Kansas City, Here I . . .Am

Greetings from KC! I came up yesterday to attend my boss's boss's boss's retirement ceremony. Ralph is retiring from the federal court to take a job with the State Department in Jakarta, Indonesia. The District of Kansas and, in fact, the entire judiciary will miss him, but we all respect and admire his commitment to spreading the rule of law around the world! Here is a pre-ceremony photo of him with most of the judges of the district.

On the way to the hotel from the courthouse yesterday, I saw a billboard for the Kansas City Zoo - it seems that they have some special guests - Koala Bears!!! Since Koala bears are one of my very favorite animals EVER (koalas, panda bears and penguins rock!) I headed out this morning to pay my respects. Here are some pics from my visit! It should be said that I hate zoos and that this is the first time in 20 years that I have voluntarily set foot in a zoo!

The sea lions were my first stop:

My second stop was the discovery barn to see my friends, the koalas - unfortunately, they were asleep. Fortunately, they were still dang adorable!

Down the hill and around the corner from the koalas, I stumbled upon these camels. I think they speak for themselves. Oddly, this is the one exhibit that wasn't packed with school children on a field trip (I heard that there were 400 individual classes there - I believe it!):

Two of the gorillas in the new exhibit in Wichita came from Kansas City - the two most aggressive. I think I know why - in Wichita, the gorilla habitat is like an ape day spa - here, it's like the ghetto - it was kind of sad, but these guys looked ok, if a little depressed.

Last, but not least, this Sumatran Tiger found a good way to avoid the heat within the confines of the very small cage that he shared with another tiger:

After the zoo, I went shopping - I didn't find anything interesting. I went to Macy's at Towne Center, Bass Pro Shop, Super Target, Quik Trip, The Great Mall of the Great Plains, Sears Grand and, finally, Sun Fresh Market where I picked up supper before heading back to the hotel exhausted and ready for a bit of rest. My pedometer said that I'd walked around 23,000 steps to day - unfortunately, I left it on in the car and it was also counting bumps in the highway. I'd guess that I walked at least 18,000, though - it was a looooonnnnnggg day, but very, very fun!

Tomorrow is a small party in honor of Ralph - I am looking forward to spending some time with some of my favorite members of my court family! After that, I'm headed home to get some sleep and then get ready to celebrate the greatest mother that God ever made!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers who read this!