Busch Gardens: Behind the Scenes!

My husband flew to Tampa and picked us up from the cruise to stay in the Tampa area for a few days. On Monday, we headed to Busch Gardens. When we stopped for breakfast, we saw this cute little guy!

 

They make a little feather "animal" for the cheetah to chase using feathers from the park.

 

 

At this point, she was turning around! What a stop!

 

 

And, after playing, she got to enjoy a drink... but she's ever watchful!

 

 

Scott and her dad rode a lot of rides and I rode a few, too. I love the speed setting on my camera!

It got both the cheetah shots and this fast-moving roller coaster shot!

They are the 3rd from the back row.

 

 

Another of their rides. Alex LOVES these rides that just keep dropping you, though she found lots of roller coasters to love at Busch Gardens!

 

 

Next, it was time for our behind-the-scenes orangutan and tiger private tour.

What an incredible experience! It was just the 3 of us with a guide for 1.5 hours....

 

 

Going "behind-the-scenes" into the Orangutan House...

 

 

With the orangutans, we got to see how they train them with simple hand signals. Most of the training is so they will present various body parts for medical exams. Even a female orangutan is (if I'm remembering correctly) 4 times stronger than a human, so they really need their cooperation!

 

 

Here I am giving the signal for the orangutan to put his ear to the glass. We did these exercises with two orangutans and then got to feed them through the tube there under my elbow.

We just dropped in pieces of fruit!

 

 

And here is one of the trainers with their "smartest" orangutan. He's having her present

her belly where they can do things like use a stethoscope or an ultrasound!

She even did a cartwheel and a handstand at Alex's command!

 

 

Next we visited the tiger house..

 

 

This tiger was working on a retrieval command. There was a large stick in the water and he was supposed to jump in and get it. He preferred using his paws to try to get it to come to the side!

 

 

And this tiger needed its blood drawn. The lady near the head was feeding "meatballs" to the tiger to keep him occupied. The two ladies at the tail were trying to draw blood from the tail... the safest place to draw from! Unfortunately, they weren't able to get any blood at this time, but they didn't want to tire the tiger so they would try again later.

 

 

And, here I am using a bouy-on-a-stick to show this tiger where to put her head. This is also a training so they can observe various parts of the tiger's body for medical purposes.

 

 

And, our last stop was to go out in public to feed the 3 tigers on display. Alex chose a white tiger and was inside the glass area. She had a little tube she would drop the meatballs into - just like we did with the orangutans. My husband had a similar set-up.

 

 

But me? I was on a bridge and had to throw the meatballs over the moat and onto a little rocky ledge where my tiger was. I'm really not a good throw, but I made it to the tiger every time!!! There were about a dozen meatballs, and on the next-to-last one, the tiger tried to catch it in his mouth. So, I decided to aim for his mouth with the last meatball... and we did it!!! He caught it in his mouth!!

 

 

When we got back to our hotel for the night, we saw this cute little guy hanging out by the trash bin.

Ponce Inlet, Florida

Now that summer's here (yeah!), I'm spending some time catching up on my blog. I'd love to catch up on all of our vacation photos before we start on our next big adventure...16 days in EUROPE!! So, here's part I of our trip to Florida last summer. Alex & I went with my husband's family: his mom, dad, sister & her son who was three.

We rented a house in Ponce Inlet and that was our base for the week. We used Ponce Inlet Watersports three different times during the week and really enjoyed them. Alex and her cousin enjoyed these 'swings' while we waited for our various tours.

We rented kayaks which was a LOT of fun, but I didn't take my camera because I was afraid it'd get wet. This photo was from the EcoTour and the photo was of my favorite part...I got to hold a jellyfish! It's a cannonball jellyfish and isn't painful unless you get the chemicals in your eyes or mouth. I washed my hands afterwards. Thrilling!

I went running on the beach at sunrise three different times. It was WONDERFUL, though I tried it barefoot the first time. Ouch! I ended up with some bloody toes. Yuck! Anyway, another thrill was seeing sea turtle tracks! It was nesting season and I could see where the turtles had crawled up onto shore, dug a nest and deposited their eggs, and then returned to the ocean. Amazing!!!

I visited the Reptile Discovery Center in LeLand one day by myself. I didn't know the schedule and only got to see the last two snakes being milked. It was an amazing thing to watch, though! And, it was very safe as the man, and snakes, were in another room behind a glass wall.

Alex and I visited the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet while the others went shopping. We enjoyed the touch tank and the aquariums and other displays. Outside we got to see some turtles who were being rehabilitated. There were displays showing what was harming them... like trash. We saw x-rays of harmful things they had swallowed... like a fishhook. And, we visited the nearby SeaBird Rehabilitiation Center.

Our house was about 1/2 a mile from the beach and we spent a lot of time there. Here's my nephew making a sand angel!

And Alex having fun on a boogie board. We had a blast with these!

Audubon House in Key West

After our stop at Hemingway's home, we had a DELICIOUS lunch at an outside diner.

I had a DELICIOUS crab cake... so yummy!... followed by Key Lime pie. Key West is known for their Key Lime pie, and I was not disappointed!

We saw several roosters (& a few hens) and heard even more. Evidentally, the roosters were brought to Key West, an island that is only 2 by 4 miles, many years ago by early pioneers and Cuban Cock fighters. There is an ongoing debate with some residents wanting the roosters removed while others enjoy them.

Then we walked over to the Audubon House. John James Audubon had visited Key West in 1832 and, while visiting, sighted 18 new birds for his "Birds of America" book. This house is where he stayed during his visit.

 

Surrounding the house are gorgeous tropical plants. We spent some time slowly walking around. I would have loved to have sat and read here! Absolutely charming!

The house was full of beautiful antiques!

Audubon created his bird prints life-sized...

but afterwards produced a "more accessible edition at approximately 1/8 the size of the originals. These were single color lithographs, which were hand colored after printing." (Quote from a sign under one of the prints.) So, you have an original size on the right and a 1/8th size, or "octavo", on the left.

My photo of nesting cormorants (& snowy egrets) May 2007

I loved reading some of Audubon's quotes!!! In fact, I'd love to read a book by him. Here's one of my favorites from one of the signs: "...On the 26th of April 1832, I and my party visited several small Keys, not many miles distant from the harbour in which are vessel lay. Mr. Thurston had given us his beautiful barge, and accompanied us with his famous pilot, fisherman and hunter, Mr. Egan. The Keys were separated by narrow and toturous channels, from the surface of the clear waters of which were reflected the dark mangroves, on the branches of which large colonies of Cormorants had already built their nests, and were sitting on their eggs. There were many thousands of these birds, and each tree bore a greater or less number of their nests, some five or six, others perhaps as many as ten..."

And, one more quote... On the 7th of May, 1832, while sailing from India Key, one of the numerous islets that skirt the south-eastern coast of the Peninsula of Florida, I for the first time saw a flock of Flamingoes. It was on the afternoon of one of those sultry days which, in that portion of the country, exhibit towards evening the most glorious effulgence that can be conceived. The sun, now far advanced towards the horizon, still shone with full splendour, the ocean around glittered in its quite beauty, and the light fleecy clouds that here and there spotted the heavens, seemed like flakes of snow margined with gold. Our bark was propelled almost if by magic, for scarcely a ripple raised by her bows as we moved in silence. Far away to seaward we spied a flock of Flamingoes advancing in "Indian line," with well spread wings, outstretched necks, and long legs directed backwards. Ah! reader, could you but know the emotions that then agitated my breast! I thought I had now reached the height of all my expectations, for my voyage to the Floridas was undertaken in a great measure for the purpose of studying these lovely birds in their own beautiful islands...."

And, the islands were beautiful, indeed! And, Audubon's language is, too! I'd love to find out more about his education...

Visiting Hemingway's Home in Key West

After separating from my daughter, sister, & niece, my mom & I headed to Hemingway's Home.

I was excited to see his famous polydactyl cats!!!
 

Here's a picture of his study which was upstairs in a little building by the pool. My favorite part was a piece of artwork that hung on the walls that showed a 'ghost' Hemingway, in his study, alongside some of his cats! The cats could 'see' him, even though he's a ghost.

Here's a tour guide, not ours, feeding one of Hemingway's cats.

The Hemingway house has approximately 50 cats, all of which carry the polydactyl gene, though only about half of them have the physical trait of having 6 toes (rather than 4 or 5). Hemingway was given a 6-toed cat by a ship's captain, and the cats are descendants of that original cat.

There's a cat cemetery on the grounds and each of Hemingway's cats are buried there. I was impressed that the guide (above - feeding the cat) said he knew the names of all 50+ cats!

And, just a self-portrait in a mirror in the gardens!

Cruise Excursion: Key West

While on our Spring Break cruise, our first day on shore was at Key West, Florida.

We had a gorgeous view when we arrived and were thankful our balcony

was on the correct side to see us pull in!

Our excursion plan for the day: going on a "Big 3" adventure - sail boat, kayak, and snorkeling. HOWEVER... we got a note the night before that our excursion was CANCELLED! So, we sadly made alternate plans...

We took a "hop on/hop off" tour.

We drove by the "southernmost point in the continental USA"...which had a long line of people wanting to be photographed next to it.

We saw several "Conch Mobiles" which are each unique and painted to reflect Key West.

After this, we 'hopped off' and separated. My mom and I headed off to see Hemingway's house and a couple of museums while Alex and her aunt and cousin went to spend the day at the beach

Mardi Gras (& more!) in Destin, Florida

Last month, we flew to Destin for a weekend with some friends. It was chilly and rainy, but we still had fun. And, we really enjoyed a Mardi Gras Dog parade!

Alex, relaxing for the weekend!

Here comes the Mardi Gras Doggy Parade!

Most dogs rode in cars or walked....this dog drove his OWN CAR!

Another cute dog in the parade

We got LOTS of beads...and candy! Yum!

A seagull on the beach

A (dead) jellyfish on the beach

Alex enjoying the chilly beach!