they saw. They all spoke about a large ancient turtle.

Our six hours at the zoo seemed to fly by. My teenage East Coast grandchildren have been to the Bronx Zoo in New York a number of times. I think they really enjoyed their day at the San Diego Zoo.

To my Southern California friends, you would really enjoy having a zoo membership. It enables you to visit for two or three hours anytime you want. The zoo map details which trails are easy and which are steep. You can choose to see a part of the park at your leisure so you don't miss anything. That's how our family does it.


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San Diego Zoo

One of my gifts for Mother's Day was a yearly pass to the San Diego Zoo. Yesterday, I decided to visit. Having a pass enables you to spend an hour or two at a time. I reasoned that all the walking would give me great exercise, as well as providing an opportunity to take photographs.

I arrived about 2pm and wandered by the monkey exhibit on to the Scripps Aviary. Since it was a cloudy day, that area didn't provide a good light for taking any pictures. Then, on to the Owens Aviary, which I always enjoy.



A pigeon just flew up and sat next to me, as though it was saying, "Did you notice me?"


As I walked through the different levels of the aviary with small birds zooming throughout, I remembered that I forgot a hat. On a visit last year, a bird pooped on my cheek and camera. Yuk! Thankfully, I had tissues until I could reach a restroom to wash up. It is still a wonderful experience to be able to walk among them.


The three colorful lorikeets were just sitting there on the same branch. What a "photo op."

Then, I made my way past the Panda Station, deciding against getting on line. This is a very popular spot. I followed the path to another of my favorite areas, a pond for flamingos, various large birds, such as an African Spoonbill (which I did not spot on this visit), a saddleback stork, ducks, and local herons and egrets that visit at feeding time. Luckily it was feeding time.


The Great Blue Heron in the picture flew away from the pond to another part of the path. I just missed him in flight. So, I waited around to see if he would take off again. I've always wanted to catch the bird in flight, but never seem to time it right. Sure enough, my daughter called and, as I answered the phone, the heron returned to the pond.

My daughter and her children decided to join me at the zoo, since the zoo would be open for two more hours. When they arrived, they wanted to see the Koalas. On the way, we stopped to see some baby ducks and two turtles. The children really enjoyed watching them.

When reached the Koalas, we found them sleeping. Since it was later in the day, there were fewer spectators, which enabled me to get some good photos.




The first photo was a Koala fast asleep. The second was the same Koala repositioning because an annoying tree branch.




This was a great visit. We are looking forward to the "nighttime" zoo, which opens on June 25. We attended last year and had a wonderful time. I really recommend that you spend a day at the San Diego Zoo and if you live anywhere in Southern California, you would really enjoy having a pass for multiple visits.

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