Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!!!
On Tuesday, March 5th, Kara and I went to the Virginia Zoo. I know many people don’t like the zoo but I think they are places to learn about animals all over the world, help people learn about conservation and the extinction of animals and they have become much better stewards for the animals since I first starting visiting them as a child. (stepping down from my soapbox now). {ED. NOTE – I’m not a big fan!!!}
Unfortunately for us, it was a VERY cold day but many of the animals seemed to love it!!! I guess it makes them frisky! The Virginia Zoo does not hand out paper maps but has large maps placed around to direct you. After a quick check, we headed out to see what we could see. I won’t go over all the different animals but do want to mention a few things I’ve never seen before!!!!
O-hey @Darth!!!!
First, the red pandas were amazing! I have seen one before by itself and in a smallish enclosure. This was like a large panda playground! There were 3 or 4 red pandas running after each other, climbing the low trees and one settling into a branch for a little nap. The are so cute – they are a rusty red with fluffy, ringed tails (like raccoons) and faces like a cat! 
Kinda like a walk-about!
The other fun thing we saw was in the kangaroo and wallaby enclosure. Again, a very nice large enclosure that included a couple of emus. After watching a few minutes, one of the kangaroos started hopping quickly around the enclosure and all of sudden, one of the emus was full out chasing it on it’s long awkward legs! It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen! The kangaroo would stop for a minute and kind of look back, then take off again when the emu got closer – I really thing the kangaroo was just teasing the emu and laughing his head off!
Not exactly the Disney version!!
Sunday, March 10th, all four of us went to Jamestown. The hubs and I had been to Jamestown over 27 years ago. My memory of that trip was basically areas marked in the ground where they believed houses and the fort had been. {ED. NOTE – I have no memory of the place, so we’re gonna go with her version} Now it is an interesting and very educational site to visit. There is an indoor museum that takes you through the settlement of Jamestown in 1906. There is a recreated Powhatan Indian village with dome huts to explore and see how they may have looked inside. 
There were re-enactors portraying Powhatan and colonialists to demonstrate and answer any questions from the time period. We saw them making tools and arrowheads, another was sewing together a bobcat skin to be used as a quiver, another giving a musket demonstration and others who were giving directions and telling about the time period. They explained that the materials used were made by themselves or others who volunteered at Jamestown. We were very impressed over the integrity of keeping the demonstrations as close to history as possible.
Foghorn J. Leghorn, Esq.
As we walked around the outside of the fort to the ships, we noticed some people had stopped on the path and were looking at a group of chickens and a rooster. The volunteer explained that these chickens were both laying hens and meat hens. They were the Nankin breed that had been brought over from England to Jamestown. These hens and rooster are bred in the area and rotated to Jamestown for viewing. Because this breed has a large claw protection, they are allowed to roam during the day to scratch out bugs and put in a pen at night to keep them safe from predators. They were quite beautiful and so different from the white leghorns we usually see.
Better than Dead, I guess?!?!?
On Tuesday, March 12th, JC and I met Kara at the Virginia Living Museum. I had a couple of people ask me what they had there (before I went) and I said, “I don’t know – I guess living things of Virginia”. I was right :)! Inside were galleries showing a native plants and animals in different parts of Virginia; the coastal area, mountains, caves and cypress swamps.
Outside was a long boardwalk with animals of Virginia. There was a gray fox, a red fox, coyote, wolves, vultures and two very majestic bald eagles. The eagles cannot fly as they had been injured and cannot be rehabilitated, so they were sitting on logs in their large enclosure and as close as I’ve ever seen an eagle. It was a sight to see.
All of these places were enjoyable and places I would recommend anyone coming to visit the area.