B -Y - Zoo!

So it's been a while since the last post, but let's start with my 25th birthday (July 28 for all of you who are now realizing you forget to send me b-day wishes -- shame on you!). I hadn't been to the zoo in a long time and I was really jonesin' for animals, so Lyndsey took me on a surprise field trip to the Los Angeles Zoo. It was really cool -- bear in mind the only other zoo I had been to was the Hogle Zoo in SLC, which is sub-par. It was very hot that day, so we didn't see too much action from the cats, elephants, etc. BUT the monkeys/chimps gave us plenty to go back for.

First, there were these monkeys that have large sacks under their chins that fill up with air when they breathe in and out -- so it was pretty much like having a permanent bagpipe attached to their voice box (let's see if Willy can play them pipes!). They made a LOT of noise all the time and you can hear them throughout the zoo. At first we thought it was a recording throughout the park for dramatic effects, but they are real animals. We also visited a large chimp exhibit, where one chimp came right up to the window and began pounding on it and playing with me. He really had a lot of personality.

We also saw the hippos, which for some odd reason I love to watch -- maybe it's the stumpy legs and big bodies.

After the LA Zoo, we went to one of our favorite japanese restaraunts -- Buko -- located in Glendale. We got the chicken and veggie tempura, which was off the hook! We then proceeded to the Hollywood Bowl, where two of our friends had free tickets for us for a Gladys Knight concert! Now, I know Gladys is a member of the church, but I had no clue about her music or popular songs -- so this was a new experience for me. But she was a good entertainer and Wayne Brady opened for her, and there was a big fireworks show at the end, so all in all, it was a great way to celebrate my quarter-of-a-century life in this world.