. . . I am glad we went, however would give it a miss the next time. The best part of it was the Shamu (whale) show and that was just awesome. The rest of it is really quite devoted to a more juvenile audience (not that I can't be juvenile at times!!!)
We were actually quite lucky to catch two performances . . one was about the history of the aquarium and the other was pure acrobatics which were actually very impressive. The relationship between the trainers and the whales is very personal. This is most likely the closest we will ever be to whales, so I am really glad we did this and learned about their history as well.
We also went on the the tower that spirals around and up so that you get an amazing view of both the park and the bay . . . . it was just as smooth as silk and only took 6 minutes to go all the way up and down. Also took the sky tram across the park and got a good bird`s eye view of the whole bay.
Of course we saw many sea animals, but I hate taking photos through glass due to the distortion and reflection . . . but we did manage to catch some of the animals just frolicking about.
You can both smell and hear the seals long before you ever see them. And then of course there are birds everywhere and I have to say that I am not at all fussy about them brushing my face or landing on me. I did overhear one lady saying that a `damn bird just peed on me` . . .. glad that didn`t happen to me.
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| Snowy Egret |
I don`t know a whole lot about Snowy Egrets other than that they are very beautiful when in flight and with their full wing span spread out . . however one of the trainers said that they were birds of opportunity and that they didn`t do a whole lot for themselves, but just hung out where they could forage for food with no work.
The park was starting to get decked out for Christmas . . . I believe the unveiling for the Christmas programs was this weekend. It still seems so odd to see all this glitz and hear Christmas Carols and everything is green and the flowers are blooming.
At first I thought this fellow might be a carving . .. he appeared to not be even breathing.
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| Turtle taking a nap |
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Sooo . . . one more item crossed off the bucket list.
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| Fern Detail |
. . . is amazing . . . everything anyone has ever said about it is true. We spent the whole day there and could probably spend three in order to properly take it all in. In addition to all the animals, the foliage is amazing and different climate zones are replicated.
After taking the overall tour on a double decker trolley, we then went exploring on our own. It is acres and acres and acres and miles and miles and miles of walking. Good thing I have my good running shoes.
One of the photos that I really wanted to take was of pink flamingos, seeing as how we were going to Florida and all. Soooo, the ones we saw in Florida were quite pathetic, especially at Flamingo Gardens . . if you are in the vicinity of this particular establishment, just keep driving . . it is not worth the price of admission. However, I digress . . the flamingos at the zoo were amazing, and plentiful . . . . in fact so much so that it was hard to isolate just one to get a cameo photo.
If I could turn myself into a pretzel like this bird does, i would be quite proud of myself.
From a photography perspective, I find it hard to capture the photos I would like to and not show evidence of captivity. I hate the cages and things showing in the photos and would prefer to have the photos reflect a more natural setting. Guess I should go on a safari for that scenario . . . . . big sigh.
Thus the detail of the elephant is from quite a narrow perspective and only what I could get without the fencing showing. Think he needs some anti-aging cream for all the wrinkles!!
There are so many more photos I could show, and will do so as I have time to process them. I thought this one of the panda was neat . . what yellow teeth he has . . needs some whitening/brightening toothpaste methinks.
Another great day . . . . at the zoo.
