Lincoln Park Zoo

Well, a change of plans and an extremely crowded Michigan Avenue — three parking garages attempted, three parking garages full — resulted in another trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo. This time I hung out with the small monkeys, as well as some of the great apes, but I didn’t get super awesome pictures of the great apes.

One came right to the glass of the outdoor enclosure, it was pretty incredible. But the glass was really reflective. I got an OK pic from the little camera, though, and I’ll post that.

Some of the monkeys seemed to get that they were in nicely-appointed prisons, and looked depressed. The lighting was low there, though, and I didn’t get any usable photos.

Others seemed to realize that a quiet life with food-on-demand and without predators isn’t so bad, and were as interested in us as we were in them. So here are some pictures!

This is a pied tamarin, but I think it’s a bat-faced monkey who is half-bat-half-monkey created when a witch cursed a monkey. I’m sure it’s very nice, though.

So the black monkey was sleeping on the branch, and the golden one clearly wanted the other one to wake up. No dice.

I was taking a photo of the lemur on the right, and the other one was looking away. I SWEAR the one on the right nudged the one on the left, as if to say “Hey! Photo!” and the left one looked around until it found my camera. They stopped short of asking me to tag them.

Mom and baby, proving that goofiness is, in fact, genetic.

The underground viewing area for the seal/sea lion pool.

Baby zebra!

And now from the little camera:

Super reflective. That’s me in the striped shirt, reflected twice.

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The rules of hooky are simple: avoid all tasks on the to-do list. Enjoy day. Repeat as needed.

So yesterday I ditched everything I should have been doing, and went for Ethiopian food at Chicago’s Ethiopian Diamond restaurant. The pics right there are from their website, which isn’t totally functioning, so I’m not linking, but it gives you an idea of what the food is like.

I was so excited to dig in, I completely forgot to take a picture for everyone. We didn’t do dessert — I actually came home with a to-go box that must have weighed six pounds (it doesn’t anymore!) — but you can see how the food comes on one giant patter, resting on a base of Ethiopian bread, which is called injera.

The injera is soft and spongy, and is tangily-sour. It’s adds a layer of flavor as you use it as a utensil to grab the fragrant stewy food.

My favorites are the vegetarian dishes, though I’m not a vegetarian. But the meats are also wonderful. While the end results can appear similar, every dish has a distinct flavor, but the spices never overwhelm the ingredients. Some can be very spicy, so watch it if you’re not into heat!

After lunch I headed over to the Lincoln Park Zoo, where I broke out my trusty camera. I have mixed feelings about zoos, as I understand their purpose in terms of conservation, but some of the animals just seem so depressed.

Lincoln Park Zoo is just north of downtown Chicago, and it’s free. It opened in 1868, and some of the structures still have that look of animal jails, with the tiny exhibition spaces. But with extensive remodeling in recent years, animals are getting bigger and more natural habitats.

It’s still a zoo, though.

Sometime between 1897-1924. I think that bear is considering whether it can clear that jump.

We focused (ha!) mostly on birds this trip, and they, at least, seemed pretty contented with their lots in life. There was one open room of tropical birds, and they seemed to enjoy the interaction with visitors.

In fact, I’d swear they took turns making sure they had their pictures taken.