Critters

 

Recently we went to the Elmvale Jungle Zoo which is about 20 miles north of us. We've been before but every time is just plain fun. It's small enough that you are up close and personal with the wonderful collection of animals they have.

 

My star for the visit for sheer beauty was this black swan. We've had swans in our pond before but this guy or gal was into picture perfect posing. As a photographer you just go, "thank you!"

 



The little zoo has hundreds of animals both large and small. You are separated from them just by a chain link fence.

So when the big dudes come over for that banana you got at the office, you just reach through and the big tongue whips it out of your hand ... sorry too busy feeding to get that shot, eh.

As it is spring all of the animal pairs have just had new offspring and the lemurs are unique.

As long as the little guys are small enough they are able to get outside the enclosures. A sign tells you that they have the run of the zoo until they get too big so it is really cool. The guy below kept jumping back into the enclosure and then out again right up to my camera ... taunting me for hand outs. Gotta love the eyes.

Again looking for that handout was the alpaca ... what a face!

The zoo was a lot of fun as always ... and for your French lesson of the day ...

... in those savage regions, make sure you take enough spray for the savage moustiques! Translation: Deep Woods Sportsmen for the mosquitoes which we very rarely have many of. Midges are the real threat up here and the stuff works well on them thankfully.

The Croaker

We went to Buffalo and the Naval Park to view the Croaker submarine. Named after a fish that croaks, our friend Gary served on the boat from 1965 to 1967. The Museum, gift shop, and all of the artifacts right here at the entrance are well situated and the staff is numerous and very helpful.

 



The Croaker is moored at the Buffalo waterfront with the USS Little Rock, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS The Sullivans, named after five brothers all killed on one ship during WWII. Really well done park and display. To see all the ships you could take most of the day, so we just concentrated on the Croaker.

The Gato class diesel sub is 300 feet long and manned by 70+ personnel. You enter through the forward torpedo room and walk aft, first through the officers quarters, galley, wardroom, and then on to the rest of the boat. This warship accounted for the sinking of 11 Japanese ships during WWII and is highly decorated.

Below is the control room and map table ... the periscope has been removed. You can see the two dive plane wheels and between them the depth gauge which goes to 550 feet ... wow. Gary said on one particular deep dive the boat, groaned, popped, whistled, and leaked a bit .... what an experience!

And below the enlisted galley which is compact indeed to feed 60 or more guys at least 3 times a day.

And one of the bunk racks in the enlisted bunk room just aft of the galley; I think 24 guys were in this room.

Then the business end of this war machine, the aft torpedo room, with two "fish" ready to be loaded and fired. Gary said he also had a bunk in here which was suspended from the ceiling and quite a wild ride in rough seas.

Lastly some nose art on one of the torpedoes. The paper in front of the weapon describes the Croaker's first sinking during WWII.

Quite a display and what a machine. Gary said that in addition to their normal training they went across the Atlantic and toured the Med in the boat. We've toured some other sub displays but this is by far the most complete and well presented of all ... something we won't forget, nor the brave sailors who manned her in both war and peace.

Buffalo Road Trip

 

On Thursday the 12th we decided on an impromptu trip to Buffalo NY to see the Croaker submarine at a naval display there. Our good friend in Flower Mound, Gary, said he had served on the boat so we decided to go to Buffalo to see it.

 

But first our accommodations. Generally I don't talk too much about where we stay as the trip and the place are more important ... this is an exception and I'll get to the sub in the next post.

 

We stayed at the Curtiss Hotel in Buffalo which is right in the city center. For many years we had just driven by Buffalo as it had a pretty distressed waterfront and warehouse area that didn't look inviting or safe to slow down. Like Detroit though the city has made a remarkable transformation and the downtown is clean, neat, safe and very attractive.

 



This is a fantastic renovation of an older building and is a well deserved 5 star property. Our room was on the corner in the pic above ... the one which appears darker than the rest. The room of about 400 square feet and stretched across half the building to the right.

Below is the view from inside after we had pushed the button on the computer keypad and the 30 feet of blackout drapes had slowly rolled open ... wow. No high tech innovation was spared in this place.

The bathroom was the top of innovation and tech wizardry. All electronic soaking tub with a computer screen to walk you through all of the many heat and water motion selections, including a light show in the water ... hah! The shower too was totally electronic with a dozen outlets including steam.

The toilet deserves its own mention as it was totally electronic including separate remote. The seat opens automatically and the rest of the functions in this thing would wash, dry, and flush as you read the daily news ... don't know.

Thursday night we went down to the restaurant in the hotel and it was really good. Good prompt service in a modern setting and also a revolving bar.

We started with some hot rosemary bread and a really nice Napa cab called Old Souls ... kinda fit, eh. Dinner was a couple of pasta dishes that were excellent ... again beautiful presentation, prompt service, and wonderful flavors making for a nice evening. Tomorrow off to the boat.

Happy Canada Day

and

Fourth of July

 

 

From the two old birds here in Canada to all of our international friends and followers wherever you may be!!!