Saturday I slept in until 10:30, showered and discovered I had forgotten both toothpaste and deodorant. Which caused me to buy little travel sized ones at the hotel gift shop for twice their retail value. I got to the zoo a little early with no problem those detours are much easier to follow in daylight. Work friends had more difficulty, so i entered the zoo parked myself on bench and read my book while overlooking the swan lake. It was a perfect day to go...75, sunny and not a hint of humidity.

I've always loved zoos. My father and I would take yearly trips at or near Christmas eve. I've only recently be reintroduced to zoos in the summer, its busier, stinkier, but everything is open and you get to catch all the special summer goings on.

I also like taking pictures and there are endless opportunities. Unfortunately I was not smart enough to charge my battery so it died after only about ten pictures. So what was my favorite part of the zoo trip? The butterfly garden. Yeah I know I've been giving butterflies a bad rap but they had a nice little guide so I could identify them and the garden area was just gorgeous! The chrysalises were all on display and labeled and butterfly's were everywhere you had no trouble finding the ones on the list.

After 6hours of walking around we were pretty well spend and went to the embassy suites hotel. Very nice and excellent customer service... seriously EXCELLENT. It was a little pricey but well worth the added cost. There was a open bar happy hour for two hours which we participated in I got 2-screw drivers.

We then went to the liquor store to stock the fridge and bought a pack of cards and then freshened up a bit before dinner. Instead of driving around buzzed we partook in the hotel's restaurant which was 20% off since we were staying there. We had crab cakes and a warm goat cheese tart and anti-pasta platter. For my main course I had a barley risotto with mushrooms and something else in the sauce we suspect is nutmeg, Gorgonzola cheese and beef medallions. The meal was rounded off with a layered chocolate cake with Baily's and creme filling. Divine.

Back at the room I cracked open a fat-tire beer and we played go-fish and 500, then preceded to have cigarettes off the tiny balcony in our non-smoking room. The door only opened about 3-inches, just enough for you to stick your hand out. We caught up chit chatted about the people I used to work with and eventually on to the theories of friendship, love and family. I was a perfect weekend.

Photos: by me

Labels: Beer, Drinking, Food, Friends, Vacation, Work