After Walking Six Miles

My daughter, her husband, and I went to the San Diego Zoo on Saturday. We like to go to the zoo in any case, but this visit was expressly to see the giant pandas recently on loan from China. When we arrived around opening time at 9AM, we had to register for a panda viewing time, and we chose 12:30PM. Everyone was so eager to see them! There were tons of people at the zoo, but it's huge, so that wasn't a problem. My SIL had a plan of action so we could enjoy the most exhibits in the most efficient manner, and off we went. We saw a drowsy lion, a couple ferocious tigers, gorgeous leopards, a very regal cheetah, elephants, giraffes, polar bears, tons of cool birds, some awesome snakes, zebras, okapis, monkeys, chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos, and a very chill gorilla. Plus so much more! We took a hot pretzel break after a couple hours, and then we sallied forth. My daughter and I used the elevator at one point, while my SIL climbed up a huge amount of steps, we wound our way down, and finally needed to go back up, but by that time the elevators were super crowded, so my daughter and I also climbed up the steps! 

Finally, it was panda time. We stood in line for a wee bit, but the zoo peeps were very efficient, and we walked into the exhibit at just about 12:30. The panda was enormous! There is no guarantee of seeing a panda at all, but we were fortunate enough to see one in all his furry glory, lolling around his exhibit, nomming up bamboo. It was incredible to actually see one of these impressive creatures in person. The pandas I saw ages ago were much smaller. Oh! We saw a red panda too, snoozing on a tree branch, and he was so cute! After that, it was time for lunch, and we went to a cafe near the exit. I had a BLT with avocado, which was the first time in ages I have had a BLT, and it was good, but not great. Every BLT I have had in California does not do the bacon crispy enough for my taste. I grew up on East Coast BLTs, where the bacon is almost burnt black, the way Tyrion likes it, which is how I like it too. Anyway, we were all tired by then, but we still visited the gift shop. As the British say, I was "spoilt for choice" and could not decide upon a souvenir, so I didn't buy anything. However! I do have a souvenir ~ my Diet Coke drink cup with a lid and reusable straw... and the San Diego Zoo logo in green.

So, as we were leaving, my SIL checked his phone, and it turned out we had walked over six miles! If you know me at all, you probably remember I'm pretty lazy and keep saying I am going to exercise, but I never do. Yet when I was having a great time, it was easy to walk for hours. It's just hard for me to stay motivated to exercise for the sake of exercise, but now I feel very inspired because of the six miles. I wouldn't have thought I could do that much walking without my back hurting or some issue, but I was only a little bit achy on Sunday. I did wake up around midnight with horrible heartburn and a migraine, but that was likely from the Witches' Brew wine I had consumed in the evening. Can't blame either of those on walking six miles around the zoo.

We had a shorter walk on Sunday at an art exhibit before I went home. My intention is to do some kind of aerobic exercise every day this week for at least 30 minutes each session. No excuses. I will put my favorite zoo photos up on Instagram soon, so if you follow me there, please check them out.