One night in and I still haven’t heard the ghetto birds
In case you didn’t notice, I’ve once again jumped on a plane and headed over to the USA. What was going to be a one off “lets go to SXSW” is now in its fourth year (out of the last five) and right now I’m sitting in an apartment in Long Beach with the amazing Regans, listening out for Ghetto Birds (and hoping I see a raccoon).
The aim for this trip was it to be 100% derby stress and drama free, I spent the better part of the week before I left not sleeping so I could get it all done, however as these things generally do when it comes to derby that plan turned into an epic fail less than 12 hours off the plane. The new plan is to nail all the stuff I have to now do, and then enjoy the rest of my time with the Regans. But enough of that drama.
Today we road tripped to the San Diego Zoo and I got to meet an Okapi. Every time I visit another Zoo, I’m filled with a combination of “I wish we had that animal” and no matter how amazing the Zoo is, a lot of “I work in a pretty special place”. San Diego is one of the leading Zoos in the world in terms of conservation, but they still have enclosures where you see the bars and wires, and can’t take a good photo. They have an amazing collection of animals and the layout is spectacular, but theres something extra special about being able to kneel on the opposite side of the glass to where a Inkosana and Kaidi the Cheetah are pacing.
Okapi are amazing in real life, they really do look more like a Zebra than a Giraffe, until they stick their tongues out. There were also some amazing birds of prey, condors and eagles – all which make our birds of pray look like starlings. Some of the habitats were breathtaking, the monkey and tiger walks were the best in terms of horticulture and feeling totally immersed in an manmade environment.
The polar bears are also pretty amazing, especially when they get out of the water and you can see the black of their skin. The one in the photo below was having a great time doing flips and pushing off the side of his enclosure.
I can’t wait to come back and go to the Safari park and maybe do one of their slumbers. Not a very interesting update, too tired. I think either old age or not sleeping well the week I left has culminated into some form of jetlag.
