Louis' Visit and the Tacoma Zoo and Aquarium
Demaris, Louis and Shari went to the
Skagit River area to see bald eagles.
Every year, hundreds of eagles from Canada fly south for the winter and come
here to feast on salmon. It was a little early in the season, so there weren't
that many eagles but the scenery was really nice.
Louis & Shari looking for eagles.
The next day everyone tromped down to Tacoma to visit the
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. As you
can see Jay made a friend.
Another shot of Jay and his friend.
Peacock.
Elephants.
Cat striking a pose.
Beluga whale in a hat.
Whale without hat.
Whale putting on hat.
Whale in hat, scratching his back.
So why does this Beluga Whale seem to want a role in a Dr. Seuss book? We don't know for sure, the trainers say this is an educational exploration toy. At the Tacoma Aquarium there is an underwater viewing tank (two way glass.) The Beluga Whale in these pictures swims up to the glass, such that her face is smooshed against it, and watches the people as they watch her. The whale also has a hat that she likes to play with (and to wear). The hat is this black plastic cap that she suctions onto her head and wears around the pool.
Here's the walrus at the aquarium, I believe he's named E.T.
E.T. wasn't very friendly, he was closer to hostile. He expressed his
displeasure by swimming at high rate of speed into the walls of the aquarium
and body slam them. These body slams were aimed at the people observing E.T.
through the glass. Interestingly, it seems E.T. was rescued off an oil rig as a
baby and raised by people at the Tacoma Aquarium.
Not an owl. It's actually a
Tawny Frogmouth
another nocturnal bird that happens to have a similar appearance especially at
night.
Tacoma has been desperately trying to revitalize itself and
it's downtown area (Tacoma is rather unusual for a Pacific NW cities in that it
has a crime problem and a rough downtown.) As a centerpiece of their urban
revitalization they've established a
Museum of Glass
featuring countless works from Tacoma's native son Dale Chihuly. As the gateway
to the Museum, a pedestrian bridge was built across the interstate which
provides pedestrian access from downtown Tacoma to the Museum. Chihuly's
Bridge of Glass feature the
wall (seen above) containing dozens of Chihuly pieces as well as two Chihuly's
signature glass flower ceilings (seen below).
When we first saw this bridge several months previously we had to wonder (as I think everyone does), what's going to keep people from taking pot shots at it. It is after all a bridge of glass with walls that are filled with glass artwork, located in a economic empowerment zone. About all that's missing is a giant (glass) bull's-eye. We were told that the glass containers were bulletproof/shatterproof and the items inside were perfectly secure.
Apparently the bridge engineers didn't take into account the willingness of the neighborhood cultural association to help stress test the safety features of the bridge. It seems that one or more of the neighborhood residents while driving under the bridge decided to test the bridges resistance to repeated stress at a single location. You can see the results of this test in the glass on the backside of the central art piece in the above image. After the application of repeated stress testing using a remote force application testing tool (i.e. a semi-automatic rifle) a spiderweb shatter was created. This demonstrates that the glass, although of a high quality and certainly safe for the drivers on the freeway below, is not sufficient to survive the stress tests to which such a bridge is certain to be subjected during normal Tacoma use. The above image also illustrates another design flaw found by testing. In the above image the puncture of the airtight seal in one chamber (the centered chamber) has allowed moisture to travel into other chambers (the chambers to the left of center). This moisture has greatly reduced visibility in the adjoining chambers.
People with glass ceilings shouldn't throw stones.
Ice Cubes? Sugar Crystals? Balloons? You decide.
Click the above image if you wish to view the complete
photo album of Louis' visit and the Tacoma Zoo.