N.E.W. Zoo & Giraffes

We went to the NEW Zoo today for an early celebration activity related to our 3rd wedding anniversary. It’s a pretty decent zoo. We hadn’t been there since 2004. The animals were surprisingly cooperative for photo ops. My favorite exhibit was the new giraffes, thought the otters came in a close second. They had a pretty good deal going – a sweet aquatic exhibit, ample food, and no predators. I would like to be an otter some day.

We were a little concerned about the conditions of some of the animals’ environments, especially the giraffes and the alligator. The gators had an area that looked uncomfortably small for such an animal. Some animals, like the elk, seemed to have plenty of room to roam. Others, like the alligator or giraffes, seemed to be somewhat confined.

The giraffes were beautiful, friendly, and playful. Amazing animals. We were disappointed with the conditions of their cage, however – it was very boring – paved with gravel, no trees for them to munch on, and very sterile and boring. Like the red fox exhibit, the giraffes seemed to just pace around in circles waiting for the next feeding, as if going mad. In disparity, the giraffes would try to bend their necks over the fence to try to reach some of the folliage that had not yet been eaten.

I’m just not sure their native habitat was paved with gravel, and I really think they could use some trees to munch on. It was really cool to see the female gallop, though. She was excited for food.

We really like the animal exhibits but felt saddened by the small enclosures that many of the animals were to spend their lives in. I’m no zoologist, so perhaps such conditions are acceptable to their specific breed, but many of them didn’t look comfortable.

July 2nd, 2007  Recreation   Tags: animals, anniversary, vacation, zoo, more...

Weekend at Wendy’s

Christmas came and went so fast. I took Thursday and Friday off last week, so I had a nice, long 5-day weekend. Thursday was spent vegetating at home while Wanda was at work. On Friday, Wanda and I drove to Hudson, WI to visit her sister Wendy and boyfriend. We were unlucky enough to hit an amazing blizzard on the way. We stayed in a Super-8 Motel for two nights because it was the cheapest rate in the area. The motel was surprisingly pleasant, and the weekend went very well. Wanda and Wendy made their famous Fiala-family sour cream roast, a family tradition. It was quite good, as usual.

We watched the movie, “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.” I thought it was funny, but everyone else seemed to think it stunk. Wendy’s roommate had a cat with a crooked tail. It looked like it was broken and healed in a 90-degree angle. I tried to take a picture but was unsuccessful. It was sad, but the cat didn’t seem to mind.

We also went to the Bloomington Ikea store. It was my first time in an Ikea. If anything would entice me to move to the Cities area, it would be Ikea. Very sweet. We bought some shelves, a picture and frame.

On Monday, we had dinner (“supper” for those of you in Rio Linda) at my parents’ house. My mom made a delicious ham. It was nice catching up with my family. Unfortunately, I got wasted on margaritas and had a killer hangover the next morning.

All in all, a successful holiday with few casualties.

December 28th, 2006  Family & Friends   Tags: christmas, family, Food, holiday, vacation, more...

Door County

Wanda and I went to Door County this weekend for a holiday. We stayed at the Birchwood Lodge in Sister Bay. We had a good time. Saturday was fairly non-impressive to me. There was a lot of driving, it rained all weekend, dining was extremely expensive in Sister Bay, and I wasn’t feeling well. Having never been to Door County, I made the mistake of taking Hwy 57, which was largely boring.

Sunday turned out to be much better. In the morning, we took the ferry to Washington Island and took lots of neat photos (even though it was rainy). The island was neat. It was fairly boring this time of year, with most things closed, but we made our own fun by taking lots of pictures and touring its unique landscape. The autumn colors were amazing. On our way back, we stopped at the Sister Bay Ice Cream Factory & Sandwich Shop. It was some of the best ice cream we’d ever tasted. Instead of taking Hwy 57 back to Green Bay, we decided to take Hwy 42 since the Peninsula State Park was on the
way. This is where the adventure began. We passed through Fish Creek and Egg Harbor, which had a lot of unique scenery and ports that provided some unique photo opportunities. We also went wine tasting at the Orchard Country Winery and bought some sweet tasting blackberry wine.

When I got back to work, my coworkers were surprised I hadn’t taken Hwy 42 to begin with. I told them that I had never been to Door County, and both MapQuest and Google Maps said Hwy 57 was the way to go. If I were to do it all over again, I would take Hwy 42 through the peninsula and stay in the Fish Creek area. Very beautiful, and lots more photo ops. Washington Island was great this time of year if you like to take lots of photos like we do.

I wish I had a boat.

October 25th, 2005  Recreation, Vacations   Tags: door county, vacation, more...

San Diego

Well, we’re back from our San Diego trip. I put some of our pictures online. We ended up visiting Los Angeles, Hollywood, Burbank, and Tijuana, Mexico too. We had a great time!

August 17th, 2003  Vacations   Tags: california, mexico, san diego, vacation, more...