One time my super cool California friend took me to La Jolle Cove near San Diego, and I was surrounded by sea lions and harbor seals. This trip was made even more fantastic by three things: I listened to a This American Life episode years ago all about the cove and the battle between animal activists and beach patrons. It’s really interesting, and you can listen here. You can get close enough to touch the animals. Of course I don’t…
I grew up watching Jack Hanna on TV showcasing all sorts of amazing animals from this legendary place called the San Diego Zoo. When I was younger, I was pretty sure that I’d grow up to be a marine biologist, zoologist or exotic vet… so I took all things animal pretty seriously. The San Diego Zoo was all over my favorite TV Channel, Animal Planet, as the be all end all zoo in North America. I didn’t know what wondrous creatures it held,…
It seems I have developed a bit of a tradition spending my birthday around wild animals. One year of my late 20’s we went to the rescue zoo in Austin with friends. On my 30th birthday Tim took the day off of work, and told me to decide whatever it was I wanted to do. I suggested we venture out to the drive-through safari near San Antonio, although I pouted a little internally that he hadn’t come up with any plans of…
Being married can be a lot like hibernation. You spend all this time when you’re younger dreaming up the right person that you could imagine spending your life with. They’ve got the humor of your favorite comedian, the body of your favorite movie star, the voice of your favorite musician. We grow up with these different archetypes surrounding us in media, and throw different qualities on our theoretical ideal like slapping clay onto a sculpture. Of course the people we end…
For the grand event of my 30th birthday, I was faced with a day off work with my husband and absolutely no idea of what to do. The problem with having a big birthday so close to Christmas is that no one is usually around. In face, we’re typically in a plane or car trying to make a celebration out of playing the “Alphabet Game” as the road rolls by. This year though, I made the request to not be…