Monkeying Around in Eureka, CA

 We have been trying to visit John and Mary K (Michael's sister) since he retired. We kept getting diverted by health, family or VA . TODAY - Nolan woke up ill, but the rest of us drove over the Redwood Hwy, down Hwy 101 to Eureka, for the long awaited visit.

We chatted a bit at their home.

Mary K showed us where she goes to work on her art. She's had a couple of shows in Eureka lately.

Our next stop was the Clarke Memorial Museum. The customer service was awesome. They saw us looking at the steps and came out to show us a side entrance with a ramp. They were great at answering our questions.

John (our BIL), Mary (Michael's sister), Stacia, Michael & Alex

I had hoped to find information on the Carson Mansion. It turns out it's owned by an exclusive, private club and not open to the public.....but sometimes they open for tours one weekend in December. We'll have to keep our ears and eyes open.

A memorial to WW2 Chaplain Pearson

 It was lunch time when we left the museum. We opted for a picnic in  Sequoia Park. 

The next natural stop was the Sequoia ZOO! Stacia hadn't been to an American zoo since she was old enough to remember. This is a smallish zoo - but very easy to do and we loved it. Stacia's favorites were the monkeys. 

Via Google Images

Do you see Stacia below? She's inside a tube in the middle of an aquarium. VERY COOL - and slightly freaky. 

Eagles Nest 

Scarlet Ibis

Blonde Crested Spider

Aunt Mary and Stacia

Crested Screamers - the one in the foreground appears
to be threatening the one with the eggs

 John said he wanted a photo with me in it - and so Michael took one 

F - John
B - Stacia, Mary, Me

 We FINALLY found our retirement flamingos. . . not in FL like we'd hoped. . . but we found them.

Daniel - a HUGE cow temporarily lives at the zoo. He is 6 foot 4 inches! His owners are looking for a new home for him. They raised him on a bottle. They SERIOUSLY are checking and it appears this cow may break a few records. 

Via Google Images

It was a great day. We didn't stay for Arts Alive, as we needed to drive the couple of hours back, have dinner and prepare for an early Sunday morning.....and CoRielle are coming to town to see us.