Someone told me it was all happening at the zoo!

We went to the zoo today. That makes our 3rd zoo this year...for me. For Mami and the girls it's the second (SF and St Louis) and for everyone else it was their only zoo this year. We went for two reasons. It was something everyone could enjoy, and it was free. OK, parking was $12 and drinks at the zoo are three times normal price but entrance for 11 people was zip zero nada! That's important as those of you who read yesterday's blog knows. If not, let's just say I will end this tour broke. It has been very successful with record audience sizes, great responses, record news coverage, but we were screwed by David Jackson in April for several thousand and we lost the Louisiana Gator Fest due to their loss of sponsors. That coupled with the worst economy of my life and a government that passes stupid laws so my health insurance has doubled and gas prices are through the roof. So much for hope and the change so far sucks!!

All that aside. Today was fabulous. We all slept in and then hit the zoo. Like the night before parking in St Louis is tough. We managed to find a spot in the paid parking area way in the back. The zoo was packed with families of all sizes. I mean I haven't been at a zoo this packed before. The grounds are laid out very well and their are wonderful and beautiful flora and trees everywhere. But there was a woefully low number of animals. Many exhibits were empty or closed. We saw no Rhinos and a number of other animals touted on the brochures and signs. As far as animal content the L.A. zoo that I visited in Cali with my dear friend, JC, wins the prize. But this place won for activities and layout. Still a lot of wasted space on fauna and not animal life.

Since there were so many people it wasn't hard to find a baby crying around almost every corner. Since Titus is a sympathetic cryer we had a dickens of a time keeping him out of earshot. He cried a lot today. This zoo also wins for good food. The LA and SF zoo could learn from this zoo in regards to food. Actual grilled hamburgers that you get straight from the outside grill fresh and hot. No straws for the drinks though because they are "dangerous" for the animals.

We spent about 4 hours there and boy were we bushed by the time we were done. in fact, I think we were all spent by the time we got the the two thirds mark. So the zoo got our money via the drinks and slushies. It got up to 95 degrees here so the slushies turned to syrupy drinks fast. Still they were refreshing.

For dinner, as you will see below, we had a St Louis original, Roasted Ravioli. In actuality they are deep fried and smothered in parmigiana cheese. Wonderful. The lady at the RV park's front desk told me the best place to go in "the Hill" district...little Italy in other towns. Her family has a restaurant but she sent me to a place she considered even better than her family's place.

Very cool sculptures and art decorate the St Louis zoo. More money spent on that than the accumulation of animals me thinks!
They had an outside and an icy inside display for the penguins. Inside they had the artic birds. Brrr. Titus and Belle did not enjoy that so much. That's right Belle,as a working dog, was allowed in. She drew a lot of attention by people. Probably because there weren't as many animals as there should be so she became an exhibit unto herself.
Look Puffins!
Note the famous Lukas blue beanie. he put it in his back pocket at some point and lost it!



The zoo had many misting areas since it was so hot. Even Titus got misted.

Zebra...I had a few jokes about zebras but decided to save them for a future date. My favorite is in regards to the people today. People have reached such a point of confused depravity that they now call black white and white black. The following week they were all killed in a Zebra crossing. (By the way anyone who reads race into that joke you have a serious problem so get a life! You probably have projected your own problems into it. )
KISS...remember Gene Simmons's famous pose?
Mom and son learning.
far off in a tree (we used the telephoto to get this shot.)
Any monkey with mutton chops is OK with me.
The snake curator of the zoo.
Olivia loves snakes.


Yikes it's a hippo. You know more people are killed in Africa by hippos than any other animal?
I'm teaching Titus how to pick a hippo's nose.

My signature pose.
Another snake statue.
oooo, a real elephant. SF zoo didn't have any. They were sent to a sanctuary for elephants at the pressure of PETA and others...they died enroute. LA had more elephants...just one here.
Another snake statue.
Roasted Ravioli.
Dinner.
Monkey Butt anyone. Just remember if you get this just try our sponsor's product...Anti-monkey butt powder at www.antimonkeybutt.com
Here is an extreme close up of a moth that looked like a stick. A mimic. It was on the RV door handle.

St Louis has the feel of the Bay Area back home. Busy, crowded, but with all the conveniences one needs. There are also lots of green areas. But the area has more free stuff for families to do. And they have lots of big attractions too. There is a Six Flags Amusement Park just down the road. We won't get the chance to visit the free museums and tours (including the Anheiser Busch tour) as we need to start moving southwest to Arizona.