Your Monday Photo Shoot - Wish You Were There

  
Well, John asked where we'd like to be right now http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/4222 and that is quite easy for me to answers...San Diego! I went to San Diego for the first time in the beginning of April for a Psychology Symposium & had the best time of my life! First I spent 2 days with 14 other psychology professors who are passionate about teaching, technology and making a difference in people's lives. This symposium was hosted by a book publisher and we were specially invited. The publisher's people were awesome and they put us up in the Rancho Bernardo Inn! Take a look! It was sooooo incredible! My room was sooo peaceful & the food was SUPERB...oh and wonderful wine with each meal! They really took care of us!
 
This is a lovely fountain that was very peaceful to sit & meditate at! The animals even visited me! A lovely rabbit came up close, some birds just added to the pure serenity! Even the ducks like the pool! :-)

The last day they took us on a safari & we got to feed the giraffes, which was AWESOME & something I couldn't wait to do! You see I love giraffes (among other animals) but there is a special childhood memory that is connected with this. When I was about 5 yrs old I had a stuffed giraffe & we went to WI Dells & my folks left it in the cabin! I never forgot it & I think it is because of this I have a great love for giraffes. My niece loves Zebras because my dad got her one at Brookfield Zoo a number of years ago...she is in heaven with "Racing Stripes" ("Hey I'm Expressing Myself! Ha!) and "Madagascar". I think she'll even have a zebra b-day party! Well, I had a blast feeding the giraffes! As you can see from the top photo they come up very close! :-) You have to be careful though because if you have your back to them they can break your neck/back! YIPES! It is awesome to watch them walk! The babies were adorable & you could see the social order with them like other animals.


See this lovely gentleman Rhino...I think he was a rare "White" Rhino if I'm not mistaken...well, hmm how do I say this??? His "manliness" is UNBELIEVEABLE! If I tell you they told us that it has to coil many times inside him do you get the idea? YA! Well isn't it just lovely when animals don't care when there are people watching them! Ha! They said it was about 1/2 way & we were all gasping at that! No big show though...he chickened out I guess! You know maybe it is me! When I was at the Pheonix Zoo these huge turtles, you know the ones you could ride, they put on a show & were so loud people were coming to find out what was going on. I'll find my pictures & blog about it later! :-)

Well on Sunday, I was taking the red-eye back so I got to spend the WHOLE day at Sea World ALL BY MYSELF!!! I was in heaven! Can you tell I love animals! I had taken the behind the scenes tours and for one of them had this AWESOME older guy as the tour guide. He was hysterical! I was smiling & lauging all day! And I had just got this digital camera for my birthday so these are all the first pictures I took! First I got to feed the turtles, which if you read my pet entry you'll know I have two Red-Eared Sliders so I love turtles! Remember I'm a Pisces so I love water! :-) This turtle below I took a fondness too. He had the most interesting coloring on his shell & had quite a personality...as you can see he posed for me! Made me think of  "Crush"  from "Finding Nemo".  I can't remember what type he was? I'll see if I can find out. We got cards where we can call a toll free number with questions so I'll check.

  

Of course the Sea Gulls came to see me too! I love Sea Gulls...they remind me of the ocean! Their call is so peaceful to me...I can just imagine the ocean waves when they call. There were beautiful birds everywhere! Remember the Fruit Loops Bird?

     

Oh there you go...Flamingos doing it! I tell you it must be me! Ha!

   

I got to pet the baby sharks below! So soft! It was great walking under the sharks! You can get a great look at their magnificant size & their TEETH...all sets of them! YIPES!

   

Walking throughout the park was just lovely with the Palm Trees (I love!) and beautiful flowers! Even the ducks liked the location! :-)

    

I got to see some of the animals who were not in general viewing, like the ones below.
Some eels, one of twin seals named "Mary Kate & Ashley", and a lovely dolphin who had to take a peek at who was visiting.

   

Some jellyfish, squid & starfish were also quite spectacular!

     

Of course the main attraction for me was the Killer Whales! I love Killer Whales! They are so intelligent, gentle & Maginificent to watch! I use to show my students "The World of Discovery: Beautiful Killers" until we got the "Inside the Animals Mind Series". They have programs now where you can swim with Killer Whales in the wild & I would love to do that!

    

     

Of course I love Dolphins too! Penguins & Walrus photos a bit dark since it was indoors & in the evening as well. I did catch this Polar Bear catching a nap near me! :-)

 
As you can see I had a BLAST & would love to go back & spend more time!

I love the beach with some lovely ocean waves also or just floating on a boat fishing.

If not this would be my next best place to go...

Giant City Park...my sitting spot and Fern Clyffe. I also like Starved Rock!

 

(C) ALL OF THESE PICTURES ON THIS BLOG ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE WRITER AND CANNOT BE USED IN ANY WAY WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE WRITER!