It is a blessing to be in a marriage where we both have the same time off together. Of course, we make the most of it by travelling and spending time with each other.
For February, it was mild. Almost spring-like in the brisk feel of the day. We decided to go to the Detroit Zoo. We like animals, and my wife is especially fond of penguins. This zoo has one of the largest penguin exhibits there is in the world.
We arrived right as it opened, and we spent many hours here enjoying the animals and the time we had together. The penguins were right at the entrance and became our first stop. These birds are comical to watch in their clumsy manner of walking, but once they get into the water, their speed and agility can be seen through the large glass wall. The exhibit has a feature where it is possible to get to the bottom of their pool and watch them from below. My wife did enjoy the spectacle of these birds.
My favourite part was the building next door, where there were butterflies flying freely. To get a good picture of these winged creatures is next to impossible. They never stay still long enough to focus and move in an erratic fashion. But we were not there for pics, but for the experience of being around these insects and their simple beauty. Their silence as they flew around was only interrupted by other people pointing out where they were.
The amphibian building was impressive. We see creatures rarely housed in other zoos, and some are rather ugly and large. They did have a few snakes in the zoo, but it paled in comparison to the Toledo Zoo, which had more snakes on exhibit than we had ever seen.
But what impressed me the most was being outside. Typically we visit zoos in the heat of summer. Often times, the animals are too hot to be doing anything, so they just hide in the shade and fail to move about. Being a cooler day, all the animals to could tolerate the briskness of this February day were active, especially the zebras. There were two of them actively engaged in play with each other. My experience with zebra is that they stand still, but this time they were moving about, frolicking together. Even the wolves were on the prowl in their enclosure.
At the gorilla enclosure, we knew who was the boss. When he came, every other ape moved out of his way. And he was a poser, as well. Sat there for all of us human spectators to take a picture of his massive size.
The otters were like butterflies; they were too fast to get a good picture, but their playful nature was fun to watch. Otters are in so many other zoos; every time, they attract a crowd because of their high activity level.
We would return to the penguin exhibit for one final view of these funny, suited birds. A few more minutes watching them, seeing them eat and swim with the exact opposite of the clunkiness of their walk. Some were even starting to make nests out of rocks.
The one thing I liked about the Detroit Zoo was the price of admission. We spent the morning here but not a fortune in doing so. It was reasonable. Not overly large, but the right size to enjoy all the sites without the exhaustion of walking long distances to see it all. We have been finding ourselves coming to Detroit more often; there is a lot to explore in this city.
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