Sunday, November 8, 2009

Butterflies save the day...

For an outdoor enthusiast whose moods are determinded by the weather a weekend with classical winter weather in the middle of summer is enough to drive any man insane. Yesterday I planned to do some gardening but due to the strong winds and rain I ended up walking up and down the house like a caged tiger ready to devour someone. I knew that if I didn't want Sunday to end up like a scene from the movie The Shining I had to do something away from what I call Home Sweet Home. So I planned a family day.....

My morning started with a breakfast for my wife and my son. My first option would've been to go to my favourite restaurant were we usually go do our breakfasts, but I thought it better if I do the cooking and the cleaning up myself. After all, it will not only kill time if I do it this way, but instead of killing my family with an axe I could rather impress them and maybe score a few brownie points in the process. The real plan was to take the family to the aquarium, so I started the breakfast early before they even got out of bed.

The breakfast went well, except that the egg spatula caught fire in my attempt to have all the food ready at the same time...like one can expect in most reputable restaurants. But I wasn't going to let that spoil my day and served the most wonderful English breakfast complete with orange juice and french fries. It was time to go to the aquarium.

Well, that was my plan until my son insisted that he wanted to go to Butterfly World instead. OK, Butterfly World would not have been my first choice, but I wanted to be a good daddy today and I have been to the aquarium a couple of times already. It was still raining and rather cool for November, but that was the reason we were trying to get out in the first place...to beat the "winter" blues. At Butterfly World I was quite amazed when I saw what they had to offer. I was thinking that most butterflies would probably be hiding somewhere from the cold and that all we would see is other disappointed tourists. Much to my surprize the place had much more to offer than a few water drenched insects with hanging wings. A variety of animals which provided enough entertainment for myself and my family kept us entertained for quite some time. They even have snakes, spiders, parrots, iguanas and a few other unknown creatures that I have never seen before. I even got some ideas for my garden...maybe I can also attract a few extra species.


From the amount of photographers that were trying out their fancy cameras it seems that cooler days are better for capturing your prized picture because the butterflies are less active and more willing to pose for pictures. My final verdict on Butterfly World? A must see if you have small children and a very good alternative for wiping out your family on a wet winters weekend. Check out my short video on YouTube.

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