fireworks!!!!

saw two different fireworks shows this year. the first was on the 3rd at normandale lake in bloomington and they were pretty good. I go every year and watch from the top of a parking ramp....




and then on the 4th, went to the taste of minnesota and watched from across the river by the science museum. it was a short show but one of the best ive seen in a long time! the finale was so insane that my pictures all turned out like you see below with just a huge ball of insanity in the center:

fire!!!

finally experimented with my camera enough to figure out how to take good night time pics of fire!!!!

hotel

a while back i posted about a new building being built over by southdale... well it is now really under construction and the pictures i showed you before were just the parking ramp... this is the actual westin hotel / luxury living condos at the end of the galleria mall on york ave. ill keep you guys posted as it develops!

zoo!!!

took a trip to the minnesota zoo last weekend and finally got around to getting the pictures uploaded! the minnesota trail was closed due to a remodeling so there are no pics of beavers, otters or wolverines in here... sorry... And unlike my previous zoo entries, these are just some of my favorites. I did not try to get pictures of every single last animal there...
moose:

prairie dogs:

tiger:

meerkats:

geese and swans:

dolphin show:

shark:

hedgehog:

lemurs:

sun bear:

coolest bird EVER!!! (hawk owl?)

flamingos:

gibbon:

otters:

tree kangaroo:

tapir:

sharks:

wild boar:

slow loris:

? deer:

golden tamarin:

also, they are constructing a new exhibit to be opened in 2008 that will have grizzly bears, sea otters, leopards and other things from russia. its right by where the monorail docks: