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I'm not one of those animal rights activits that think zoos should be outlawed. In fact, I love zoos.
However, Riverbanks makes me cry every time I see the Polar Bear exhibit. Why?
Well,...
I'm not one of those animal rights activits that think zoos should be outlawed. In fact, I love zoos.
However, Riverbanks makes me cry every time I see the Polar Bear exhibit. Why?
Well, firstly, Columbia is quite hot in the Summertime--I'd assume muc hotter than the artic circle gets during its summer.
Secondly, the bear is given a peice of white styrofoam as a pretend ice-block to play around with. For some reason, that just makes me really sad. Oh and the bears don't look too happy either. Of course, they're in weather that's about 9x's hotter than their normal climate. I suppose I'd be a little cheesed off if I were them too.
I do like the giant tortise they have there. It's quite friendly and will follow you around without any provocation.
The monkeys are funny, although the monkey house should be rated "R" because of some of the monkey hi-jinx I've seen occur there. Parents, be warned!
If you go to the zoo between May - October, make sure to bring sunscreen and lots of water. It gets REALLY hot in Columbia, so don't get dehydrated or sunburnt!
Like every other zoo in existance, I've never been to Riverbanks when all exhibits are open at once. I think that's one of the signs of the end of times, so perhaps I shouldn't want all the exhibits to be open at once.
Oh and the pengin house is kind of miserable looking too. THe penigins are segregated behind this fully-glassed enclosure. The room itself is kind of steamy, but I'm sure (I hope) that the parts the penguins live in would be better temperature controlled.
There's a rainforest walk through where you can see animals and they even make it rain, complete with thunder and lightening effects. THAT is pretty interesting. The exhibit is laid out so that the animals have cover, but aren't so covered that you can't see them. Lots of birds and monkeys!
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I have always wondered if there is some obscure law that prevents a zoo from having all exhibits open at one time.
The zoo in Columbia, SC, always has at least one part of the Africa exhibit...
I have always wondered if there is some obscure law that prevents a zoo from having all exhibits open at one time.
The zoo in Columbia, SC, always has at least one part of the Africa exhibit closed for repairs.
Same with Woodland Park Zoo. I've never been able to go there and see the WHOLE thing. For that matter, I've never been to a zoo where all exhibits were open and ready for viewing.
With that being said, Woodland Park Zoo is a decent little zoo in the heart of Seattle's Fremont area. Nice collection of animals, including some very cute Elephants, and the regular zoo-fare obligate animals and overpriced sno-cone stands.
Don't drive--you'll have to pay for parking. Take the bus and meet all the interesting characters that ride the bus at 2pm on Tuesday afternoons. Maybe you'll make a new friend. Or develop a strange new phobia. The choice is yours!
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The Museum of Flight is just junk. SEriously.
You can take a walk around a 1960's-era Airforce One, which is even filled with the obligatory...
The Museum of Flight is just junk. SEriously.
You can take a walk around a 1960's-era Airforce One, which is even filled with the obligatory cheesy-manequins-positioned-at-the-desk-to-look-like-they're-working things.
There's alot of airplanes hanging from the roof, and you can see alot of mockups of different things, but it's really really a bad museum. Even my husband who is enthralled by anything dealing with airplanes was begging me to leave.
Wanna see planes for cheap? Hang out on E. Marginal and watch the planes going to and fro Boeing field. You'll save the cash AND see more interesting things than you could have in the museum.
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Uwajimaya is the best store in the Universe.
It is an Asian grocery and gift store and has EVERY SINGLE FOOD ITEM you never knew existed. Even after you see the food you have no idea what it is...
Uwajimaya is the best store in the Universe.
It is an Asian grocery and gift store and has EVERY SINGLE FOOD ITEM you never knew existed. Even after you see the food you have no idea what it is because many of the products are not labeled in English.
That's what makes Uwajimaya fun, though. Buy a box of cookies with a picture of a flower on the outside. Find out that they taste like shrimp, instead of a flower. Buy interesting drinks made out of basil seed and strange nuts you've never heard of.
Go into the produce department and get cheap basil to make pesto with! Buy some Lechee fruit and spend 30 minutes figuring out how to eat them.
Go into the fish and meat department and be amazed at the tons of crabs, clams, and other assorted sea life that are in the ice-filled bins.
Uwajimaya is the best store in the world. I mean, what other store has an entire asile devoted to SOY SAUCE?
Now that we don't live in Seattle anymore, when my husband and I do make it on that side of the mountains, we always stock up on goodies at Uwajimaya.
Oh--and even better--the prices are SO CHEAP! Once you go to Uwajimaya, you'll NEVER settle for the paltry "ethnic aisle" at the grocery store again. Such great foods and they're SO inexpensive!!!
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I've had the (mis)fortune of taking this tour three times in the span of 2 years because of family members coming in from out of town.
I will tell you that the jokes they tell on your tour are...
I've had the (mis)fortune of taking this tour three times in the span of 2 years because of family members coming in from out of town.
I will tell you that the jokes they tell on your tour are the same they told on my tour. They even pause for laughter.
All in all, the Seattle Underground Tour is really interesting the first time you go on it, slightly interesting the second time, and not quite as interesting the third time.
You start off getting a brief history of Seattle and how it was made, and they'll tell you about the toilets that overflowed because of the level of the sea. Then you get in a group of about 30 people and walk around Pioneer Square, into some old buildings and down into the "underground" of Seattle.
If you've ever walked around Pioneer Square and noticed the purple glass tiles in the sidewalk--those are light tiles for the underground, to let light come in!
The history is really fascinating, and it's odd to think that everything downtown used to be between 4-32 feet lower than it currently is.
You'll do alot of walking around in dark dusty areas on this tour, but it's not bad or clausterphobic. Wear your walking shoes and be prepared to laugh at not-so-good jokes. Bring a water bottle also because you may get dried out walking around in dusty basements.
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The Charleston Museum has been the same since I was a wee lass visiting it in the late 70's and early 80's. Nothing has changed. There are no new exhibits, no new nothing. I think the newest...
The Charleston Museum has been the same since I was a wee lass visiting it in the late 70's and early 80's. Nothing has changed. There are no new exhibits, no new nothing. I think the newest addition was the Discover Me room that was installed around '82 or so.
All and all, it's not a horrible museum, considering it's small and not updated much.
I still love to see the Mummy, with his bony toes poking through, and the cotton gin---things like that remind me of my youth. There's the big whale skeleton that hangs above the entrance way, and the replica of the Hunley Submarine outside.
It's not too terribly expensive to get inside, but it doesn't take very long to go through the exhibits. They do a good job, though, of giving really great examples of what Charleston was like in years past.
The gift shop is very small, and there is no place to eat or drink there either.
Obviously, this isn't going to be a run-in for National History Museum. But it's not bad
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The only problem I have with Best Uniforms is that they do not have a large selection of scrubs for men, unless you just want solid dark blue or green.
Tons of cartoon scrubs, though, which I...
The only problem I have with Best Uniforms is that they do not have a large selection of scrubs for men, unless you just want solid dark blue or green.
Tons of cartoon scrubs, though, which I guess is fine if you like nothing but the Pink Panther or Saving Nemo scrubs.
They have a decent selection of stethoscopes that you can try before you buy them.
Not too bad of a store, but the prices of scrubs are a bit high.
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Pike Place Bakery is located just inside Pike Place Market and isn't what you'd expect to find in a crowded, tourist-driven establishment like Pike Place Market.
They have a wide variety of all...
Pike Place Bakery is located just inside Pike Place Market and isn't what you'd expect to find in a crowded, tourist-driven establishment like Pike Place Market.
They have a wide variety of all kinds of baked goods, from many types of fresh bread, pastries, cakes, rolls....anything that can be baked can be gotten here.
Check out their display case where you'll find so many sweet things that your teeth hurt just from looking at them!
Get a huge loaf of nut bread for $2.75. It'll last you for a week plus some!
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This place must have to search high and low to find the rude and unprofessional staff members that work at this place.
I have pretty straight-forward hair---it's at my shoulders, please cut it 3...
This place must have to search high and low to find the rude and unprofessional staff members that work at this place.
I have pretty straight-forward hair---it's at my shoulders, please cut it 3 inches, thank you. The stylist I had said that if I did that, my hair would be ugly! ???
My husband was so disappointed in his hair cut that he immediately went home and shaved his head.
Once the woman cut my hair, she did a really crummy job, didn't even it out or anything, and then said "See, you hair ugly. I told you so".
I complained to the manager, who was quite uninterested in hearing complaints.
I would rather have a rat's nest in my head than to EVER get my hair cut by these incompetents again.
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I have a very low pain tolerance and Dr Leeward never makes me cry from pain.
She is her own hygenist, so you get her total attention from the time you walk in until you leave. Her office is...
I have a very low pain tolerance and Dr Leeward never makes me cry from pain.
She is her own hygenist, so you get her total attention from the time you walk in until you leave. Her office is small and she's got great views from her office, which is on the top floor of the Medical Dental building downtown.
She spends that extra time with you and you never feel rushed out of the chair.
She's a super dentist!
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