“Back to California”
It’s been years since I visited the New Orleans aquarium, and I had heard the remodel is very nice. We got culture passes from the library for Tuesday – they offer free admission to many of the main museums and attractions for up to five people. This is a very nice perk of being a library member.
We started on the aquarium side and then looped back for the insectarium. The very first exhibit, upside down jellyfish, was quite striking.
The penguins were pretty mellow on our first visit, a bit more animated and looking for attention at the side of their tank on our second.
Diana was not excited by the huge alligator.
The lionfish looks interesting, and is not so nice – it has venomous spines and eats almost anything, making it a threat to coral reef ecosystems.
The insectarium was a fun exhibit – we spent most of our time trying to find the well camouflaged insects. Once you find one, all the rest suddenly come into view. The millipede (elongated centipede) was a highlight.
I think the highlight of the entire visit for both of us was the butterfly enclosure. You walked through a kind of airlock to prevent the butterflies exiting, and then were amongst thousands of beautiful butterflies. I could have sat in there looking for quite a while.
Our flight to San Francisco on Wednesday evening was delayed a couple of hours due to not having pilots. They eventually rounded a couple up and we enjoyed the non-stop flight for a change. We would have missed any connections with the delay. It was after 11pm when we finally arrived and went in search of an Uber.
Jeff was due to arrive around the same time and as it approached 1pm we were starting to get concerned, given that we knew he had landed at 11:30pm. I guessed correctly that all food options in the airport were closed, and Jeff had gone off in search of some fast food. Sure enough, when he arrived he had a bag from In-N-Out burger in his hand. Silly boy.
It was an early start on Thursday to drive down to Saratoga for the funeral of Julie’s dad, Ken. Here’s a link to his obituary:
https://www.darlingfischer.com/obituaries/Kenneth-Wayne-Davis-Jr?obId=43159041
Julie’s brother, Scott, did a wonderful eulogy – lots of dry, deadpan humour, and very comfortable speaking once he got going. Marco led off the section where anyone could speak with his usual beautifully constructed and delivered speech.
There was a very nice reception following the funeral service, albeit quite hot outside in a suit and tie. It’s easy to forget the extremes of the Bay Area microclimates – highs in the 60s in San Francisco/Pacifica and in the 90s in Saratoga.
I did have a new experience on this trip – figuring out how to charge Adamo’s tiny mouse car. We make fun of it and are very thankful that we didn’t have to rent a car on each of our many trips this year. After downloading an app and figuring a few things out, the process was fairly simple.
Another new experience awaited me on Sunday when visiting Amy and Adamo’s home. Francesca wanted to paint somebody’s face and I volunteered. Thankfully that’s watercolour paint. She was very attentive to the pattern she wanted to duplicate, apparently something unicorn related.
Here’s a good trivia question. “What country has the unicorn as a national animal?” Answer after this video:
Did you know the answer? Can you believe it’s Scotland? I can tell that you are suspicious – a quick Google search will confirm.
We had a good time getting together with Andy, Jude, Marco (who rode his fancy triathlon bike from Redwood City), and Julie on Sunday evening.
I finished “Mad Honey” this week and would give it a strong recommendation. I certainly didn’t see the final twist coming, thinking I had solved the murder much earlier in the book.
I have often read how John Cheever’s short stories are very well written, and so decided to try a few. I read “The Swimmer” (supposedly his best and my least favourite of the three I read), “The Enormous Radio” (my favourite), and “Goodbye, My Brother” (second place). I would say these are well written and evocative of the time period when they were written (late 40s to early 60s).
Something from the master of guitar tones:
A cover of Led Zeppelin by one of the great rock voices:
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.