It's My Time Now

mood: thoughtful

My family had a busy weekend. My 14 year old son decided he didn't want to go. But my husband, daughter (21) and myself decided to go to Cleveland to visit the zoo. Leave it to us to visit the town as the Cavaliers and Browns games are going on. LOL. It was a bit busy. We left Friday and got a motel in Boston Heights. The town is definitely run down. Lots of empty businesses. The motel was okay. We drove into Cleveland for a drive around. Then we ate supper at "The Winking Lizard." Let me just say the waiters were male and 'ALL MALE." This was our first visit to this restaurant chain. The menu included such items as lizard lips (chicken strips). We love chicken wings. My daughter ordered her standard BBQ. My husband ordered his a bit hotter. Mine... the hottest they make.. Magna. They were pretty good. But my all time favorite wing is Bonfire at Bonfatto's in Bellefonte, PA. Wow. Lots of "B's" in that one. 

Saturday we went to the zoo. It was fantastic. It took the entire day to see it all. They have the cutest orangutan. He was a younger one. They had burlap bags in the enclosure with them (about 5). This young man put the bag over his head and then rolled off the log onto the rocks and down the hill. He did this repeatedly. What a cutie! They even had a baby one, Daniel, who is just a year old. The entire zoo was clean, well cared for, and with lots of personnel. They even have a state-of-the-art medical center on site. You can watch medical procedures live if one is being done during your visit. They even have their own CAT scan. The veterinarian said they had to diagnose a fish who was swimming sideways. They put it in a small tank and scanned it. Amazing.

Sunday we stopped off for fireworks (don't tell anyone). Then on the fly, decided to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo on the way home. This zoo falls far short of the mark when compared to the Cleveland Zoo. It was crowded because it was Father's Day. But even so, that was only part of it. Everyone follows the same path around the zoo (Cleveland you can go from one exhibit area to another or backwards, no set path). This leads to severe congestion. You can't go back to see an animal that might have been sleeping without going completely around the path again. UGH! The bathrooms were less-than-cleanly not to mention that the first one at the entrance had 3 stalls. Even Walmart has more than that with far less traffic. The animals at the Cleveland Zoo all had playthings, toys to keep their interests, called the animal enrichment program. I saw very few toys in any of the animal enclosures at the Pittsburgh Zoo. The snow leopard had a box. Come on now... a box... Surely they can afford more than that? There were several exhibits without any indication of the animal inside. I can't imagine it would cost much to laminate a piece of paper with the animal's name and some facts about it.

As you can tell, I think there are real problems at this zoo. But I was most upset about the condition of the animals. The deer in the Wilderness Walk were emaciated. I asked the woman working there why it was so skinny. She said she didn't know. I didn't see any food or water in the petting area, not even leafy greens. I couldn't stay. I got out of there fast. I can't stand to see animals who appear to be ill. In the aquarium there were far too many fish in the tanks. We are quite knowledgeable in this area and believe me, there were too many fish for the amount of water. The rainbow trout tank was the worst. The fish were breathing rapidly, gasping, with little room to move. There were multiple tanks with dead fish (something I didn't see at all at the Cleveland Zoo, so either they cleaned them out better, or cared for them better). As we were walking by the bears, a worker was inside the ropes. A child (A CHILD) asked him 2 questions. I didn't hear the first, the second was "are you going to feed them?". The worker rudely replied: "I don't have time, which question do you want me to answer?" He finally said he was giving the bear treats but would have to remove it from the display to do so. The child asked again "feed it?" He said "no, I SAID give him treats." Why do they allow people like this access to the public? He should have been in an enclosure! 

Overall, I think it is sad a zoo is allowed to operate in this condition. We won't go back. We are planning our trip to the National Zoo in Washington DC now. I hope that proves to be as nice an experience as we had at the Cleveland Zoo. Anyone been there?

mood: cheerful

My first post. What to say? Ahh... I know... Scott Church. I don't know him personally. But I have been watching his site for over a year. One of my daughter's room mates at college has worked with him. The pictures were/are fantastic. So, I kept logging in to see what he would post next. Every day.. it is a must stop site for me. Thanks Scott for sharing your talents with all of us! 

I am an avid reader. Would you believe I read 257 books last year. Can you say midlife crisis? Maybe searching for something.... not sure I found it. But isn't that what life is about? I noticed authorm's book Dirty mentioned in the scottchurchgirl community. It was terrific... a fantastic read. I can't wait to get more of her books. 

So even though my family thinks I'm crazy to check his site each day... I learn so much.  I read most anything: internet websites (LOL), true crime, biographies, non-fiction, romance, erotica, Christian fiction and non-fiction, adventure... you name it I read it. I know some on that list seem to pose a conundrum. Life is too short to worry about that. I enjoy it all. I usually find an author I love and read all/his her books before moving on. My all time favorite is Diana Palmer. But authorm is terrific in her own right and I am glad I tried her book. I will certainly read more. While I don't hold to the same beliefs as some of those posting on scottchurchgirls, I respect their opinions and am glad there are such diverse people in this world. It would be a boring place if everyone believed the same as I do. 

Thanks to you all!