Love Me Zoo

A day off in Columbus and my wife Donna's arrival for a visit lead to a day at the Columbus Zoo. It was a little overcast and sprinkled off and on all afternoon, but we had a good time.

I'm not entirely sure I've identified the various snakes and reptiles correctly so any corrections are welcome.


Rhino


Sun Bear


Pheasant


Pheasant


Small Cat


Bengal Tigers


Flamingos


Python


Komodo Dragon


Big Snake


Boa Constrictor


Orangutan


Silverback Gorilla


Pirranhas


A Day at the Zoo

Shameless Nepotistic Pandering Shill #1

My wonderful wife, Donna Beasley , is nominated for Favorite Future Female artist on Knoxville's WIVK "Americana Highway" radio program .

You can listen to her music at her MySpace site, or at www.donnabeasley.com.

If you like what you hear, please cast a vote for her at the Americana Highway voting site.

Thank You.

A Capitol Idea

We have a few days off in McLean, VA, about 30 minutes from D.C. A couple of guys rented a minivan, and we went in to do a little tourist sightseeing. We first went to the National Museum of American History. Inside the foyer of the second level is an idealized, Roman-esque statue of the Father of our Country. He looks pretty buff.


George Washington

There are plenty of Pop Culture exhibits, including the favorite footwear of Kansas farm girls.



Ruby Slippers

The Capitol building, as seen from the Mall. The state capitol of Wisconsin is fashioned after this original. Beautiful.


The Capitol Building

The Architecture Museum had suitable quarters... nice fountain.


Museum of Architecture

I grew up in the Spage Age. I remember my Major Matt Mason action figure and the battery-powered Astroboy "Billy Blastoff". It was neat to see all of the real spacecraft.


Apollo and Soyuz Joint Mission

I remember having lots of toy space helmets and making lunar modules out of cardboard boxes. Astronauts were the heroes of my generation.


Apollo Lunar Suit

The phenomenal Wright Brothers exhibit. Amazing story of two under-rated Americans. I don't think the magnitude of what they did is fully appreciated. In less than 100 years we have gone from earth-bound to today's aviaition industry. Amazing for a pair of brilliant bicycle builders from Ohio.


The Wright Brothers' Flyer

Four others had previously died in the effort, but Charles Lindbergh finally crossed the Atlantic in 33 hours and a few minutes, and greatly helped the world acknowledge the safety and convenience of air travel.


The Spirit of St. Louis

Willie and the Tour Boys

We have the legendary Willie Nelson and Family as co-headliners on this tour, and his show is fascinating to watch. On top of the many hits he has recorded, he does excellent versions of other writers' songs including Standards and Pop favorites. His band is a loose congregation of family and friends, and they swap turns at drumming, percussion, etc.


Tommy and Trigger

The famous guitar is always on stage, and it's caretaker makes sure it is well-looked after.


Trigger

Years of graffitti and signatures adorn the top.


Willie

Willie has a very unique guitar style. He phrases unlike anyone I've ever heard, and his famous chromatic runs are always tension-filled. It seems like he'll never make the line fit, but he always does. Weird.