Brookgreen Gardens Zoo, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

After enjoying the sculpture garden, we headed over to the zoo part of Brookgreen Gardens.

Before seeing the fauna, we admired some flora. Most of the trees have Spanish moss on them, especially the old, gnarly trees.

Maybe this isn't a good first picture for a post about a zoo?

The ponds had the usual warning about alligators and snakes waiting to take a bite out of us. We weren't here to eat a snack or be a snack, so we were just fine.

We didn't bring our bathing suits anyway

The first thing we saw at the zoo was the goat pen. Since we visited in springtime, we got to see some baby goats!

Eating up

Following a parent's good example

Older, less active goat

We saw a bull rubbing his horns against a tree. Maybe he was getting ready to break out!

Or maybe he had fleas

Speckled hens are always fun to watch.

Hen pen

We did not approach this next feature, a tower of pallets and other stuff that makes a good home for various insects.

No rooms for rent

The zoo has a nice collection of predator birds. These birds have been injured in the wild and have been given a longer life in captivity.

Barn owl

Bald eagle

Side view

The red fox was too shy to come close for a picture.

A zoomed in and cropped photo

The river otters were a playful bunch who did a lot of swimming and cavorting.

Going downstream

Coming ashore

This skink was hanging out on one of the walls. It is not part of any exhibit, just a bit of wildlife living at the zoo by choice.

The blues are behind him

Another aviary had the non-predatory birds on display.

Hanging in a tree

Looking for lunch

Found it!

The zoo also has a horse and a donkey, both of which were more interested in food than in entertaining guests.

Not much grass left

As we left, we saw a bit of history. This cypress tree log was found in the Waccama River in 2009. It's believed to be felled in the late 1700s or early 1800s as slaves cleared the swamp for planting rice. The log, which is seventeen feet long and 10 feet in diameter, has hand-axe marks. Experts think it was around 500 years old when it was cut down.

Cyprus tree log

I'm fairly certain that our kids enjoyed this part of our visit to Brookgreen Gardens more than the sculpture garden. Your mileage may vary.

CuriOdyssey, Coyote Point, California

Another fun adventure on our California Christmas trip was a visit to the Coyote Point Recreation Park in San Mateo, near San Francisco International Airport. The park has many attractions, but the two of primary interest to us were the Magic Mountain Playground (which will get its own post next) and CuriOdyssey, a science and wildlife center. We visited CuriOdyssey first.

Nice sign

After the entrance, we saw a bunch of exhibits on the Nature of Patterns. Our prescholar was obsessed with the air flow machine that sent foam blocks and shapes up into the air like magic. We had a hard time tearing him away from that one.

The joy of vicariously defying gravity

My older son tried out the marble maze, something he's enjoyed at other science museums.

Marble maze

My daughter cranked a wheel that let her observe water currents shifting in a tank. Mostly she made swirls in the viscous blue water.

Chaotic currents

Upstairs was an exhibit called "IlluminOdyssey" about the nature of light and color. Several white teepees were set up, which the kids enjoyed exploring. I must admit, the teepees didn't seem immediately relevant to the exhibit.

Hiding in a teepee

The walls and floors had some fantastic laser projections, adding color, patterns, and shapes for our enjoyment.

Laser projections

Further on, we discovered the Astro Botanicals, some inflatable exhibits based on ornamental flowers with imaginative design twists.

Exploring an astro botanical

A different child inside

Inside view of the ceiling, quite pretty

Some other pseudo-flowers

Further on, we found some lit-up blocks. My prescholar knew exactly what to do with them. He started stacking them and then gave a good swift kick, like every other set of blocks he's ever run into.

Blocks for stacking

Ready to kick

An even taller target

In the back hall are more science experiments, including magnets and a large variety of visual distortion panels.

Bouncing magnets along an arc

Textures, light, and altered visions

The prescholar played with one last Nature Pattern exhibit before we headed outside.

Twisting strings to make new shapes

Outside are the noisier and messier exhibits. The boys enjoyed banging on some tubes to make music.

Paddles and metal tubes make interesting sounds

A water table let my daughter alter the current on a small stream using rocks and panels. The precaution sign for a slippery floor is probably there all the time.

Curving the creek

A water wall lets visitors try to make shapes out of the water. My older son tried to make a question mark. You judge the results.

His set up

Close up of the question mark

My prescholar also had fun with the water wall, though just getting wet for free was most of the appeal.

Science is fun

We then headed over to the wildlife preserve, which was not very big.

Entrance to the wildlife preserve

Like most every zoo we've gone to, the animals were not very lively at 10:30 a.m. Some of the displays were empty, or at least looked empty until we found a dozing creature curled up in a corner.

Rattlesnake

One sedentary fellow was a Golden Eagle, who managed to look majestic on his perch. He made me think of The Maltese Falcon.

Golden Eagle from behind

"What are you looking at?"

Comparison between (l-r) barn owl, turkey vulture, and Golden eagle eggs and feathers

We saw another bird hiding out in the trees who definitely didn't want to be disturbed.

What am I looking at?

We decided to head over to the playground, which will be the topic of the next post!

Curb walking to the playground

Cute Kid Pix September 2016

More pictures from events that weren't big enough to have their own post!

My wife and children went to visit her cousin and her children at the National Zoo. They didn't take too many pictures and the ones they did take were all too shocking!

They visited the elephant exhibit which has a display about how much elephants eat and what that turns into later on. Why are they showing actual samples of the final result!?!

My son next to a tube of turds

The outside exhibit was more pleasant, featuring a big pool for the elephants. I wonder if the kiddie elephants are like the kiddie humans and don't get out of the pool if they have to do number one...

Why does the water look green?

My daughter tried to convince herself of the innocence of what is going on. The sign was helpful.

Reading a G-rated version of Asian Elephant Life

In other news, we had to buy new kitchen scissors. You'd think it would be a simple process, but the pair I brought home had a problem...

A nice pair of kitchen shears featuring...

...one small problem

That little cable tie meant I needed a pair of scissors to open up my pair of scissors!

Desk scissors to the rescue!

The first day of school went well. The only problem was the toddler, who also wanted to get on the bus with his brother and sister. Hopefully he will remember this enthusiasm in three years!

The first day's bus

At our local playground (popularly known as the "purple playground"), the toddler has slowly been working his nerve up to try slides by himself, without holding hands or anything. So far, he rides with his brother to the delight of all.

Action shot!

A good ending