A Day at the Zoo and Gardens

As I mentioned in my last post, we spent last Saturday up in Columbia, SC at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.  We got up bright and early so we could be there when the gates opened at 9am.  I think Loops was a bit grumpy to be up so early on the weekend, but, with the promise of a pancake pitstop, he was good to go.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="315" caption="Tulips in the sun!"][/caption]

We started off on the Botanical Gardens side.  It was a bit sunny, but since it was still chilly at that time of the morning I am not complaining.  There were plenty of pretty flowers blooming.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Very purple flowers"][/caption]

There were pansies everywhere, in every color imaginable.  I didn't take any pictures of them though.  They also had tons of pretty smelling roses of which I didn't get any good pictures of.  In fact, my photo count was really kind of low so I don't have much to share.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The prettiest of spring flowers"][/caption]

After looking at all of the pretty flowers, we walked a riverside path that wound its way toward the bridge to cross over to the zoo.  It was very peaceful and shady.  Best of all, it was mostly downhill so the walk was easy.

One of the first animals we saw was the koala bears.  You cannot imagine how excited I was.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Mama Koala"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Baby Koala"][/caption]

They were so cute and I just wanted to cuddle both of them.  There was one other koala there, but it just slept the whole time which was also cute, but not as photo worthy.

We went on from there and saw the baboons.  Not the most attractive animals, but they were fun to watch.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I'm not sure what the baby's doing."][/caption]

From there we saw kangaroos.  In fact, we were in the cage with them.  It would've been more exciting, but all the kangaroos were sleeping while we were in there.  I was actually close enough to touch one.  Not that I was allowed to do that or anything.  After that we saw elephants and zebras and grizzly bears and giraffes.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="Stretch!"][/caption]

Now, for a blog exclusive:  First the backstory.  It seems every time I'm at the zoo I get to see something unique.  Mostly, it's something I didn't need to see, but I guess I'm just "lucky" that way.  I've seen turtles mating, a gorilla eating his own puke, etc.  This time tops it all though.  If it only would've happened once I wouldn't have the photographic proof because I was too shocked at what I was seeing through the lens.  The siamang in question was kind enough to offer an encore though (lucky you).  We walk up to the siamangs enclosure and way up high is one of the pair facing away from us.  I turn to Loops and say something about us getting a great view of the primate's butt.  Next thing I know:

[caption id="attachment_179" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="the butt end of a siamang"][/caption]

That's right, he reached back and broke his own turds off.  Then he  took the time to examine them before  tossing them away.  We were stunned into silence for a moment, but then we couldn't stop laughing and talking about it.  As we left him to it and headed back to our car we started hearing him and the other siamang start with the "singing" they are known for.  It was pretty cool and the sound really travels through the woods.  All in all it was a very good day at the zoo.

Since it would be wrong to leave you with that image stuck in your head, I give you KOALAS!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="Oh the cuteness is almost too much!"][/caption]

A good Birthday extravaganza

Loops and I have very close birthdays.  His is March 27th, mine the 30th.  Most logical people would combine the celebration, but I am selfish and don't like to share so we end up with a pretty long week of celebrating.  Even though his birthday is first, I was the first to start the party.

On the 25th I spent the evening at a Don Williams concert.  He is a country singing god.  Even though he's now in his seventies, he sounds EXACTLY like he did on his albums from the 70's and 80's.  I would like to thank Granny and Grandaddy for liking him so I could be introduced to his music at a young age.  After Loops picked me up from the concert, we had to hit Applebee's for some yummy Maple Butter Blondie.

The next day we started Loopies' party with lunch at California Dreaming.  It was a nice place.  It looks a bit like a castle and it sits on the water.  I believe Loops enjoyed it.  I think there might have been some shopping that day too, but, as we will discuss later, there was a lot of shopping the past two weeks so it's hard to remember it all.

Sunday (LP's birthday), it was hockey day.  We went to watch the Stingrays play.  Everyone knows I am no fan of the game, but it was what Loopies wanted to do so I went along.  Loops also experienced his first funnel cake at the game.  Afterwards, we headed to Park Pizza for supper.

Monday and Tuesday are a bit of a blur.  I'm sure there was much shopping and eating out though.  Wednesday was my birthday and actually a day of rest.  I slept in (which is normal, actually) and received birthday calls from my family.  I had Loops go pick up supper from Pizza Hut.  We had boneless wings and cheesy breadsticks.  Yum!

We ended our week long extravaganza by heading up to Columbia early Saturday morning to check out the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens.  It was really nice.  The weather cooperated and the place wasn't too crowded.  For lunch we went to Red Robin.  I think it's Loopas favorite place to eat ever.  They do make a good burger.

While all this stuff was happening, I was working hard to spend all my birthday money.  I would like to thank everyone for the gift of cash.  In the end, I guess I had about $700 to spend.  Here's a quick rundown on how my money was spent.

• Don Williams ticket


• 6 Tops


• 2 Vests


• 1 Dress


• 1 Pair of Pants


• 5 Pairs of Shoes


• 6 Books


• 3 Leather Cuff Bracelets


• Ring Flash Adapter


• UV Filter


• Mini Spin Dryer link

I actually bought a few other things I think.  It's just hard to remember everything.  I tried to make the money go as far as possible.  Loops, on the other hand, bought only 2 or 3 things.

Sadly, we forgot Bob's birthday (28th) with all of our self-involved celebrations.  Sorry Bob.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="348" caption="Happy Birthday, Bob!"][/caption]