A day of relaxation again, this time we had decided that we would visit the zoo in Memphis and get the washing done. The entrance to the zoo was, of course in an Egyptian theme, as we had expected. They have done a decent job of the zoo, only picking certain sections of the world to focus on. The first section was Cat Country, with Fishing Cats, Leopards, Tigers (including a white), Jaguar Cubs, a Snow Leopard, Lions and Cheetahs. Apart from the leopards, it was fairly well done, with a decent amount of space for the animals.
We looked at the ‘farm’ section next. No, not that boring. Every animal was different from the norm; goats, horses, sheep, pigs, even chickens were breeds that I wasn’t familiar with. Katie of course loved the horses which came from Iran and some ancient breed.
We managed to get through the pandas, Komodo dragons, snakes, Teton Country, the North, the nocturnal house, African Veldt and Primate Canyon. A fair number of familiar, and the not so familiar; wolves and bongos, rhinos and naked mole rats, rattlesnakes and green mambas. Overall we enjoyed it, although due to the weather, a fair number were tucked up and some of the exhibits were being fixed/upgraded/cleaned during the winter.
We did hear a couple of Siamang Gibbons in full chorus, dominating the whole grounds. When we got to them we saw that the sign read as ‘orang utan’. Not quite. A bit further on we came across a keeper feeding and training some form of monkey and I asked her about it. She agreed that they were Siamangs and that there is an orang in the enclosure with them. Poor orang.
Washing however, caused more problems. We got back to the hotel and asked where the nearest laundromat was. In the hotel. Awesome. How much? $3 for washing and the same for drying. Awesome, have you got some quarters that we can swap? No. Can you get some? Yes. Awesome. Umm, how long? Apparently, a long time. Washing took about 2 1/2 hours.
Matt had decided that last night, dinner had cost too much and that we should go somewhere else. He picked out a steak restaurant, and as I was parking and getting Sue out of the car, the twins had gone ahead to ensure we could get a table. They had to make a formal reservation, just standing there. That should have set off alarm bells. The waiters were all wearing ties. That should have set them ringing. There was a dress code. Umm, dress code. Needless to say, that prices were a little higher than the night before.