Llama hike in Redwood Regional Park
We had the most amazing time hiking with llamas, thanks to George Caldwell and his llamas (www.experiencellamas.com) who came out to Redwood Regional Park in Oakland for the Saturday, March 29th hike. Yes, George and his assistant drove 8 llamas from Sonora (2 hours north of the bay) in 2 regular-sized vans down to the verdant hills of Oakland for the 16 person hike. Isn't it amazing how they fit in vans?!!
Anyway, I had invited all my local friends (and some non-locals who I hoped could make the long-distance trek for the love of llamas) to the expedition but only a few could make it that weekend. Some got discouraged by the East Bay Regional Park website's cumbersome registration system, and others couldn't commit to registering weeks ahead of time (the event sold out).
It was so worth it. You get one llama for every two people! I was so jazzed. We learned to pack the llama, feed it, care for it, pet it (not on its head tho!), and we learned so much about them. About how they spit only in extreme circumstances, like, if another llama sniffed its butt (the offended llama will spit forward, not backward, and an undeserving soul will be spitted on). So we kept the llamas apart to avoid unnecessary spitting. However, my llama spit on Chris and Jenn's llama -- cuz their llama got in my llama's face. That was HYSTERICAL. Llamas spat at each other and never spat on us humans. You know, us humans who kept hugging them and taking pictures with them.
The hike was 4-6 miles of the French trail in Redwood Regional Park. It was GORGEOUS. The previous day saw lots of misty rain but no heavy rain, so Saturday morning at 10AM saw lots of mist in the fern-dense forest. It's hard to put into words how magical the area is. George was super friendly and taught us random fun things, like how a circle of redwoods (we were looking at one) means they had sprouted from one big redwood that was logged (the area had been logged before). We had our lunches (which the llamas carried easily) at a picnic site, where lots of passer-byers took camera pictures of the llamas. It must be a curious site to see! Half a dozen llamas chilling in the middle of a park.
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Anyway, that was Saturday. On Sunday, I had brunch in the city with some girls in tech, then convinced Ben to drive to the city to meet me and go to the San Francisco Zoo. After the tiger-eats-boy hubbub, I was very curious to see this zoo I heard so much about (I read the SFGate.com comments... terrible I know, but it was interesting to put an ear to the ground). Plus, interning at the Taipei Zoo for a summer really gave me perspective on zoos and how they work. So we went and bought $11 tickets each at 4PM for a zoo that closes at 5PM on Sundays. I really believe in supporting this zoo, so whatever. And seriously, those tickets are CHEAP! I am used to big entertainment places like Disneyland and Universal Studios, which also promise a day of fun, and I can't believe the upkeep of so many animals can be funded with such low ticket prices. It's excellent though, because it also allows EVERYONE to come and enjoy the zoo -- bring the kids! But I digress.
I liked the giraffes in their barn, because it was really windy that day. A lot of the animals were hiding or inside because of the wind and chill at 4PM, but we saw some primates. I love the emperor tamarins -- they are so Dr. Seuss-ical!! And they're super animated and inquisitive, they keep angling and turning their heads side to side to look at you.
I saw the polar bear sleeping (I love their big paws) and visited the grizzly gulch but didn't see any bears. I loved the penguin exhibit, how they have all these apartments/cubbies, the hose blasting water, and even their own Zen rock garden!
The most interesting exhibit was the tapir, with its long snout that moves! It was eating in a back corner of its exhibit, in what looks like an aesthetically bleak space. Ben said, "The tapir should have more tropical plants in his environment" and then I started wondering if I could like, give the tapir a tropical plant -- the way people give each other flowers or gifts. I'm Twittering with the SF Zoo which made me giddy with excitement when I got a lead on how to make this happen. We shall see...