Wandering the Jacksonville Zoo

We needed to do something to get out of the house while my parents were in town. Although retired, my mom and dad love daytrading and dedicate time each day to this "recreational" activity. Personally, I cannot play with money which is why Daytrading or even Las Vegas are not quite appealing. Steve works at home quite a bit during the week as well. So, here we have four adults on four laptops in a 2 bedroom home. We were screaming for time out of the house! So, the Jacksonville Zoo was the perfect choice on a beautiful May morning.

The Gorilla (he deserves a proper name) was amazing and just fascinated with my mom and eye. He kept checking us out! At one more we were face-to-face, hand-to-hand on the glass. Steve decided to jaunt over and this irritated the Gorilla. He slammed his fist against the glass, banged his chest, and went running across his yard to the far corner. Apparently, the Gorilla only likes the ladies.

What do you mean cats don't like water? Not at the Jacksonville Zoo. The black jaguar was swimming around trying to catch fish. I could have stood there for hours. As a swimmer, it was magnificient to watch the cat glide and pull through the water. The little kicking motion was adorable and reminded me of my days teaching Mommy & Me swim lessons.

The only mistake we made today was failing to upgrade our tickets to an annual pass. I'm already scoping out the Entertainment books for buy one get one free coupons. I could go back and wander everyday.

Pomp & Circumstance

A thousand bucks on books, four semesters, patience from family, a ga-zillion cups of coffee, and I am a graduate. My masters in educational leadership happened in a blur. From 9-12 credits per semester, coaching, swimming, running, working, and an occasional nap, I was insane! Yet, I have applied for the doctoral of educational leadership program to endure more academic challenges. I really did not think I was going to become emotional at graduation. However, hearing the chords of Pomp & Circumstance, seeing my dad wave his hat in the bleachers, watching my husband give me the thumbs up, caused me to burst into tears. Seriously, I am not emotional. Being provided the opportunity to take a breath of air unleashed the watershed. It felt great to walk across the stage... even though my name was not pronounced correctly.