Saturday, February 28, 2015

Santa Barbara Zoo

This is the nicest zoo I have ever been to (and that includes zoos from Europe and the U.S.).  I think the main reason for this is the fact that you do not think you are in a zoo.  You think you are in some pretty park and all of a sudden a giraffe appears, a monkey, an exotic bird, or a crocodile.  All our girls were delighted and were sad to leave when it was time to go, but we did want to visit the ocean too.  Here a few pictures, I only took a few because I was too preoccupied with enjoying my time there.  Thanks to a birthday present from my parents and siblings we were able to get in for half the normal price.  They gave me a family pass for the L.A. zoo and it also counts up here.  

Dieser Zoo ist der schönste Zoo, den ich bisher besucht habe (und dazu zählen Zoos aus Europa und Amerika).  Ich glaube der Hauptgrund dafür liegt darin, daß man gar nicht denkt, man sei im Zoo!  Man denkt, man gehe in einem schönen Park spazieren und auf einmal erscheint eine Giraffe, ein Affe, ein exotischer Vogel oder ein Krokodil.  Alle unsere Mädchen waren auch ganz angetan und waren traurig, als wir gehen mußten, aber wir wollten ja auch noch das Meer sehen.  Hier ein paar Fotos.  Ich habe nur einige gemacht, weil ich zu beschäftigt damit war, mir alles anzusehen und mich daran zu freuen.  Dank eines Geburtstagsgeschenkes von meinen Eltern und Geschwistern, kostete der Zooeintritt auch nur die Hälfte.  Ich habe nämlich einen Familienzoopaß für den Zoo in L.A. bekommen, der auch hier zählt.   

 Morning in Santa Barbara (for you, Dorina :))
Morgen in Santa Barbara



 Macaw
Ara

 Watching how the penguins get fed
Zugucken beim Füttern der Pinguine

 This night heron came by and was hoping for some fish.
Dieser Nachtreiher hofft, ein paar Fische zu ergattern.

 As did this gull.
Und so auch diese Möwe.




 California Condor
Kalifornischer Kondor










 The zoo is over 40 years old.
Der Zoo ist über 40 Jahre alt. 


 While eating lunch, quite a few grackles came and wanted to share our food.
Während wir unser Mittagessen gegessen haben, sind eine ganze Menge Grackeln gekommen, die auch gern mitgegessen hätten.  


 Python


 Hamerkops are great nest builders.
Hammerköpfe bauen riesige Neste, die manchmal 10000 Stöcke beinhalten.  





Nest 




 Scarlet Ibis
Roter Sichler

 And then it was time to go back to the beach, this time in bathing suits (although it was a bit chilly).  Und dann ging es wieder zum Strand, diesmal im Badeanzug (obwohl es nicht so warm war). 








 Dorina, this bathing suit has probably felt the waters in the Atlantic and Pacific now!






 No dolphins today, but a pelican!
Keine Delphine heute, aber ein Pelikan!


 Building a see weed castle
Bau einer Seetangburg








Towards the evening we were able to see one of the islands very clearly.  The water had a beautiful Prussian Blue color.  
Gegen Abend konnten wir eine der Inseln hier sehr klar sehen.  Das Wasser hatte eine wunderschöne Preußischblaufarbe.  

Peter was at his conference again and had lunch with his former roommate from Notre Dame.  Peter and he lived in graduate student housing together in the apartment next to my apartment.  He also talked to the wife of another professor and it turned out that his wife is the best friend of the professor who is renting our house back home.  That was very funny!

Peter war wieder bei seiner Konferenz und hat mit seinem ehemaligen Mitbewohner von Notre Dame zu Mittag gegessen.  Peter und er haben in der Wohnung neben meiner Wohnung gewohnt.  Er hat auch mit der Frau eines anderen Professors geredet, und es hat sich herausgestellt, daß diese Frau die beste Freundin der Professorin ist, die im Moment in unserem Haus zu Hause wohnt.  Das war schon zu komisch!  

And Jonathan?  He observed a Latin class, a philosophy class, and a science class today.  He went to Latin Mass this morning (the college offers one Latin Mass really early in addition to three regular Masses).  He had salmon for lunch (it is Friday!) and played volleyball and basketball.  He had a meeting with somebody who showed him all the buildings on campus he had not seen so far.  He has been impressed with the other students and has commented on how well you could talk to them.  Tonight he is going to an outdoor dance evening (they are dancing waltzes).  He told me he saw two rare birds on campus which made him quite happy.  We will pick him up tomorrow.

Und Jonathan?  Er hat einen Lateinkurs, einen Philosophiekurs und einen naturwissenchaftlichen Kurs heute besucht.  Er war bei der lateinischen Messe (das College bietet eine Frühmesse auf Latein und drei reguläre Messen täglich an).  Zum Mittagessen gab es Lachs (es ist ja Freitag!) und dann hat er Volleyball und Basketball gespielt.  Ein Angestellter des Colleges hat ihm die Gebäude auf dem Collegegelände gezeigt, die er noch nicht gesehen hatte.  Jonathan ist sehr von den anderen Studenten beeindruckt und hat bemerkt, daß man sich gut mit ihnen unterhalten kann.  Heute abend gibt es Gesellschaftstanz im Freien, wo er hingeht.  Er hat auch zwei seltene Vögel gesehen, was ihn sehr glücklich gemacht hat.  Morgen holen wir ihn wieder ab.   



12 comments:

  1. Dear Eva, Santa Barbara (such a good name!), the zoo, and the beach look amazing! We look forward to our next trip to the Pacific. It's been ten years already. Our oldest daughters were wee ones-- in fact, our 11 year old turned 1 in San Francisco. Once again, thank you for sharing your adventures! -- That is so funny about all the connections between Peter and the other professors and wives!! God bless, Barbara

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    1. Yes, I also like the name. It was named after Saint Barbara because the land was claimed for the Spanish king on her feast day, December 4. That is a long time for having been west, but you have the mountains in between :).

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  2. We are interested in spending time on Catalina Island across from Santa Barbara. Is that the island you mention seeing when the mist cleared? Patrick went to a Summer camp there when he was a teenager. -B

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    1. I think Dorina is right, that must be Santa Cruz island. It must be a beautiful place to visit.

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  3. Oh wow! It sounds like you are tremendously enjoying yourselves! We love the Santa Barbara area too. One of my daughters and I were able to participate in an overnight at the Zoo with her girl scout troop. We slept in a tent by the lions overlooking the beach...it was amazing.

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    1. Oh Jenny, the zoo trip sounds fabulous. I think my children would have like that too. I am so sorry we did not manage to contact you earlier and stop on the way, but this was kind of a late decision that we all went. There was no time to make arrangements for a visit anymore. Peter also had the conference and not much free time, so we could have not taken a break on the way up. On the way down, it was really late. We passed through your area after 8.30 p.m. and so much rain! So I do hope we will get another chance to drive north. Please, I am still interested in your California book list!

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  4. Thank you for my beautiful morning picture :) All of you are soaking up the good Santa Barbara vibrations . . and seeing the pelicans brings a feeling of good fortune. They always seem like happy birds to me. Yes, the bathing suit has really made the rounds of the waters of the USA . . off of Long Island, Cape Cod, Florida and now Santa Barbara :) The zoo pictures were lovely, and I think it's the best that Jonathan got to see two rare birds!

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    1. You are welcome! Yesterday we went through downtown Santa Barbara and then up to the Mission. I had to think of your living up there. I took lots of pictures, but it is too late to upload them tonight. We were amazed to see those flocks of pelicans. They were all over. Amazing how far this bathing suit has traveled. Jonathan saw two other new birds at the beach yesterday. He is always well equipped with binoculars and a Southern California birding book.

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  5. The islands off of Santa Barbara are San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa. Santa Cruz is the largest and most visible. That's probably the one you saw. Catalina is off of Long Beach and San Pedro down in LA. My sister and brother-in-law visited there many years ago and loved it. I was always sorry that I never made it there.

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  6. Tolle Bilder aus dem Sonnenschein und vom Strand. Robin haben natürlich die Vogelbilder am Besten gefallen. :-) Habt ihr eine schöne Zeit gehabt? Wie hat es den Kindern gefallen? Es scheint dort einen wahren Blumenreichtum zu geben, wie immer in wärmerem Klima. Sehr schön!

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    1. Ja, die Blumen sind umwerfend. Den Kindern hat es dort in Santa Barbara sehr gut gefallen. Es ist sehr europäisch.

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