Koalas and Kangaroos!

I woke up early today (as usual) and worked out, showered, and had breakfast. Talked to Jordan’s parents and then headed off to the library to check email for the first time in several days. It’s so odd not having internet access everywhere I go, 24/7. I’m adjusting. After a couple hours at the library (I never realized how long I can spend online) we had some lunch and went into town to catch the bus to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary! This place was small, but really awesome. There were koalas in open enclosures all over the place. They’re sleepy little creatures. Pretty content to just sit there and eat eucalyptus leaves and snooze. After snapping a few photos, we grabbed some food for the roos. They were so cool! I know people read everywhere that they can kill you and stuff, but these guys were small and very tame. We had a great time feeding and petting them. The enclosure they had for them was very big and we came across a mom and joey after walking around for a while. I managed to snap one picture of them before my camera died on me. Lesson learned: I need to charge it more often.

Anyway, after the kangaroos and wallabies, we went to hold a koala. They make you pay $15 to get a photo taken (even with your own camera), so I forked over some cash. It seemed pretty well worth it. I should be able to get the picture online so I don’t have to scan it onto the computer, but it may take me a day or two to get around to it. I’ll put it on Flickr as soon as I get it. Koalas have very soft, very dense fur and they are just as cute in person as they are in pictures. Such an awesome experience. After holding the koala we walked around the park some more. Came across an enclosure with all the new mothers and their babies. Unfortunately, my camera was dead, so I don’t have any pictures of them. I can assure you that these baby koalas were just about the cutest things ever. It’s the kind of cute that makes you say “I want one!” I bet they’re pretty easy to care for, actually, but I’m sure Denver is not a suitable environment for such an animal (not to mention that whole getting-through-customs thing). We also saw some crocodiles, wombats, echidnas, and various snakes, lizards, and birds. Walked around the gift shop for a bit while waiting for the bus. Resisted a strong urge to buy a very cute t-shirt for a little boy I babysit for (Alane, let the kiddos know I’m thinking about them).

Anyway, so that was basically the end of the weekend. It was a lot of fun, but I’m kind of looking forward to getting back into a routine with classes here. I start on Tuesday and have class from 10 to 2 (World Religions and Marine Biology). Wednesday is 9 to 6 with a couple breaks in between (International Business and Marine Bio plus a history of Nazi Germany class) and Thursday is just a one hour lecture from 1 to 2 for Marine Bio again. So, three days of class a week and lots of 4-day weekends to look forward to. Much more blogging to come and don’t forget to check out the new pictures!

Love,

Nicole