Brooklyn and the Doctor Who Bar

Today I went into Brooklyn.

I was still pretty tired from last night, so I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked, but I had a great time.

I started out at the Prospect Park Zoo. It's a smaller midsize zoo - bigger than Central Park, but much smaller than the Bronx. I was able to see everything in less than two hours.

They did have some neat exhibits, and some that were put together in different ways. For example, they had some animals as part of an "art" display - either noticing the art that animals can make, or the art that they actually are, like with pretty scale patterns and whatnot.

I'm always a little amused when I see "mundane" exhibits like turkeys and domestic cows. Ooh, look, a wild turkey! Back in Michigan, we call that dinner ;)

They also had a bearded dragon exhibit, which amused me to no end, considering that I own one.

After that, I bought a salad and walked down to the Soldiers and Sailors Arch and park. The statues here are beautiful, and lots of people use the park. There were many people walking their dogs, and more than a couple of brides getting photos taken.

I walked around near the public library and  the art museum, which were both unfortunately closed. However, the outsides were very pretty, and it was fun just getting to sit and people watch.

The crowing jewel of my night was FINALLY getting to visit the WayStation, a Doctor Who/Steampunk themed bar.

Obviously, I loved it.

They do live music every night, and the three bands I got to listen to were very good. More importantly, the drinks were strong (I had the Rose Tyler and the 10th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver, of course), the decor was excellent (the TARDIS is the bathroom - made it very funny during some photos ops), and the people were awesome.

This is why I love steampunk and my fellow nerds. About an hour into my visit there, a group of Brooklyn steampunks arrived in full costume. Even though I was in muggle wear, as soon as I told them I was a Michigan Steampunk, we started swapping costuming ideas and they invited me to an event in September (which I unfortunately can't make).

Bronx Zoo!

Today I went to the Bronx Zoo! It was very hot, and I didn't get to see everything (holy cow it's much bigger than I thought), but I had a fun time.

I ended up buying a zoo membership - it lets you get into ALL of the NY zoos for free, plus free parking, discounts at their stores, and I can bring a guest at no charge. Since I plan on going to the other zoos while I'm staying here and maybe want to go back to the Bronx, I figured it was worth it. The membership also gives you full park privileges like riding the tram (TOTALLY WORTH IT JUST FOR THAT).

The zoo had this really cool monorail that took you through the Asian animal exhibit. Here are some friendly elephants!

 The architecture of the main zoo was really pretty. This is part of the "central" zoo exhibit - the inside was undergoing renovations, but it was beautiful to walk through anyway.

Those of you that know me personally know that I own a bearded dragon and have a fondness for all things reptilian. This was a very active and friendly chuckwalla.

And this was a very pretty snake, nicknamed the Rhino Viper. She had beautiful eyes and scales

Beautiful and deadly: a very alert rattlesnake.

Another favorite part of the architecture: all of the original "houses" had animal carvings on the outside! The reptile house, pictured below, had crocodiles, snapping turtles, and frogs carved into it, while the old big cat house had lions, leopards, and tigers, etc.

I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, but he is very beautiful!

Some of the bird exhibits were open air - either you walked through them, or they simply had no glass. This guy was maybe 3 feet above me and was very curious about my camera.

Finally, one of my favorite birds simply because of its name: The Tawney Frogmouth!

The Bronx Zoo, like most zoos nowadays, is very big on conservation. The gorilla exhibit was one of the special "extra" exhibits and focused on gorilla and rainforest conservation, and was very well put together.

Like I said, I didn't get to see everything today, and it was VERY hot so a lot of the bigger animals were hard to find, so I might try to go back another day with comfier shoes and a water bottle :)

Overall though, an amazing zoo and I highly recommend it.