Monday, February 05, 2007

Back from San Diego


We’re back from San Diego. It was a brief but fun trip. The photo is of the lobby of the hotel where we stayed. That’s David standing by my trusty wheelchair. It served the function of a stroller; it kept me from getting too tired out and cranky. And it made the trip to the zoo possible.

Jasper was wonderful in the play Don Quixote at the San Diego Rep. He can really act. Michael Preston, a former Karamazov, is also in the play was also great and it was delightful to see them work together. They did a puppet show within the play with vegetables that was hysterically funny. I was really glad I made the effort to go see it.

The zoo was amazing. It’s a topographical challenge, however, for someone pushing a wheelchair and I was glad to have two wheelchair pushers, Jasper and David. One thing we didn’t know when we went was that wheelchair pushers get in for free. That was a nice bonus.

We got to see the famed Bonobos who obligingly posted themselves very close to the viewing area. The three adults lounged around in a cuddle pile grooming each other while the two youngsters climbed a pole and swung on ropes, occasionally stopping to hump each other, bonobo style. Sexual behavior starts early in that tribe. The youngsters, a male and a female, were both born in 2004.

We spent a lot of time in the primate section. There were lots of primates there I had never encountered. I especially liked a little monkey from Thailand with a hairdo that made him look like he had a pointed head.

The zoo was huge and although we covered a lot of territory, we didn’t get to see half of it. After three and a half hours I was exhausted and I had exhausted my wheelchair pushers as well. We left the zoo, had a very late lunch, then went to the hotel for a long nap. We stayed on the 32nd floor, which was the Regency Club where we had access to ample snacks that obviated the need for several meals while we were there, which was welcome since my energy was limited. Also, it had great views of the harbor. Jasper was impressed because one had to have a special key card to use the elevator to get to our floor. David cashed in a lot of hotel points that he had racked up when he was a temporary diplomat in Kyrgyzstan.

The trip was a fun escape and a welcome break from this winter of, well, if not discontent, at least discomfort. I plunge into the next chemo treatment all too soon, the day after tomorrow.

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