Most people, I think, celebrate anniversaries with fancy dinners and elegant gifts, or at least jewelry. We did not. We talked about it, but decided it would be more meaningful just to spend time together, and so we did.
Yesterday morning, we drove to Fort Worth to meet Rana for brunch at a place she recommended when I asked for something “more foodlike than Starbucks.” The place was Yogi’s Deli & Grill, but it’s more of a bagelry than a bistro. Food was excellent. Company, even more so. We’ll definitely go back.
After that, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo, which we’d never visited. (We’ve not yet been to the Dallas one, either, but today at the salon my stylist, the pregnant but still perky Natalie, told me that she was at the Dallas Zoo last week, and found it to be depressing, and thought the animals seemed unhappy.) The animals at the Fort Worth Zoo, did not seem unhappy.
Here are some highlights. Pictures can be seen at UnCommonPlace:
Primate World was our first stop and the chimpanzees greeted us with happy tumbling and shrieking. One of the family groups was separated from the rest, and could only be seen from inside - the female was very obviously in heat. They waved through the windows and little kids waved back. The Silverback Gorilla was really the big draw. He sits in state like a zen master quite obviously passing judgement on all who enter his domain.
From there, we wandered past the warthog and the zebra to see the cheetahs, who were, as is typical of every cheetah I’ve never seen, stalking the perimeter of their enclosure. Most of the time, they were in the trees, so pictures didn’t happen, but we did see them, at least.
We visited the rhinos, briefly, also, then went to see the giraffes. I like giraffes. I do not like ostriches, which share the same living quarters as the giraffes, because ostriches are evil. Evil, I tell you. But giraffes are cool.
After that, we hung out with the elephants, who were all very happy and pleasant. One was merrily sand-blasting itself, also twirling its trunk and bobbing his head, as if dancing to that tune, “Da Da Da” by Trio - the one that Volkswagon used in their commercials in the late 1990’s.
We meandered past several other animals, mostly smallish ones, until we came to the muntjacs, which are tiny (Cleo-sized) barking deer. Imagine a large chihuahua with horns and hooves, and that’s a muntjac. Apparently they can be kept as pets. Fuzzy says that while this is true, we have two dogs already, and adding a prey animal is probably unwise.
The Sun Bears next captured our attention. Imagine something with the head and mass of a chow, the coat of a rottweiler, and the claws of Freddy Krueger, and that’s what a sun bear looks like. Also, they’re this wonderful chocolatey color, with a sun-shape in lighter fur on their chests, like the superman insignia. “Sun Bears to the Rescue.” The two we were watching were having a tiff, and kept growling at each other.
After the bears, we met the great cats. First was the white tiger, who was hiding at first, but then came out to pose, basking in the sunlight for all admirers to see and adore. Next a more usual orange tiger, who was extremely focussed on eating grass. And then, my favorites, the lions. The lion and lioness were separated, but while we were watching the lioness, who was also totally posing, sometimes being very kittenish, and other times completely in charge. We were drawn next door to the lion because he was being extremely vocal, roaring in a woof-ing kind of way, then chuffing loudly. (We noticed he’s directly across the road from the antelopes and deer, and I said it was evil to set up the zoo that way, so they can see and hear each other, but Fuzzy said it makes the animals feel more at home. BAH!) I had never seen a lion roar before - the power in those lungs was AMAZING. Then he went all catlike and scratched at his treestump and stretched, before turning his back on the humans. I have to comment, also, that the tigers were the only animals (other than the snakes and lizards) that had full-height cage bars. All the others had waist/chest-high walls to keep you from falling in the moat, and a moat with sheer sides.)
After the African animals, we took a snack break, nibbling on corn dogs and sipping soda, while black swans floated on a nearby pond, and a turkey struck up conversations. Turkeys are LOUD.
We then wandered through Raptor Canyon, at one point passing under a harpy eagle who was gnawing on a dead rat, in the center of the fence atop the tunnel. I put my CSz bandanna over my hair for that walk. We traipsed through the Great Barrier Reef exhibit, smiling at the blacktip sharks, and then watched the kangaroos taking in some sun - one was a nursing mother - and then we hung out with the Komodo dragon, before touring the herpetarium. We turned around at that point, as it was almost closing time, and walked back toward the exit, forgoing Texas Wild, and completely missing the Thundering Plains.
We drove slowly home, napped, ordered pizza, and finished out the day, though I did have a box of FLOWERS from Fuzzy waiting for me at the front door. Enough irises and red tulips to fill three vases! I think my mother helped him, but I’m not sure.
Today, we slept late, and then I had a salon appointment to refresh the red in my hair, and have the ends trimmed. Afterward, I sipped a frappucino in Barnes and Noble, while puttering on the macbook. While I was there, a guy came up to me and said, “Seriously, I don’t know which is cooler, your hair or your pink computer.” We chatted a bit about the techshell, and then he moved along, and Fuzzy met me about then.
We’d discussed a movie, but instead we went back to Fort Worth to CompUSA - all but two of the MetroPlex stores are closing, and there were deep discounts. I played with an iMac (I think I want one - they’re so CUTE) while Fuzzy shopped for monitors - he bought two - and then we went to Edohana, which is totally a Benihana wannabe, for dinner. Groups ahead of us were being told there was an hour wait, but there were only two of us, so we were seated with two couples and their adorable kids, and one of the mothers kept apologizing for her children, but really, they were well-behaved. The food was good, and it was a nice ending to a nice day. We’re both now puttering on our own computers.
And that, my friends, is how geeks celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Yours