Fun Weekend with Jessica

We had an awesome weekend. My sister, Jessica, came for a quick weekend visit and we spent Saturday doing fun things together. 

First, we went to the South Durham Farmer's Market, but only for about 3 minutes, because it is quite small and we just got lots of produce from the state Farmer's Market.  There was one booth that I might go back to next week. They had many varieties of pepper plants, and since we have been neglectful and not started our garden this year, I want to get several to plant. We usually do peppers but are disappointed in the selection we've seen at the garden centers around us. We've been meaning to fix up our soil before planting but we've been putting it off so we haven't planted.

Next, we went to the Conservator's Center outside of Mebane, NC. They rescue primarily big cats, but also some other cats and other animals. They probably have about 30 lions right now, 5+ tigers, 4 wolves, a leopard, lynx, bobcat, mountain lion, caracals, servals, ocelots, genets, jungle cats, and more.  But for us, the one who stole the show were the binturongs. They are Southeast Asian animals that look most like ROUS's from Princess Bride. They are excellent climbers and the guide told us the one pictured below doesn't ever like to touch the ground and just goes around on the old firehose that is strung up around the enclosure. They have a prehensile tail that they use to balance and steady themselves when climbing trees.

Binturong

Binturong - Their tails is very big.

A serval. I think of them as awkward squat cheetahs.

Leopard. So pretty!

One of the many lions. They all roared for us with a little encouragement.

Tigers

Arthur Tiger. He's on Facebook!

That afternoon, after a quick nap and lunch, Jeran took Jessica and then me on a motorcycle ride. It was perfect weather all day!

Then we went rock climbing at a local indoor place. We had a great time and got some good exercise.

We all did a chimney climb that had no holds, just walls on three sides. It took some longer than others... but we all made it to the top.

Then we had a late dinner and called it a day. What an awesome weekend! Thanks for visiting, Jessica!