(no subject)

[holyoutlaw]

Julie continues to get better. Last night she felt good enough that we were able to go out for dinner. We ate at Yanni's, a Greek restaurant on Greenwood that I've driven past as long as I've lived in Seattle, but have no idea if I've ever eaten there before. I think I'd remember if I had, it was wonderful (and very filling) food. The appetizer was called "feta meze" (garlic, olive oil, feta cheese, small bits of roasted red bell pepper, with parsley and black pepper as a garnish) and was heavenly. Smooth and delicious. Julie had a sampler platter that could have fed both of us, and I had the lamb special that was also very tasty. We also had lots of fun giggling and acting silly. We staggered home to watch a Daily Show with Jane and then another episode of Six Feet Under, season one.

Earlier in the day I'd gone to the zoo with Anita and R----, her grandson. The original plan had been for me to pick him up in Redmond, but with one thing and another, Anita dropped him off with me, and I said "Would you like to go to the zoo with us?" and she said "yes," and I said "Mind if I bring my camera?" and she said "no," so it wound up being MORE tiring for her than if she and Riley had just gone home after their morning errands.

Well, Riley seemed to have a good time, and so did Anita, and I certainly did, enjoying both Anita's and Riley's company. I was also really glad another adult was there, because it'd have been a handful on my own. We saw elephants, tigers, orangutans, gorillas, wild African dogs (very pretty!). Riley was most excited by the things he could climb on and around.

The giraffe paddock is across the visitors' path from the Savannah exhibit, and we went past just as the keepers were blocking off the path to bring the giraffes home for the night. That was really cool, we got to see the giraffes a lot closer than we would have otherwise. A crowd gathered and there were frequent questions of "What's happening?" and "They're going to bring the giraffes home."

The first sighting was of a giraffe head reaching to grab some leaves from a bush near the path. Backlit by the sun, the giraffe's head and the leaves formed a shifting abstract pattern. When the giraffes ambled across the path, all the chattering stopped. I felt in the presence of something big and ancient.

After that, it was pretty much directly back to the car.

Today I'm off to take pictures at a free pet clinic downtown, and tonight to take pictures of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence before Gay Bingo. I'll be back in time for dinner with intelligentrix and slave_driver before they head back to the Big Easy.

Comments

those dogs:

[lara7.livejournal.com]

>>wild African dogs (very pretty!)

When we were watching them, they did something really disgusting. It was sorta funny, but Ivan, being a dog owner, kept thinking along the lines of "If that was my dog and I had to bathe it after it had just rolled in...ugh".

The tigers were awesome. I think those were the "cubs" born last year, though they look huge now.

Re: those dogs:

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

Julie thought (looking at the pictures I took) that the tigers weren't full grown yet, because the paws looked so big.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

We felt the same in Kenya when we saw a herd of giraffes come ambling up, spooky and skittish, to drink at a watering hole at sunset. They look so totally Other and very, very old.

[intelligentrix.livejournal.com]

At the Audubon Zoo in NO I got to see giraffes running (it was dinner time). It was graceful and otherworldly at the same time.

That boy

[anitar.livejournal.com]

R---- or Riley, he's indefatigable. Today we were up on the Iron Goat Trail and he hiked about two miles.

Re: That boy

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

I figure two miles on the map is at least four miles for R----, what with all the zigging and zagging and backing and forthing. Then because his stride is about 1/4 ours, he takes four times as many steps as we do. Which means he really walked 16 miles. Hah! Yeah, I'd be tired after a 16 mile hike.