SAN DIEGO ZOO

Yesterday was a hard day to beat so today we had a leisurely breakfast at Brian's 24 Grill which advertizes the best pancakes in town.  They may not be the best but their menu certainly is eclectic.

















Note:  we did NOT try the pretzel pancakes.

I guess we weren't really that surprised to see SOS on the menu in this military town.



Brian's 24 Grill is in the Gaslamp District of San Diego and had some really nice old world features.



After an amazingly filling breakfast we headed for the world famous San Diego Zoo.  Upon arriving we took the 45 minute double-decker bus tour to get the lay of the land.  This didn't help as we got continuously lost and turned around at this huge zoo.  However, we did get to see some areas by bus that we wouldn't have otherwise made it to, such as the Elephant Odyssey. 



This little guy is the new kid on the block.

This zoo has at least three aviaries, which was great for us bird watchers.  We took this very steep moving staircase to reach one of them.

(

(I wanted to take the sky train but we never did get around to it.)



I loved being close to many of the birds and I didn't feel like it was cheating at all to see them up close on the feeders.




These red eyed guys are actually starlings.  They were everywhere and NOISY.








We went on the Fern Trail and walked and walked and ended up in another aviary.   This bird is as baby blue as this picture looks.






 Here's a beauty















 















and how about this dude?

 















and a flightless Bird of Paradise.

 

We did take time out to see some other animals!  We walked and we walked.  We met other people along the way who were just as confused by the map as we were.

It was mid afternoon and siesta time.

















One of the many cool things about this zoo is that they try to grow most of the food they feed the animals so they can be self-sustaining.  Here, for example, are bananas for the chimp population.

And although this Hydrangea is not a food plant it was exotic and lovely.

Jim has always wanted to see the Bonobos so we looked on our map for the Monkey Trail.  We walked and we walked and ended up in another aviary, where we saw these really cute ground runners,

 

and some colorful friends from South America:
































































We took the Fern Trail to the Monkey Trail.  We saw gorillas.  We took the Hippo Trail to the Monkey Trail which led to the Tiger Trail.  We saw orangutans.  We took the Monkey Trail which led back to the aviary, but on a different level.  We saw the chimps.  We walked and walked.  We were getting desperate as it was getting later and later, we were getting more and more tired.  We couldn't find the Bonobos, we kept coming back to the same areas and we couldn't see which way was out.  We took yet another Monkey Trail and came around the corner to...the Bonobos at last!  They were playing and grooming.

When this young female saw us she come over, made eye contact and posed for us, making a real personal connection.






















This made our day and suddenly the sore feet were worth it!  However, we still didn't know where we were or how to get out and it was getting toward dusk.  I felt like we were in the middle of a maze.  We walked and walked and turned a corner and suddenly FLAMINGOS!




I knew we had made it because the flamingos are at the entrance (and exit) to the zoo.

Another Grand Day Out!  Although we're sorry to have to leave in the morning now we know we need to come back to San Diego again.  Thanks to our new direct Alaska flight from Santa Rosa, San Diego is a mere 2 hours away.

Audrey

FUN IN SAN DIEGO

Late last winter Alaska Airline's announced a new service from Santa Rosa to San Diego so I jumped on the tickets as a treat for Jim's birthday.  So here we are in a hotel with a beautiful view of a yacht harbor, not far from all the sights we want to see.  Today we decided to go to Maritime Park.  But first we had to find some good coffee.  I checked out the nearest Starbucks on line and was planning to go to one on Harbor Island at the Sheraton Hotel, but there were thousands of bicyclists there so we did Plan B which, as often is the case with Plan B, turned out to be wonderful.  We ended up in Little Italy, sitting outside in the sun drinking our coffee and talking to a guy with a huge parrot.  Across the street was a delightful Italian Deli which we checked out. The smell inside was incredible and we bought a few supplies for later.

From there is was an easy drive to the Maritime Museum.   There were some amazing boats here.  The first one we toured was the Berkeley, a ferry built in 1898 to ferry passengers across San Francisco Bay.

 

What a beautiful boat!  We just don't see craftsmanship like this anymore.

 

 From the stained glass windows to the carved arches and tiled floors, this ferry is a lovely work of art.

 

Jim remembers riding on this ferry as a child and getting compressed blocks of caramel corn for 10 cents from the concession stand.  I wonder what other concessions they sold here.

The Berkeley worked the San Francisco Bay until the 1950s.

 

 We were really, really fortunate to happen on a once-in-a-lifetime special exhibit of 56 pieces of artwork by Paul Gauguin that are seldom seen as they are in the hands of a private collector.  These were part of a South Seas exhibit called "Cook, Melville and Gauguin:  Three Voyages to Paradise."   We were blown away by the gorgeous carvings, watercolors, oils, block prints, ceramics and other artwork by Gauguin from his Tahitian period.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of this exhibit, however, we bought the book so I can share some of my favorite wood carving photos with you.  This one is a mask of Tehamana, the Tahitian woman he lived with during his first trip to Tahiti.

 

We were both quite surprised at the variety of mediums in which Gauguin was proficient.  These swans were one of my favorite carvings and a picture in a book just doesn't do it justice.

 

 This was not the first time we were lucky to happen on a really intriguing art exhibit on our travels, but imaging finding this on a ferry in San Diego!

We took a 45 minute ride on San Diego Bay in 1914 pilot boat and got a great view of the water front, Coronado Island, Naval Ships and lots of sailboats.

  

Our tour gave us a great water view of another ship in the Maritime Museum, The Star of India.

  

The Star of India is a riveted steel hull ship which was launched in 1863. She is the oldest ship in the world that still maintains a regular sailing schedule.  Later we went aboard because I particularly wanted to see the other half of the South Seas Exhibit, this time photographs by Jack London from his trip in 1907 in the Snark.  The photography was breathtaking.  I hadn't realized that he was a photojournalist before he was a novelist.

 

This photo apparently scandalized the publishers of the magazine Jack was writing for, not because of the content but because Jack London's wife Charmain obviously wasn't having a problem with the nakedness.

  

I realized that I would like to know a whole lot more about her - she was way ahead of her time.  I have now added "The Cruise of the Snark" to my must read list.

This is the Medea (with the ferry Berkeley in the background).  

 

  She is a 1904 steam yacht built for and owned by the wealthy elite.  I especially liked this smoking saloon.

 As we walked to docks toward the HMS Surprise, a replica of an 18th century frigate used in movies such as "Master and Commander," we saw this bucket called "Jim's Witches Brew."Then we saw a guy using it on the rigging.

I had no problem imagining Russell Crowe in this outfit.

HMS Surprise was also used in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but we didn't see Johnny Depp's costume displayed.

She is a fine looking ship with real (replica) canons, working rigging and a lovely figurehead.

 

And, of course, I got to satisfy my desire for an odd sign...

and an oddly dressed woman.  I'm just sorry I missed photographing her white purse with the 12" fringe.

It was a grand day out and I can't wait until tomorrow - the world famous San Diego Zoo.

Audrey

PS. It's 10:45 PM and still a pleasant 65 degrees out.  I am loving this weather.

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