Wrap It Up Week

It’s been a busy week, trying to visit the kids’ favorite museums and zoo before Jac and Leo move to Idaho on Saturday. 😭

Monday was the California Science Center ⬆️, 

Tuesday was Natural History Museum of LA County ⬆️, 

Adding to the stuffie collection, one last time

and today was the Santa Barbara Zoo.

SBZ made the list mainly because they have a new blue lizard (iguana) - Donovan and Jaclyn are huge reptile fans.

 Big exhibit, small lizard (relatively)

They were disappointed that the blue lizard wasn’t really blue (apparently it’s a juvenile and will get bluer with age)

but the leaf tailed lizard (gecko),

Gecko toe beans!

Indigo snake (a beautiful deep blue),

and Prevost’s Squirrel were huge hits. 

 Squirrel was just as interested in the kids as they were in him

As was the new, much larger axolotl tank in the recently remodeled area under the penguin exhibit. No picture, alas.

The newly opened, not completely finished Tropical Wonders exhibit (with the lizards, snake and squirrel) is very nice -more room to move around, bigger exhibits and much better lighting. It’s going to be a kid favorite.

 Lions, Ralph and Felicity, hoping dinner-on-the-hoof comes just a little closer (the giraffes were not impressed 😅)

Our train conductor today was a storyteller (a good one)

and had a tale I hadn’t heard before. 

Apparently the lake/estuary next to the zoo was a race track many years ago (1930’s?) and then became the town dump. 

Those three islands in the middle of the lake? 

They’re mounds of trash left when the dump was abandoned. They are sometimes above water and sometimes submerged (only two are above water this summer) and over the years gained soil, seeds and what are now pretty big trees. Love learning something new!

 Sad Cactus Man

A few favorite flower pics…