The Zoo!

Sometimes I believe that I might be a freebie magnet. I can go online and find a worthwhile freebie in no time. Sometimes I even get some flack for being the freebie queen, like when I get way too much mail at work. (In my defense, I am the only person whose legal address is at camp, so I get all the stuff here that others get at their official residences.) On Tuesday, Taco Bell was giving way Doritos Locos Tacos, and I happened to find out by chance. I took Emily to get a taco with me (and the local Taco Bell was deserted; I guess not too many people found out about the giveaway), and when we got back, everyone else was surprised to hear about the giveaway, even though it was a little too late since the giveaway was almost over.

On Friday morning, I took my car to the shop to retorque and inspect. (Oh yeah, that was a freebie! Unfortunately, the parts that needed to be replaced were not.) Emily picked me up from there in the camp van so that we could go to the t-shirt shop and plan out the winter camp shirts. (They had the EXACT color we wanted, PTL!) We then went over to the Solmens so I could get the summer logo ready, and we happened to mention the the Classens went to the zoo that day. They mentioned that they had heard the zoo was free on Sunday, but were not sure if it was true. After waiting a little longer for my car (the battery and air filter needed to be replaced, which didn't surprise me) and buying some leftover Halloween chocolates, I headed back to camp, did about thirty seconds of research and confirmed that the zoo was indeed free on Sunday.

That's what we ended up doing on Sunday, after the final weekend group left. We went to the zoo! Of course, it was incredibly busy, but since I've never been to the Henry Doorly Zoo before, it was a brand new experience, and a decent one at that. It's rated as one of the top zoos in the nation according to several sources. The zoo itself is pretty big, thus we didn't get to see all the exhibits, but we did see all of the most important and unique ones. 

Inside the desert dome. If you look closely, you can see a roadrunner.

They were so little and cute and... stationary!

Meerkats: I named them Timon and Timon. After all, that's the only true meerkat name. 

I took two pictures of her...

...both had this face.

It's hard to find the head on most snakes. This one was especially photogenic.

Kookaburra, but I don't think that's a gum tree he's sitting on.

An odd combination of cute and ugly!

Pinguinos!

You can't tell in this pic, but these were actually big crabs. Not counting the legs, its body was probably at least the size of my entire hand!

See turtle?

Jellyfish. Jelly fish. Jelly fish. Jellyfish. (This is the kind of jellyfish you do NOT want to make  jelly+fish sandwiches with!)

Tiburon!

This was in the South American part of the Lied Jungle exhibit. I remember seeing parrots in the real South America- they were annoying! But here, everyone oohs and ahhs over them. 

This sloth didn't make any sudden movements- perfect photo opp!

It's been awhile since I've gone to Omaha, and I've been spending so much time at camp for the past several weeks, that this was a perfect afternoon getaway. It was especially great that it was free, since I spent about a week's worth of earnings on car maintenance! Nevertheless, between a busy camp weekend, a day at the zoo, and the Daylight Saving's Time change, I am tired, and today shall be spent resting at home!