California blog series, part IV: San Diego

Certainly not the best pic from the Zoo, but I'd be remiss not to post a panda.

So, San Diego. Or, if accuracy's your thing, I suppose this post would be titled after the San Diego Zoo. Unfortunately, 10 days does not really allow for comprehensive coverage of three of the coolest cities in America, even less so when they're all separated by hours of driving. As such, we did a day trip to San Diego. I'd like to go back someday, though, as it is undeniably a city rich in culture and history, a patronage point for the arts and a naval town of the highest repute.

For this trip, though, we whetted our appetites nicely with a single day. The Zoo took most of it and then we had dinner at the San Diego Hard Rock Café, a move which instantly spurred one of my trademark foolishly unattainable goals, namely visiting all of the 100+ Hard Rocks worldwide (and buying a shot glass from each). Perhaps I'll shoot for the more modest goal of the five in Canada (two in Toronto, and one each in Niagara Falls, Montreal, and Ottawa). I'd never been, having always assumed it was out of my price range, but it is actually not very expensive at all. I just found it neat because the people working there seemed genuinely to be enjoying themselves - and I like to think my skills of discerning fake smiles are fairly honed given my exposure to many a waitress friend. I also recall there being a typo on the platinum record on the wall, but I can't remember the exact details (one of the pitfalls of blogging on an experience four months after its occurance, I suppose). It was The Beatles and it was a pretty crucial typo. Something like "Can't Buy Me Love" without the crucial apostrophe-t combo. I just loved the irony that someone failed to accurately record the name of a song so immensely popular that the plaque was necessitated to begin with. Well, I've clearly screwed up this story. Back to the Zoo.

We were fortunate enough to have a gorgeous day to see the definitive North American zoo, and here are some of my reactions to the experience:

Truth be told, I kind of wish I’d been to the Toronto Metro Zoo in the last decade because, while it ranks very highly among the zoos of the world, no doubt, I imagine it would’ve given me an even greater appreciation of San Diego’s world famous attraction. As Jordo said to me before I left, “They have pandas year-round. You know you’re dealing with the real thing when they have pandas year-round.” [Note: Not an exact quote] And luckily for us, we hit the pandas at a very good time; we got to see them moving around and also went at about the only time all day that wasn’t busy, affording us an especially long viewing period.

Other highlights for me included the ever-entertaining otters and meerkats , the majestic lowland gorillas, the comprehensive reptile house, and of course, the polar bears, though I couldn’t shake the image of a drowning polar bear from An Inconvenient Truth, which I suppose is a tribute to the filmmaker.

Like Brandon before me, the feeling of remorse that humans are keeping captive such majestic animals did creep over me once, while in the birds of prey section of the zoo. For some reason, this is the most tragic to me. I guess their space is really no more constricting than many of the others, but because they have the inherent ability to fly that essentially goes to waste, I lament it significantly more.

Anyway, the zoo was a tremendous time and reminded me that, as a child, animals fascinated me more than sports, women, and pretty much everything else. While I’m sure they’ll never regain such a grasp, it was fun to feed it if ever so briefly. I think San Diego earns its grand reputation not only because of its size, but also the exotic nature of its inhabitants and the appealing aesthetic of the park. Rather than the appearance of a number of cages all lined up, the zoo comes off as a pretty convincing imitation of nature … in which there just happens to be cages. Definitely worth seeing for anyone who ever gets the opportunity.

Am I alone in my relegation of zoos and animals to the realm of the child? There's a majesty and beauty in the animal kingdom that should appeal to the entire age spectrum, but it does seem to be a concern I have traditionally associated with kids. Perhaps if bars and other 'of age' forms of entertainment didn't exist, we'd be more inclined to get creative for entertainment and indulge in these type of things more often, rather than opting for the obligatory Saturday night drunk (which certainly has its place, don't get me wrong). Or perhaps our natural life-cycle will return such opportunities to the tops of our priority list after the joyous university days are behind us, and I should just treasure those hazy nights with friends while I still can. Still, personally, spending $50 at the San Diego Zoo vs. $50 at Phil's Grandson's bar would never be a decision I'd agonize over.