Did you know we have a Liger?

So I have this cab driver that I appreciate more than anything.  I call Miguel for rides to or from the airport, a haul to a wine dinner, and I also call him when I need a safe ride home from a party......

Over the past year or so, we've become friends and we check in on one another and we care about each other's lives.  He's met each of my parents and my sister (in different moments) and he knows my boyfriend.  He brought me flowers on my 40th birthday.  I congratulated him when his daughter, Sofia was born.  I give him sake or wine to take home and drink with his wife.  I've met his brother Ricardo (also a cabby), and I've taken rides from his friends Alfredo, Denis and Ricky.

So one day, he mentions that he has a job perk, being a Miami cabby.  He gets to go to Jungle Island for free - and he can get friends and family in for free too!  This is because Jungle Island advertises on the backs of all of the sanctioned Miami cab receipts.

One weekend this spring, as we are spending time with my boyfriend's 12 year-old niece, I decide to pull the favor card and ask Miguel to get us into Jungle Island.  What a treat!  Tickets are over $20/person and we got in for FREE!

And again, what a TREAT!  Birds and alligators and lizards - OH MY!  We met Mojo, the talking parrot:

Mojo waves and says "Hello!" No joke!

And so many other beautiful birds......

Peacock

We discovered that these birds really enjoyed the interaction with us.  Arden and I talked to these birds for a long time -- to our delight!





And then there were the Ligers.....

According to Wikipedia (ok, maybe true info), the Liger is the largest cat in the world.  A hybrid of a lion and a tiger, he first liger was bred in 1824.  Keep in mind though, that ligers do occur naturally in the wild.  Not often, but they do occur.  The cool thing about Jungle Island is that the liger there named Hercules, is the largest non-obese liger.  He weighs 904 pounds and he's been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Anderson Cooper 360.  Meet Hercules:

Pacing with hunger....

He was eyeing a seeing-eye-dog behind us and he clearly WAS HUNGRY.  We were grateful for the protective glass!  I think the dog was too...........

I don't need to go on about Ligers, because the other cool exhibit at Jungle Island is the Flamingos (did you know they get their pink color from the shrimp and salmon they eat?? -- This ingredient is called carotenoid protein - like in carrots)

The entire afternoon was so much fun - and I will gladly go back when ever I should get the privilege.....

Uncle Gregg, Arden, and me!

Here are the details.....

Jungle Island

1111 Parrot Jungle Trail

Miami, FL 33132

Open weekdays 10am-5pm, weekends 10am-6pm.

Adults $30.95, Children $22.95 plus tax (unless you have an awesome friend like Miguel!)

Artsy Fartsy

Wynwood Art Walk happens every second Saturday.  This time it also had an array of food trucks, the new uber-cool, uber-urban way to eat.  Basically these are campers outfitted like professional kitchens with talented chefs producing amazing food.  Food Network had a sort of lame competition show called "Food Truck Wars" so if you missed that, think portable fine dining on a stick or in a Chinese take-out carton.

Steve and the girl on her trike

I had the occasion to go with my friends Steve and Rob last night - and while I wasn't hungry, I was definitely impressed with the ribeye sliders that Steve purchased for $7.  3 little sliders that looked elegantly dressed and smelled amazing.  Next time I'll go with an apetite!


One gallery we hit was full of Japanimation stuff... not my favorite type of art, but certainly lively.  There was a bar in this gallery too - thus the commotion, I'm guessing.



We stopped in at several galleries - and honestly, the people watching is just as good as the art exhibits.  The Miami Herald calls it a "Meat Market for Art Lovers."  I tried to capture some imagery, but we were cold (an icy 58 degrees!) and crowded.

Glam and Garbage

I loved the juxtaposition of the red high heels and the bag of trash this girl was about to take out. I think I'll call it "Glam and Garbage."








This little guy was in his stroller, wearing his sport coat, shirt and loosened tie and playing on what I think was a Nintendo DS.  He looked like a mini Wall-Streeter checking his stocks though.  I love this pic!

We stumbled into one galler called the Black Square Gallery that had a few pieces by this amazing Argentinian artist named Pablo Lehmann.  Check his work out here:  www.pablolehmann.com.ar/english.html

He does these pieces by cutting out words and layering them or creating sculptures with them.  The intricacy of his work simply astounded me.  This is one of them that we saw on the top and another that I found online on the bottom.....

After our art adventure, we headed to Wynwood Kitchen for a drink - Viognier for me.  Very artsy place and again, just full of life and energy.  A very cool night.  Here was our bartender.





Info:  Every second Saturday of the month:  Wynwood Art Walk.  7-10pm.  The art district extends east from Northwest 6th to NE 2nd Avenue and north from NW 17th to NW 36th St.  FREE.