Harvey Goes to the Zoo!

What better place to take a bunny than an environment filled with large predatory animals? Obviously.

Honestly there is no better zoo than the Woodland Park Zoo, at least not that I've been to. The Woodland Park Zoo, which has been around since 1902. It was redesigned to create environments where the humans were more enclosed than the animals are. Harvey, obviously was excited to see his first kangaroo. He wouldn't say so, but I suspect he was hoping they would take him in as one of their own.

But first Tobi and I had some time to explore Greenwood a little before the whole Harvey Adventure Crew came up to Seattle. Greenlake, along Phinney Ave. is a great walk, so the three of us went for a stroll. I had been staying up in Seattle housesitting and had time to explore. Having a feel for the area I took Harvey and Tobi to experience the World's Best Ice Cream.

Sorry for the blur, but I was falling into a diabetic coma.

Mae's Cafe, with an attached ice-cream wing with it's odd cave motif for the booths makes the most literally diabetes worthy milkshakes in the history of such things. Harvey took a sip and his fur stood on end for hours. Tobi and I split a chocolate milkshake, which easily filled the two take away cups (though I suspect the server was being generous with the servings, but then the servings appeared to be always a bit generous...) and was literally awe-worthy. It was frothy, and chocolaty and swirled with fudge, topped with whipped cream, and just reminding Tobi of it now, several months after the fact, who is sitting next to me, caused her to lapse into a dreamy coma of chocolate memories. Oh yeah. It was that good. I can attest that their strawberry ice cream is equally delicious.

Harvey gives Mae's: 5

Though their ice cream stand can be a little hard to actually utalize, (it's off from the main building, and it's hard to tell where you need to be to actually order) but it's relatively easy to flag down an employee. They also are a cafe-cafe, and serve real food. I really wanted to try out their breakfast but I never got a chance.

Yum!

Back to the real business. After Tobi, Harvey and I wandered around, and getting properly hopped up on Chocolate, we met up with the whole gang (the whole gang being Cassi and Chase) and entered the zoo.

Image courtesy of FindWell

Of course to zoo is home to a variety of animals, and starting at the North Enterance is the newly referbished penguin exhibit. The penguins were all too happy to show off for us, but Harvey, it seems isn't too much of a water rabbit, Tobi and Hannah on the other hand...

Harvey unwilling becomes an oar for the lost mariners.





You're flying Harvey!



Sorry 'Bout that Harv...

Near the North Enterance to the Zoo is the "Historic Carousel", which I have actually never ridden. It's housed in a pretty sweet old building. It only costs two dollars to ride, and the thing is gigantic, but then again, as I said I've never ridden it. Usually when we go to the zoo, we're pretty focused on the animals. Still, Harvey was interested but none of us wanted to slow down and take him. We told him that this was the carousel. I don't think he was impressed.

Harvey sat down to take a rest in the Tropical Rain Forest Exhibit, perhaps unaware of the presence of another furry lifeform sitting only a few inches away.

I much admit. The Jaguar is usually the first place that all of us run, not only because it's close to the North enterance, and it's Cassi's second favorite animal in the zoo, but also because the Jaguars are almost always very visable and close to the glass. They enjoy napping on the heated rocks right near the viewers, and only once have I seen them in the actual forested part of their exhibit. If they didn't occasionally open their eyes, I would assume they were stuffed.

Then we swung around to the Gorilla exhibit, which is admittedly, to me, one of the entertaining exhibits and is widely the most popular (judging by the packed house everytime I visit). There are three sections of Gorillas, and all of them bring their own distinct flavour. My favorite animal in the zoo is Nina, the elderly matron of the Gorilla house, who to me always comes of as one of those spirited, but perhaps slightly insane grandmothers. She's usually napping in the third Gorilla area, or sitting around with a large stick, or her arms crossed. She's terribly interested in people (less so in their stuffed rabbits it seems though), and almost always is sticking out her tongue. To me, Gorillas are totally lovable. I mean, come on, how could you not love a face like this,  mean, really? 

I'm not sure why, but in my head he's making a wonderful honking noise.

Then on to Australiasia!

I want to insert a warning here for those of you who might someday have the oppertunity to get to know Cassi. She's a wonderful person, but, see, she has a bit of a problem. She's absolutely addicted to the Red Panda. Now, there's no support group for this sort of addiction. No twelve-step program. All of this is made worse by the fact that not only is the Red Panda in the enclosure perhaps least suited to quality photography, but he's also pretty camera shy. On this day, he was more active than usual (that is to say, not asleep), and running laps in his pen, regardless, he was sneaky enough to avoid good shots. Cassi entered true obsessive photographer mode and crouched in the spider infested bushes for well over twenty minutes, totally statuesque, only coming to life when the Red Panda was near. Eventually we worked out a gaurd system. Tobi stood on the other side of the enclosure, as she, Chase, and I relayed the Red Panda's movements to our obsessive Panda Lover.

The sad thing is that even after all of that, we still didn't get a great shot of him. Curse you Red Panda!!!

After the Red Panda we moved onto the the African exhibits. In the African area there is a really cool mock African village, with houses and a school room from which you can veiw the savannah. It's a very neat arrangement but I don't think Harvey enjoyed it to it's fullest... 



Behave yourself Harvey!

 


Harvey doesn't want to join the fossil collection either.





Harvey doesn't want to go to school either. But hey! At least the veiw was good.

Harvey was happier once he got to be the principal.

Chase was just thrilled that the zoo had a unicorn exhibit. Or, at least, that's what we let her believe. Her dance was just far too adorable to interupt

We heard there were Hippos around here somewhere! Keep looking Harv!

There they are!

Oh no! Chase noticed this poor sad Hippo locked out of his enclosure and sinking slowly into the sand! Somebody save him!!!

Then Harvey pointed out another Unicorn roaming the ground and Chase was forced to perform the dance again. Though it's not really a unicorn, I pointed out, more of a...unitusk?





Harvey took to the hanging out with the chimpanzees. I didn't expect him to, but perhaps it had something to do with his prehensil ears which allow him to climb with ease, but I could be wrong about that.  

No, no guys! That's not what a meerkat looks like! You're doing it all wrong. Harvey, Tobi and Chase will never pass for Meerkats in this town.  

Oh no! Harvey! Luckily there was no real Snow Leopards out and about to finish him off.

There some things that aren't just appropriate for the eyes of a young bunny at the zoo.

 As it turned out though, Harvey could hold his own in the carnivore arena. What can we say? He's spent time with the Boggio girls, who could easily out carnivore any fox, wolf or canine beastie. Harvey is a quick study.

Isn't the bear supposed to be the one in the cave?

One of these otters seems to have acquired a better catch than the other.

Oh no! Harvey! There used to be "fish" hanging from the fish drying rack, but now there's just a lone hawaiian bunny.

Harvey and the Kookaburra had a nice little stare off. The Kookaburra seemed a little concerned about the presence of a Harvey outside of his cage, maybe he heard a rumour from the wolves about Harvey's carnivorous nature.

Harvey learns what "Please Don't Disturb the Animals" really means. Luckily the fake rabbit is only preyed upon by fake Crocodyles.

The Woodland Park Zoo is really a must see for anybody visiting Seattle, and they can spend anywhere from a few hours to a whole day there. It's also situated in some fantastic shopping and park areas, so there's a bit of something for everyone. Most of all though, it's essential that any trip to the Woodland Park Zoo be followed up with another Seattle tradition. A trip to Dick's Burgers! Dick's is an instution in Seattle, so much so that local legend stipulates the Elvis, who was known to have greatly complimented Dick's Burgers when he dined there during the filming of "It Happened at the World's Fair", still lived nearby and can be spotted sneaking in for a burger in disguise daily. Dick's has a few locations around Seattle (six now!), and are often drive up, ordering counters, with no indoor seating, such as the one ear the zoo, but there are always (short) lines, and somehow eating in the car just makes the whole experience more genuine. Best of all, it's fast and extremely cheap. You can get stuffed for well under 5 dollars. Harvey recommends the Deluxe Burger, but could pass on the fries. The milkshake, however, is non-negotiable.  

Adventure Complete!

Hannah sometimes likes to pretend that she is a photographer. To check out more images of the animals of the Woodland Park Zoo, check out her gallery. Or check out the Youtube complation of our adventure including the UNICORN CHANT and the LLAMA DANCE on our Youtube

Harvey does Oregon...(again): Portland, Seaside and the Coast

Not again! Harvey seemed to groan as we piled into the car for the four hour drive down to the Oregon coast. True, out of the couple of odd adventures that Harvey has experienced, it seemed odd to repeat one so shortly into the experience.

Well, it's not a repeat for me! Although I had visited Portland several times in the last few years, most recently a couple of months ago to see my pseudo-sister Cassi at the Pacific Northwest College of the Arts and to help her graduate; it had been years since I had gotten to see Seaside and quite a while since I had gotten a chance to take one of my-mom-and-my's signature ultra-relaxed vacations. Harvey had nothing to complain about, particularly since I had allowed him to wear one of his lady-slaying Hawaiian shirts.

And so we were off! Harvey buckled safely in the back, Mom behind the wheel, and "Wait...Wait...Don't Tell Me!" on the radio.

Unfortunately the trip got off to a rocky start, immediately beginning with tire trouble as we pulled into a local Les Schwab with a nail in the tire. Thankfully though the guys at the Bothell Les Schwab fix the tire in not time flat, no charge. Highly grateful, we set out, late.

Come 12:30 at night, and some severe traffic later Mom, Harvey and I pulled into the Vancouver La Quinta totally exhausted. Let me take a moment to say that everybody we ran into that day was so wonderfully helpful and nice. The guys at the Les Schwab who stayed after closing, fixed our tire for no charge; and the Vancouver La Quinta who charged us a fraction of other motel's prices, kept the doors open late, were extremely friendly, and gave us one of the nicest rooms I've possibly ever stayed in; a thousand thank yous! Should you ever, in some bizarre coincidence of the Internet kind, stumble across this blog and this post, let me say how much we appreciate you guys. If you ever need a tire fixed, or place to stay, I recommend them.

The next day Harvey, Mom and I set out into Portland! Home of the young, starving artist; the grungy hipster, and the utterly bizarre. Although I don't think I could ever part with my beloved Seattle, Portland sometimes seems like it might make a close second. It's a very pretty city, with smart planning, inter-urban parks every-other block, cheap parking and some pretty neat bridges. But first and foremost, it was time to fulfill my Mom's greatest image of Heaven...

Powell's City of Books! Three floors, two buildings, all books. The largest new and used bookstore in the world, and located in Portland's Pearl District; it's easily one of the coolest nerd-meccas anywhere. It's also a place where one can easily lose hours. Mom, an avid bird-watcher/bander/enthusiast zipped right to the ornithological section. I popped over to Sci-fi and graphic novels. Harvey was found ogling Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail in the classics section.

Harvey and I took a moment to take a picture in front of two of the most iconic Portland spots in one. Powell's City of Books, and Bike racks. Portland is one of the country's "Bike-ist" cities out there. Powell's contends with this by making bike-racks in the form of iconic books about bikes.

After a morning in the bookstore, time limited and schedule full, we headed over to Fuller's, one of the best breakfast joints in the city, and one conveniently left off the travel brochures so that mostly only locals know about it. Just a lunch-counter, with kitchen-side seating, open from 6:00-3:00; Fuller's makes absolutely the most delicious breakfasts in the entire world. Mom questioned my repeated insistence on dining there, but quickly proclaimed Fuller's as making the "Most Delicious Hash Browns Ever". It's also one of the oldest diners in Portland, has great communal dining, and homemade bread. Yum! Harvey particularly enjoyed the breakfast sausage. I thought rabbits were supposed to be herbivores, but what do I know?

My Mom is in school to be an architect, and both of us are nerds, so naturally we spent the rest of the day bustling about from Portland's most interesting buildings to their best museums. We headed off to Portland's Hat museum, which is listed in most of the tour guides. Unfortunately the Hat museum's location is apparently hidden until you make a reservation, and when you try and make a reservation a stuffy curator will inform you that you should have made a reservation three weeks ago. So the Hat Museum was a bust. Luckily we found ourselves near Portland's First Presbyterian Church. The building has been around since 1889, and it's got some of the coolest detailing and pipe-organs on the west coast.

Harvey looking down at the balcony, wishing he knew how to play a pipe-organ, and that he had half-a-face mask.

After taking a tour of the church (just walk in and ask to see the place, the front desk is very accommodating), we decided to take a stroll.

Harvey poses in front of one of Portland's signature bridges.



Harvey in front of Portlandia, the second largest pounded copper statue after the Statue of Liberty.  



Mom and I almost missed it. We circled the Portland building one whole time before looking up. 

It's kind of scary.

but you enjoyed Cowboys and Aliens before, Harvey!

 Finally we headed up to Portland's Alphabet district and did some window shopping before heading North towards the Peculiarium, a unique little kitschy shop/museum that's somewhat, well, peculiar. It's got zombie babies, alien abductions, and a whole variety of voodoo tchotchkes. It's odd, but I really enjoyed it, it's certainly worth a look if you're into the hodge-podge of bizarre. Harvey on the other hand seemed just a little bit uncomfortable there. 

Then it was off to Seaside. Another couple hour drive away and there we were! In the rain. I played on the beach, I swung on the swing for hours and hours, I went to Mostly Hats, and ate lots and lots of Seaside Saltwater Taffy. All-the-while it rained so hard, sideways, that I got swimmers ear from walking eastward. I kid you not, stepping outside could get you wet to the bone. Luckily, I'm a web-footed Seattleite and didn't mind in the least.

Harvey elected to stay in the motel, due to a skin condition. He didn't seem too upset. I'm not sure why...

I'm afraid Seaside wasn't too well documented because of the torrential downpour, but it was a great couple of days. You'll just have to take my word for it. On the way home, we stopped at Fort Clatsop, the winter quarters for Lewis and Clark's Core of Discovery when they landed on the West Coast.

Harvey redubs Fort Clatsop, Fort Harvey.

"This place needs pillows!"

Then we stopped at North Head, which sits between Cape Disappointment and the Dismal Niche. (Gotta love grumpy explorer names). It's not only very pretty but also on of the foggiest spots on the west coast and home to a whole host of ship-wrecks. I was busy snapping pictures of the cool coastline and mom was engaged in watching the squadrons of Pelicans that were flying past.

I don't know about anyone else, but Harvey kept humming the theme to Jurassic Park and making me nervous.

At the end of the bluff is the North Head lighthouse, an extremely old and still functioning lighthouse. Harvey took a moment to enjoy the fog. Luckily the lighthouse is still functioning, so Harvey was confident he wouldn't get lost at sea.

After one final look at the sea, we all piled back in the car and headed inland again. Even though it rained for most of the vacation, Harvey still had a great time, although I suspect that might be somehow related to fact that he's smelled like Taffy, ever since he got home, but I'm not really sure.