THE ZOO!!! (Or, Penguins are WEIRD.)

Mis Padres
Originally uploaded by moosicalmath

A longstanding family tradition is to spend a day at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. With us kids going here and there all the time, the whole fam hasn't visited the Zoo in several years. Today, under the constant threat of rain, we journeyed across the bridge to see just how much our childhood favorite had changed.

The verdict? The Zoo looks fabulous! ("I want fabulous! That is my simple request. All things fab--" never mind.) My favorite elements are still there, like the metal family (baby got a hat this year!):



the jellyfish and sea anemones:




spectacular views of Mt. Rainier and the Sound:


and the giant shark mouth:


But there were some sweet new additions, too, and some just plain unexpected sights! In the incredibly colorful and bouncy new kids' area, we saw and pet sheep:



We were followed around by several peacocks:


The wolf eels (there are two, Senior and Junior) were being fed and were super active:


The new tiger exhibit is beautiful, and we got the closest to the most active tiger we've seen. The best part? He kept growling/vocalizing in a very, very deep voice. We wanted to give him a hug. (Jenny took this picture.)


We met an elephant who every so often stops what she's doing and does a little dance, off in her own world:


And then...well...then there were the PENGUINS.


They were sitting there, quacking now and again, just chillin', until a jet flew overhead. They immediately all looked straight up to the sky, flapped their wings, and squawked in the strangest fashion ever. The noises started out in even rhythm, and ended in a long, mournful, chest-cavity-imploding HOOOOOOooooooonk... This continued for a couple minutes after the Great Big Bird in the Sky disappeared. We were a little disturbed. It seemed to us that the penguins were worshiping this huge bird. Perhaps pleading with the jet to give them flight? Poor dears. Prayin' to man-made objects never did us any good, probably won't do them any...

This lovely day ended fabulously, as Amy and I watched High School Musical 2 together (no one else wanted to join us...), and I knit a quarter of the way through Mom's gorgeous Noro Striped Scarf!