Who's who at the zoo?

Those who know me well know I'm a huge animal advocate. If I can't fix it, help it or adopt it, don't show it to me. Because of my feelings for animals I have always avoided going to zoo's and I am against any circus that uses animals. However, I did agree to go to the Bronx Zoo...hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a horrendous prison for helpless animals. As it turned out I'm glad I went. It opened my mind and I realized (to my relief) that not all captive animals are miserable and suffering. The zoo was quite large, the animals were well cared for and some species would be extinct if not for being protected and bred in the zoo. The Bronx Zoo is also very committed to the protection of many species and deeply involved in trying to save the rain forests. You can do your part for the rain forests by purchasing a membership at the zoo as well as by buying items at the gift shops or by simply donating your spare change. (which I did)

Posted here you will see photo's I took as well as some from KC. I'm glad KC shared her pics with me because she took shots I didn't (the batteries in my camera died!) and some of hers just are just better than mine!

The one thing that will help me to remember this trip to the Bronx Zoo forever is a female gorilla that surprised us all. I'm not a fan of gorilla's or monkeys. I lean more towards the large cats. They have always been my favorites although I wasn't able to get very many pictures of them on this trip. But this gorilla made my day. We were all jockying around to get a good picture of the gorillas and I happen to get close to the glass where a very large female gorilla was sitting up on a rock face close to me. She was huge! And her baby was next to her. I was getting my camera ready and hoping she would look at me and all of a sudden she looks directly at me and stuck out her tongue! My mouth dropped open and Justin roared laughing behind me. Before you knew it, this gorilla and I were going back and forth sticking our tongues out at each other, over and over again for several minutes. The crowd that was watching was enjoying it as much as I was. KC was trying to get a picture of it and so was I, inbetween sticking my tongue out at her..but it just wasn't going to work that way. I even tried making hand signals to her...to indicate to her that I wanted to take her picture with her tongue out and she would watch me intently but she would stop every time I raised the camera. I thought maybe someone had been teaching her things..like hand signals...but apparently she just thought I needed a put down and delivered in the only way she knew how. It was really amazing!

Looking in her eyes felt like looking at a very wise mind...very human like...and a little creepy. Gorillas are very intriguing and I have a whole new respect for them. But I can't help wondering why she selected me to stick her tongue out at. (Things that make you go Hmmmmm...)

And the gang's all here!

Not too long ago a bunch of us went to see Lou's band, Off The Cuff, at Alexander's. We started out as a handful of people and ended up as a crowd. I've heard since then that the place has changed hands and the name is different but as long as Lou plays there I'm sure we'll be stopping by for fun.

I didn't have my camera there that night but I did get a few pictures from another party guest which I've posted here. Unfortunately the only shots I have here are of Justin and myself having fun. (the picture of KC & Jess were from another time but I liked the picture) There was so much more that didn't get captured so I'll try to remember to bring my camera next time. As you can see by one of these pictures, Justin and I are quite the hams once we get going.

Part of the fun that didn't get captured was a wedding party that came in. The bride's gown was beautiful and the groom was quite handsome too. They looked great dancing together. And of course it wouldn't be a proper wedding without at least one drunken woman making an ass of herself on the dance floor. She wasn't part of the wedding party but she sure was on the hunt! She was very busy dragging one groomsmen after another out on to the dance floor but was so drunk she couldn't dance and ended up hanging all over them instead. We watched, laughing from the sidelines while each man politely pretended everything was fine and then scrambled away after the dance and she'd follow shortly after in search of her next victim. I regret not getting a picture of her as she provided so much entertainment for us all. Ahhh the things you see when you don't have your camera!

Howe Caverns, NY

This is Taunya and me at Howe Caverns. It was very interesting and quite beautiful in some spots. I had been there as a child but had no memory of it. They said it always maintains a temperature of 52 degrees but it feels colder when you've been down there for awhile. They take you on a short boat ride and turn off all the lights for a couple of minutes...saying it is so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. And when the lights came on I was caught waving my hand in front of my face! And they were right, I couldn't see it.

Oh yeah, you're not allowed to touch the walls either because the oils in our skin ruin the beautiful colors of the minerals in the rock face...turns it an ugly greenish brown.

Indian Kill Falls, NY

Indian Kill Falls were more like a cascade than falls really, possibly again because the water level was unusally low. It was just as beautiful but more difficult to get to because of the winding and criss crossing of the trails. All the people we met seemed very friendly and willing to help us find our way. Sometimes a GPS unit just doesn't get you there. Next time I'll try leaving a trail of bread crumbs to find our way back out. The trails were longer and somewhat confusing but there were no steep climbs this time.

Have you noticed yet that all the falls seem to have the word Kill in it? Not sure why but it's interesting.

Plotters Kill Falls, NY

These are some pictures from my trip to Plotters Kill Falls in New York state. The guy sitting in the top center of the falls is Russ, who together with his friend Ron, became our spontaneous guides for the day. With their encouragement I found the courage to scale down some very steep and rugged areas to get the best pictures. And later the climb back up on the other side of the falls was quite a challenge too. I somehow feel like I should have received a badge of some kind for this!

The water level was surprisingly low for May. The local people all claimed they had a rough winter but the falls sure didn't show as much evidence of this as I would have expected. Overall the falls were beautiful and big thanks go out to our "guides" who showed us areas we never would have found on our own.

First Time for Tigger

This is my very first posting on my very first blog. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Feel free to send comments but please keep it clean and be kind. :)