It's a jungle out there

Today Adam and I ventured out for a KC date under $25. We spent the afternoon at the Zoo. It was very strange to go back to the zoo I haven't been to since I was about 15 or 16.

In fact, I think the last time I went to the KC Zoo (unless I shot something for the Star there, which I can't remember) was probably on a date with Todd back in the day (Hey Todd!).

There's a koala bear exhibit right now, so we decided we needed to go since they'll only be there until Labor Day weekend.

Overall, we had a great time, and the koalas were cute, but their exhibit was sorely disappointing. It was inside, behind glass, and there was about a three-foot wide walkway. Here's a lesson in zoo etiquette folks: You look for a few minutes, and MOVE ON when there are 75 people trying to cram into a tiny space.

I can't tell you how many sweaty arms brushed up against my sweaty arm, and I can't stand that feeling. If I don't know your name, I don't want to feel your arm on my arm!

I would say the best animals we saw were the elephants. They (well, one of them at least) were really putting on a show for the zoo guests.



He got down in the little pond they have for the elephants and swam and played, then he started reaching out of the water for grass, for a little tasty treat.

Here's Adam. There's a photo contest going on at the zoo right now, he's trying to win that. He shot a lot of photos with my 16-year-old Pentax K1000 and Vivitar zoom lens.


I think this bird really wanted us to read the information book.


Okay, you know that show, Meerkat Manor? Well, the TV promos make these things look huge, but they're just little tiny guys. They were pretty funny, too.


I am a total sucker for the sea lion show. See that blue fence in the bottom corner? I'm almost positive it's exactly like I remember it from childhood. I think that back then, they made them jump and get the crowd wet a little more than they did today. If I enter the photo contest, I might enter this one. But, the contest is for amateurs. TECHNICALLY that would be me these days, right?

No one pays me to shoot photos. But, Adam's argument is "So, if you played in the NFL but quit, then you could go back and play in college? I don't think so."







It was a great day - but by 4 p.m., I was ready to go. I don't mind the sounds of wild animals, but if I had to hear "Johnny STOP THAT!" or "GET OVER HERE" or some other variation of mom or dad yelling at a kid, I was going to need a cage of my own. We tried to time our walks so that we weren't in a big clump of people. One kid almost ran me down with a jogging stroller he was pushing that was about four times the size he was.

I've got to go. Time to wash off the nine layers of sunscreen.