Saturday, May 21, 2005

Sightseeing Part 2

Here are some more places John and I visited on our honeymoon! 

A Walking Cave

I normally don't like caves but John wanted to go so I thought I would give it a try.  Boy, I was a real trooper, as this was the second cave we visited on our honeymoon!  It was a 45 minute tour and the most unusual thing about it was the hibernating bats!

The first thing we saw was a fossil.  It was a cephalopod.  The cephalopod is an ancestor to a squid.  The tour guide said the fossil was in a layer of rock that was dated to be four hundred million years old, so they knew the cave was the same age.  On the way out we also saw fossils of ferns and shells.

The first room we went into was called "The Ballroom".  There have been weddings, receptions, and even square dances held in there!  I would never want MY wedding in there!

We saw a lot of stalactites (they come down from the top of the cave) and stalagmites (they come up from the floor of the cave).  We saw a giant stalagamite formation.  It was freestanding.  It was thirteen feet high and eight feet across! 

We also got to touch a stalagmite.  It was in the shape of a camel.  It has been in the Guiness Book of World Records!

The grossest room to me was the one where the bats hibernated.  There were hundreds of bats.  John thought it was interesting!  Two of them woke up when we came in the room and started flying around.  I screamed.  One of the bats flew down and jumped in my hair.  The tour guide told me not to scream because the bat would get confused.  He said bats get confused when women/girls scream.  He said their high pitched screaming voices are very soothing to them, and they think that the women are calling to them to come over.  So they fly towards the women.  They don't understand when the women get upset.  I will never scream when I see a bat again!

Another interesting thing about this cave is it used to be used as a hideout by a man who was a Robin Hood type of robber.  He used to live in the cave some of the time and legend has it that the money may still be in the cave. 

The cave was also used a lot by local Indians.  The temperature stays a constant 48 degrees, and the Indians came in in the wintertime to get out of the cold.  You can still see the black soot on the walls and ceiling where they lit their fires. 

This was a fun trip for me after all, except for the bats!

Reptile Zoo 

The next day John and I visited a Reptile Zoo.  I went because John really wanted to, even though I am really afraid of reptiles!  But it turned out to be a fun experience.

We went and saw a presentation about reptiles.  But first we went and visited individual exhibits.  I really hate snakes, but saw some that were beautiful.  I saw a green Mamba.  He was neon green.  I also liked the Rainbow Python.  He was 22 feet, rainbow and irridescent and glittery.  

We saw two full grown alligators, a male and a female.  The male was twelve feet long and the female was nine feet.  The male was in the water and the female was on land.  They ate rabbits.  It was an awesome sight seeing alligators close up like that.  I am glad that the pen that held them had an enclosure that was about ten feet high though!  

Then we went to the presentation.  We saw a movie on reptiles and amphibians.  You know, reptiles are your friends!  But not always! 

Then the tour guide took out a real live alligator!  It was two and a half years old.  It looked about two feet long.  The first thing it did was pee on the stage!  And then it started hissing.  It did not want to be there.  She had ahold of it by the neck.  Then she clamped its mouth shut and brought it around for everybody to touch.  It felt bumpy on top and very, very smooth on the underside.  Yes, that is right, I touched a real live alligator!  John says whenhe touched it, it gave him a good hissing!  

Next she brought out a boa constrictor.  She wrapped it around herself.  It was about four feet long.  She brought that around too.  Yes, I hate snakes, but yes, I touched it!  Because I will never have a chance again in my life to do it probably.  

The tour guide said not to touch the snake's head.  She also said don't touch it if you were handling your pet hamster before you came to the show, because the snake would mistake you for prey! 

Then we went to see a Monitor Lizard.  As in a Monitor Lizard from the Galapagos Islands that Steve Erwin the Crocodile Hunter is always talking about!  We watched it eat it's lunch.  I won't get graphic here.  Enough said. 

After this I got a new appreciation of reptiles (well sort of, lol!).

Now that our honeymoon is over, it is back to the grindstone.  We have been going full force with everything we have had to do.  But that is another story for another day...

Love, Krissy  :)

16 comments:

  1. It all sounds fascinating Krissy.  I hate caves though in general.  I did manage to get around Cheddar Gorge once, that is full of wonderful stalagtites and stalagmites but in general I dislikse them intensely.  I like bats but would not like them flying at me.  I had a Python around me once, her name was Judy Garland!! would you believe.  Unfortunately I only have video of me with the snake around me and not photos. I could have posted on here.

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  2. Wow Chrissie it sounds like you had a Lovely time.Exploring the caves would be magical.There are some fantastic caves in the Derbyshire Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales.I have been to a few of em and found em a magical experience.

    John

    http://journals.aol.co.uk/rocketman685434/rocketmansPersonalJournal

    http://journals.aol.co.uk/rocketman685434/RocketsDiary/

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  3. Hi Krissy,
    Sounds like you had a wonderful honeymoon...so happy for you both.  What an adventure!  I know the second honeymoon will be one to look forward to also!!!  Joyce

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  4. I've enjoyed hearing about your honeymoon entries.  We have a lot of caves just north of us and some in TN.  We visit Mammoth Cave quite a bit.  We have had a lot of cave tours.  Hubby loves spelunking!!!
    We always do all the zoos and nature stuff.  So interesting and fun.
    Sonya

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  5. I got to read both entries about your honeymoon adventures.  Sounds like you and John had plenty to do. They sound interesting ... did you get any pictures to share!!! Yea, leave it to me to nag for pictures. :-)

    Monica
    http://journals.aol.com/photographybymon/Mamarazzi/

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  6. I`m not a lover of caves but I still find them fascinating. As for a wedding being held there....no way...NOT for me  lol!  And Bats....... yuk!  The Reptile Zoo sounded a lot of fun too as I quite like snakes, who I have a quite healthy respect for. :-)

    Sandra xxx

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  7. Fantastic entry Krissy, very interesting.
    I never knew that bats liked screaming women!!  Will be sure to remember that, if I'm ever anywhere near bats in the future.  (I so would have screamed too!)  
    I've touched a snake before, at a zoo, hubby even held one and had a photo taken - ewww!  Sounds like you had a great time on your honeymoon :o)
    Sara   x

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  8. Me too Krissy - thanks for the tip about women screaming and inviting bats to nest in their hair, I think I might have screamed even more, then what would the bat do in my hair????  I will remembe that because my husband and I want to go to Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico, maybe next trip, if not soon.  They say people sit and wait across from the opening in the cave till it starts getting dark and thousands and thousands of bats fly out and eat insects and things that come within their radar range cause that's how the find them.   Anyway thanks so much for sharing.

    Marlene-PurelyPoetry
    http://journals.aol.com/mkolasa101/PurelyPoetry

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  9. Hi Krissy, I thought I would pop by your journal! Sounds like an interesting trip and congratulations on your marriage! Claudia.
    http://journals.aol.co.uk/irisclyde/LaDolceVita

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  10. Enjoyed hearing about the different places you went on your honeymoon, Krissy, thanks for sharing!!!!  My former daughter-in-law had a Ball Python and a Red Tail Boa.  It took me a long time to get used to visiting her and my son after they got married with those snakes in the living room.  I have personally never cared for snakes and to me, any snake was a bad snake.  I have since learned that snakes can be very beneficial to our environment, but to stay away from the poisonous ones!  Congrats on your marriage.  Hope you have many happy years together, as my husband and I have had (we are going on #27).  God Bless!

    http://journals.aol.com/Smjr43/Colorado

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  11. So, it is really good to know that bats are soothed by screaming women.  I guess that would make sense.  Although I HATE bats, it is always good to know these things.  Hey, do you remember when we were kids and all the bats were dying and falling in our yard.  They had some kind of disease of something.  Yuck.  And when we visited The Bat Cave. LOL  I do like Caverns and stalagtites and stalagmites and would even like to go look for that "hidden money"!  Don't want to go in the bat room, though! LOL  Sounds like you had lots of fun :-)!!  Yay!

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  12. Thanks so much for sharing your great adventures.  I just love all of them.

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  13. I'm so glad you shared that with us and that you had a great time.
    As for the bats EEEK!  
    :)
    Luv,
    Promise

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  14. I had to laugh at you with the bats! I would have been the same !Its a wonder you survived the honeymoon Krissy!I was told once about Stalagtites and Stalagmites that the way to remember which is which is "the tites go down and the mites go up!!

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  15. It sounds like John is introducing you to all sorts of new and interesting experiences. Bats and snakes how AWESOME is that! When I taught preschool a bat got in the computer lab and the lab technician caught it for me. I put it in an aquarium and brought it into our classroom. The children were fascinated and we learned all sorts of interesting info on how beneficial our warm blooded cousins are to life here on Earth. Many flowering plants, shrubs and trees depend of bats to pollinate, fertilize, and spread the seeds. There is also a woman in town who cares for the snakes at a local college, 7 snakes in all I think. the Snake Lady, as she referred to herself, brought her snakes into our center every year. Quite the feeling to have one of those sleek, powerful creatures wrapped around one's body. Isn't it amazing all the fantastic creatures the Creator has blessed this world with?

    Thanks for taking us along on an excellent reminiscing of your honey moon. Prayers and good vibes to you and John for a long, glorious marriage.

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