martinzoo

I have been in ‘Missing-Aquagirl-Crisis-Mode‘ for several weeks now. So yesterday we went up to Harrisonburg to pick her up from her college and have a nice day together. Good Lord, I missed that girl! I believe the school year is MUCH too long. And I want to start a protest. You hear me, Aquagirl!

Since GB was coming too, we decided to finally head to the Virginia Safari Park, where animals abound within arms reach. Basically you sit in your car and drive along the gravel rode on a long, bumpy path and feed whichever animals meander over for some munchies.

This is a Gemsbok Oryx with my dh.

**snort - snort!** This is a Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig

Isn’t this a gorgeous Eland?

This is a Rhea, these strange looking birds are the 4th biggest flightless birds. Cool fact: A single male rhea can incubate up to 50 eggs!

Speckled llama - Don’t make these guys mad or they spit this foul-smelling liquid at you! Aquagirl can attest to their very bad breath!

This dromedary camel was really enjoying GB’s attention. He even went so far as to give his hair a lick!

Swamp water buffalo

“Yes?? I already fed you!”

The ostrich was freaking Aquagirl out. She thought they totally looked prehistoric. I sure wouldn’t want to get one mad. Btw, these are the largest flightless birds. Ostrich are also the only birds with two toes.

Another Eland - These guys get so excited sometimes that they jump over each other to get away!

Have you ever heard of the phrase: “giving me the hairy eyeball”? Yeah, that’s what I was feeling!

Zebra, up close and very personal! Interesting tidbit - Zebras take turns sleeping so that some member of their herd is always awake. Isn’t that amazing?

GB went to any length to reach the animals. Big rule #1: Stay in the car. He barely obeyed this rule.

Axis Deer - This was one of Aquagirl’s favorites. She thought he was one of the most beautiful deer she’d ever seen.

This is a view of the Natural Bridge scenery from inside the park. Isn’t it pretty?

Stunning white llama

Lady Amherst’s Pheasant

This amazing little guy is a Leptailurus Serval.

I love monkeys! I love the way they move. So cute! Can you see the tiny baby attached to the monkey on the right? His arms were wrapped tight around his mama.

Another cute attraction at the park!

This majestic dude is called a King Vulture. Wow!

These cute little tiger cubs are seven months old. They were really fun to watch!

Now I’ll have to get my Jabem fix in…………. Jabem, when are you coming home!? {–whine, whine!–}

Is it almost Summer?

We got a bit of snow this past weekend. It didn’t amount to much, but dh and GB had a good time with it anyway. I love my dh’s face in this photo.

We didn’t get enough to actually make a snowman, but we still have hopes for the season.

Up in Harrisonburg, where Aquagirl goes to college, they got a lot more than we did. So she and her friends were able to make much better use of the snowfall. She said it took five of them to get that middle section onto the snowman. And for the top, one of the guys stood on the base while they passed up the head. Huge, huh?

This is Aquagirl and her best friend, Gymbabe.

You know how hard it is to get A’s in college, right?

Well, this semester Aquagirl got ALL A’s! So we decided that that needed to be celebrated with the whole Martin clan! We left the dinner venue up to Aquagirl… and really, I was expecting her to choose something more upscale, or whatever…. But she ended up choosing this really cool place about 40 minutes from our home. It’s called the Riverside Diner. And honestly, every time I go there I expect to see Ritchie and Potsie coming out of the men’s bathrooms.

It’s exactly like stepping back into the 50’s. They have Formica tables and counters, swivel bar stools, jukeboxes on every table, and lots of 50’s memorabilia all over the place. They even have the 1950’s Chevy car driving out of the wall (I should have gotten a pic of that). The hostess spot is actually a car from the 50’s too. They have a huge, life-sized Elvis and Marilyn Monroe mannequin to greet you at the door. And the food is delicious! It’s all very cheap, too. Not as cheap as back then, unfortunately, but in between a McDonald’s tab and an Applebee’s tab.

One of the reasons that Aquagirl loves this place is that it’s the only place we know of that serves a ‘chocolate coke.’ Everybody else thought it sounded gross, but she insists that it is awesome!

We were able to bring a bunch of tables together to fit our whole clan. I wish this picture showed more of the atmosphere.

Uncle G is fixated with the tabletop jukeboxes. He kept playing Elvis songs, and ‘Diana.’ My kids go more for the Beach Boys and the Monkeys. The music in the jukeboxes ranged from Frankie Valley all the way to Madonna….LOL!

Anyway, it was a fun night, which we capped off with a trip to the movie theater to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. This was an extremely funny movie, btw, with lots of cute music.

So, congratulations Aquagirl! Keep up the good work.

Ok, the proud mommy in me has to show you what Aquagirl has been up to in college this year. As many of you know, she is in her Junior year at JMU. She is majoring in English, with a minor in Education, and another minor in Creative Writing, and another minor in Anthropology. She’s a busy little thing, isn’t she?

This is a book review that she wrote for one of her classes, and sent to me for my opinion.

Water for Elephants a novel by Sara Gruen.

Published in Chapel Hill, NC by Alogonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006.

 

 Water for Elephants is a captivating historical fiction novel set within the whirlwind atmosphere of an early 1930’s traveling circus. Jacob Jankowski’s life forever changes when his parents are suddenly killed and in act of desperation, he abandons college and jumps a passing train only to find himself aboard the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Within this wacky world of circus freaks and eccentric performing animals, Jacob experiences the painful realities of America’s Great Depression, but not without falling in love with the beautiful horse trainer and circus performer, Marlena, along the way. A factually accurate depiction of the early, wild and whimsical American circus, Jacob describes his adventure in a completely original voice. The witty and strikingly bold tone of the narration makes the forbidden romance enchanting and the dark undertones of deceit, insanity, and murder especially chilling. Gruen cleverly pulls the reader from the 1930’s to the new millennium from chapter to chapter, offering unique insights from young Jacob’s escapades in the circus to his current older self fondly reminiscing, sarcastically musing, and gradually losing his senses in his retirement home. These shifts back and forth in time add considerable depth to the emotional layers of this intricately woven story about unexpected friendships, survival, and at the very heart, love. 

 

A suspenseful page-turner, Water for Elephants remains as electrically charged with anticipation and surprise from the first to the last pages. This is a gripping book not to be missed by readers eager for an original story about a fascinating time in America’s history.

Wow! Is she on the right path for her life, or what?! I’m no real critic, but I do read an awful lot of reviews, and tons of books. So I told her that I thought it sounded very professional. And maybe she has other avenues of career paths open to her besides teaching.

I know she wants to write. She loves, loves, loves to write. If you want to read a sample of her fiction, that she has posted online, you can find it in my sidebar. Right over there ——>>>>>>

Her favorite television series was ‘Pretender’ and this is a story using the characters from that series. It’s called a fanfic. I used to watch the show, too. In fact, we all enjoyed sitting down together and watching it. So for me, reading her story is like having the show back on. It’s really good. I’m not being a prejudiced mom. Really

If you do read her story, she loves to get reviews. And there is a little box at the bottom of the page to submit a review. I suppose she’s a very typical writer in that respect.

So yeah, I’m proud. She’s wonderful. And I helped in some small way with that person. Isn’t it great?