After two weeks of 43C, a road trip to the coast for a cooler, more humid and greener experience was just what we all needed. Driving the six hours to get here isn't like the old road trips we'd take with the kids. Now they watch movies, listen to music, sleep, or play games on their devices . Remember when we used to play Geography or Cyber Hide and Seek? Remember when you didn't have an opinion on the driver's  ability? And I just have to say that GPS is the best invention in the world. Every time we arrive without incident, I think of my dad who couldn't find his way out of a city block. That little device would have spared us a lot of tension when we were kids. Too bad it doesn't spare us the tension now of  back seat driving!

The geography changes quickly from desert to sand dune to rocky mountain (and I don't mean like those in Banff) but actual mountains made out of rock piles. And once you summit the temperature plummets 30 degrees. One other aspect of this road trip that made this very memorable were the number of border check points. Three in all. That only one of us had a passport didn't seem to bother the guards. We could have been carrying drugs, arms, exotic pets for all they knew. I guess as  middle aged accountants and English teachers we just don't look that dangerous. Or that alien.

With only 90 minutes to see the infamous zoo before it closed, we took a rather athletic approach to seeing the exhibits.

The wild cats. The panda and polar bears. The giraffes. And my all time favourite, the elephants. Several were just swaying like they had an invisible ipod transmitting some delicious jazz. I have no idea why elephants do that. And hearing that lion roar definitely attracted our attention. Luckily by the time we arrived, he had already sprayed the onlookers with his urine. Nice. I still have the wonderful vision of the koala bear gurgling. Was that his mating schtick? If so, the Mrs. wasn't buying it.

I have mixed feelings about zoos. When their natural habitats expand over hundreds of miles instead of metres, they truly are prisoners. And yet, so many would have died had they not been adopted as infants. So many would be extinct. Very few of the animals actually demonstrate any kind of interaction with the patrons. Except this wonderful giraffe who glided towards us and lowering her head, she checked us out. Right up and personal. That brown eyed girl had some serious eyelashes. And her gaze was quite unsettling.



We ate seafood and enjoyed some of the most delicious freshly made  Hawaiian potato chips. Tomorrow we will take in Sea World before we drive back to 43C and sky diving and temple attendance. Hopefully it will be in that order too.