However, I started the day off a t 6:30AM, waking up early, because I had slept so much the day and night before, and headed down to the ocean (which was 500 feet away!) to watch the sun rise along the Pacific and with palm trees in my view. It was incredible! Definitely well worth getting up and out before anyone else had even started their day. Saw a number of runners on the beach as well, and really was longing to get back into shape and be running. Beach running is something I'd love to be able to get into!...Maybe when I move out here...
After catching several buses, which were similar to those I've experienced in Providence in terms of the characters found aboard, I made it up there early in the afternoon and had a few hours to spend inside; which was good since it cost me over 30 dollars to get in! First stop was the koala
bears. They were incredibly cute, but relatively inanimate, as they sat in their trees eating while everyone went ga-ga-goo-goo over them. After that I headed on towards the meerkats and other desert and Australian type animals; camels, warthogs, dingos, wallabies, and kangaroos. They were all really cool little critters - though the camels and warthogs were kind of gross. The wombats were pretty interesting too. Lions, tigers, and bears - oh my! Pandas and polar bears; leemurs and monkeys; eagles and flamingos to boot! Finished the day off with the reptiles - snakes and lizards and spiders too. The zoo was well worth the visit and was quite a fun little excursion.
The nice weather was so great too. Probably hovering around only 60-65 degrees but was much warmer than anything I had experienced in the past month or so. Hopefully more nice weather is ahead before I go home. Though the forecasts are looking rather grim. Rain, rain, cloudy with chances of rain, and then sun - on the 18th, when I leave. Of course.
On the way back from the Zoo, I met Nathan from the UK and Aaron from Dallas, Texas. They were traveling together for the last week - as Nathan was touring the US on holiday, and Aaron had quit his job and they met up out someplace around Vegas the week before. They were both pretty cool and talkative guys and we decided we'd either do something that night or the following day. First cool people I've met out here in SD. The rest have been a bit shady and seemed to be bumming around more than traveling around - and there is a distinct difference indeed.
