My Real Life

So, the monkeys and I had no school last Thursday and Friday.  Real Man decided to take the days off, as well, and so we packed everyone up and headed down to Washington, DC.

Real Man’s aunt and uncle, who live in Maryland, were gracious enough to invite us to stay with them.  More about them later.

We left Thursday morning and headed right to the National Zoo.

Most of the pictures I have of the monkeys are of their backs.

They love the zoo and were running to see what they could see.

Unfortunately, this sign sums up much of our trip.  A zoo in November isn’t exactly brimming with activity.  The African part of the zoo with the Big Cats and Elephants was closed for renovation, and the Pandas were nowhere to be seen.

There was one, rogue elephant, though.  Look how cute he is while eating.

I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for elephants.  I realize how massive they are, but I find them adorable and lovable.  Real Man and I saw a documentary once on National Geographic, where this baby elephant was stuck in the mud, and all of the other elephants came over and worked as a team to get the baby out, and they never, never left his side.  It was really something to see, and has left me with an admiration for elephants.

Isn’t he the cutest little runner you’ve ever seen? 

There was one cheetah out, but he was hiding in a cave.  Even more interesting than the actual cheetah, though, was this image.

May be hard to see, but it is a Cheetos package in the Cheetah enclosure.  Yes, the littering is tragic, but the irony is hysterical.

Couldn’t resist this picture.  The monkeys with the monkeys.

You understand.  I know you do.

I had to take this picture of the porcupine, even though he wasn’t really obliging.  This picture is gratuitously for my friends, Tara and Scott, as I had a dream we had to save the school from a poisonous porcupine the other night.  It was something else.

My small mammals loved the small mammal house, although, the most exciting part of the trip, and the one that I’m sure will be the story to tell around the dinner table for decades to come was our visit to the Ape House. 

First, there was this guy.

Forgive the fuzziness…for obvious reasons, I was on the other side of the glass.

So, seems normal.  He’s eating some leaves. 

Then, he gets bored with the yummy foliage and sets his sights on a nearby paper bag.

This was the funniest thing my monkeys had ever seen.

Until we walked over to the orangutans.

“What’s he doing” you ask?

Oh, he’s eating his own vomit.

Yes, that’s right.  Four times, he vomited, then scooped it up with his index finger and ate it all. 

You can clearly see Baby Monkey pressed against the glass.  He couldn’t get enough of this.  He thought it was the coolest thing ever.  So did the big monkeys.  It’s the first thing they tell anyone who asks about the trip.  Lovely.

I liked the crocodiles.

This guy and I had a connection. 

Seriously.  We locked eyes through the glass and decided we were meant to be. 

He decided to show off for me and show me his bright, shiny teeth.

After that, I promised to never buy shoes or purses made from any of his friends or family.

Baby Monkey felt the connection, too.

I couldn’t get him to move from that spot for about 10 minutes.

The monkeys were also enamored of the reptile house.

Me?  Not so much.

I don’t do snakes.  I seriously don’t.

And, these snakes?  The creepiest things I’ve ever seen. 

They are called glass something or others.  Who cares?  They are the creepiest, most disgusting things I’ve ever seen. 

It started to rain, and we took cover in the barn at the Children’s Farm, which was good, because when we told Baby Monkey that we were going to the zoo, all he wanted to see was a cow.  So, meet the cow.

She wasn’t very interested in us.  Just wanted to show us her “good side.”

After that, we had pretty much seen everything there was to see and it was getting colder and the rain kept coming, so we headed out.

All in all…we had a great time.  Any adventure with the monkeys is great fun. 

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about our museum adventures.