Zoo Trip Today

The last couple of days have been pretty quiet.  Nothing to "blog" about.  The sun has been out, it has been warm, and we've been working on attitude readjustment.  The long haul with the bad weather and both of us with colds over the last month really was working on our psyche - and not in a good way.  Sitting in the sun and enjoying being outside has worked wonders for our moods.

Today we went to the "famous" San Diego Zoo.  It's less than half an hour away, we have annual passes, and we try to go as many times as we can while we are here.  The weather just hasn't been conducive for the trip up til now.  Our neighbors, David and Eileen spoiled our Maggie while we were gone today. She doesn't normally come out of the RV for people, but apparently David drove up in his wheelchair, called to her and she went running out and jumped in his lap.  He took her back to their motorhome and she made herself at home as if she were queen of the hop.  When we got back, Eileen was sitting in our patio area with the two Maggies - she had just taken them out for a walk.  We couldn't ask for anyone nicer than them to watch her.  They love her and she loves them.

Checking the map.  Where to next?

We spent about three hours at the zoo which was enough. Roger's hip started hurting and quite a bit of the zoo was behind construction fences. They are really doing a huge make over.  We missed the big cats, bears, eagles, and pandas.  They were all behind the construction zones.  It's going to be fantastic when they finish.  Because we have the annual pass we can go as many times as we want so we don't feel bad if we only see part of the zoo on each trip.  Easier on the old folks that way instead of trying to cram it all in at once.  The pass just about pays for itself after one visit of the two of us.  The cost of entry is so high these days.  I think if I had just paid about $50 to get in and couldn't see all the animals I'd be pretty bummed. 

The gardens and plants around the zoo are fabulous. Such a variety but not much blooming today.  It was tropical forest, Japanese gardens, and Hawaiian plants. 





















We met a young woman and her toddler son at a "rest area" near the polar bears.  They were from Michigan.  I spotted the mid-West accent right away.  The kid was funny and she was very nice. Her husband is here for a week for work and she and the son are sightseeing.  She is in no hurry to go back to the snow and cold.  

The polar bears were fun to watch today. The big male was really giving the female a talking to. He was quite vocal and she was quite submissive. He was giving her the what for about something.  





The other male was staying out of it.  









Normally, when we go to the zoo, we pack our lunch, leave it in the truck, walk around for an hour or so, go back to the truck, eat, and return to the zoo.  We didn't do that today.  Roger's hip was a consideration when it came to all that walking - especially since he parks as far away from the entrance as he can find and we would be doing plenty of walking in the park.   We ate at one of the vendors in the zoo - it was pricey, but the veggie sandwich was surprisingly excellent.  We sat outside and people watched while we had lunch.  It was so nice.  

People watching at the zoo - amazing.  Today it seemed there was a gaggle of young women with kids in strollers all dressed in their gym clothes.  You know - the tight, tight pants and t-shirts.  Some of them should not have been dressed that way, for sure.  We saw and heard people from lots of countries.  It's always nice to see and enjoy the variety and diversity of the crowd.  

Here's a few pictures Roger took today.  I let him do all the photo work for a change.  

Loving the sunshine

It's nice to be out of the rain!

This gazelle has the longest skinniest
legs I've ever seen

Tomorrow I believe we are lunching with friends and then I have a phone call scheduled with my friend, Alice, in Reno.  She and her husband are coming to Pensacola to see the Naval Aviation Museum and other sites when we are there in May and we need to do some planning!  I'm looking forward to talking with her.