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Before we quite knew it, we were up to the holidays. Mostly Christmas, but you know us. The big change-up this year was getting the kitchen floor re-tiled and how that shuffled around a lot of small things. Mostly, it meant moving stuff out of the kitchen and breakfast nook, much of it --- including the pinball machine, moved by methods I cannot here reveal --- into the living room where then we couldn't decorate for longer than usual.
Our big pre-Christmas thing, then, turned out to be going to the zoo's Wonderland of Lights or whatever its specific name was. This year, as last, they didn't open after Christmas so we couldn't use that to take the edge off that post-holiday letdown. We ended up going the last day they were open at all, which as a holiday weekend during our warmer-than-usual December left the place crowded. We worried we hadn't left enough time for the zoo, and that's true, although mostly in that we never have enough time for it all. That said we did miss out on the crafts and whatever demonstrations they had going on in the educational center; by the time we got there at the end of the night, most everything was packed up except one demonstration activity with pictures of five animals and five bits of food, the challenge being to identify what each animal eats.
The zoo had a nice collection of lights, including new ones. What started us was noticing what was missing. There's naturally going to be turnover as pieces age. But many of the light displays we most notice, including the water-fountain swans, the wolves, and the peacock were gone. If we're not mistaken they didn't have any animal figures in lights anymore, which seems an oversight for a zoo. They also didn't have the ballerina wireframe figure that has moved around over the years.
Also apparently gone: the wolves! They've been replaced with tufted deer. I don't know where the wolves have gone. I can say there's now binturongs, though last month they were off in the winter quarters, wherever those are. Have to visit them sometimes in the summertime and see them.
Another surprise is that the snack stand has gotten way more developed since we saw it last. We're used to just hot chocolate or coffee from there and they still have that. But also espressos and lattes and other coffee products you can get a machine for. And hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, salads, and so on. It does seem like rather a lot.
They still have the bench donated by and inscribed with the name of Theio's Restaurant, gone nearly six years now.
Now let's look at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as it was six months ago now.
Beauty shot of the sun getting a ride on the Giant Dipper.
And here's the evening light playing with one of Giant Dipper's hills.
Looking out to see one of the endpoints of the sky chair ride. This is the spot where I saw those park cops talking with those women.
Looking westward along the boardwalk here.
And hey, there's a caveman up there!
Still a good-sized line for Giant Dipper, as is only fair.
Trivia: In September 1794 Spanish King Carlos IV officially made instruction in Spanish free and compulsory for all in the Philippines. It never had the resources needed to happen. Source: Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World, Nicholas Ostler.
Currently Reading: Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball, John Chad.
PS: What's Going On In Gasoline Alley? Why are Rufus and Joel in Charlotte, North Carolina? October 2023 - January 2024 in recap.
