Ashboro Zoo on First day of spring break a.k.a 7th circle of hell

So apparently we went to the North Carolina Zoo in  Ashboro on the busiest day of the year.  An average Saturday during the summer has about 6 to 7 thousand people visit.  There were over 13,000 there yesterday. The Lady was saying they had run out of parking yesterday.  People were parking along the roads, in the woods, on the grass and lawns. Thankfully we got there early enough to get a parking spot near the front and didnt have to hike like a lot of the poor souls who got there AFTER us.
Considering how BIG the zoo is, it really wasnt too terribly bad.
What I LOVE about the NC Zoo, is that it is an open plan. The animals get large fields to roam in, there are multiple vantage and viewing points and it is so spread out that even when there are more people here than you would perhaps like, it is actually really a nice day.
And on the plus side, I think I got Charles as excited about the new cameraCanon PowerShot SX50 12.1MP 50x Optical Zoom Black Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad) as I am.   We were able to take some INCREDIBLE shots, especially in the aviary. He kept borrowing the camera and wandering off, coming back with various shots of birds and the flora in the beautiful Aviary.

It was a beautiful 73 degree day, blue skies, slight breeze. Perfect.  The animals were all out, showing off.  The only bad part is there had been rain the day before, so the turn was wet in the giraffe habitat, so the giraffes were not out, due to the slippery terrain and their propensity to slip, fall and hurt themselves. Oh well, cant have everything.

We started our day with a visit to the cemetery to visit the grave of our sweet Jillian.  I feel AWFUL because I havent been there in FOREVER. Worst...mother...ever.  But it was a short, sweet visit.  i even made it through without crying.  After 15 years it is getting easier.

 We Then took a 3 mile detour to hit one of our favorite restaurants in Kernersville, Prissy Polly's.  We have been going there for 16 years.  The first time charles and I ate there was before we were married. He had come to NC to visit me for a few days before the wedding. We went out to eat with my parents and at that time P.P's was run out of a small house and you would go through the line like a cafeteria.  However they are still delicious. So every time we are up in the area, we hit P.P's. LOVE THEM. The Lexington Style BBQ is delicious.(Especially with the BBQ slaw).

We finally made it to the zoo...along with 13,000 other people. Thankfully we found a parking spot rather quickly (after illegally entering a "Lot full, do not enter" barricade, looking for a handicap parking spot.  A quick jaunt into the gates and 50 dollars later and we were inside.

We spent almost 5 hours roaming the zoo. The kids were troopers (Although I heard "Im Thirsty" 482 times.).

 FIRST STOP: NORTH AMERICA:  Marshlands, Rocky Coast etc.  Alligators, Crocodiles, Turtles, puffins, otters, harbor seals and more.  All the reptiles and amphibians were out on the rocks sunning themselves. It really was a perfect day for it. Never smile at a crocodile...

This turtle couldnt get enough sun. He was trying to stretch every limb to the extreme to get the most out of the warm rays!

NEXT STOP: THE AVIARY.  This was my favorite.  It is a HUGE glass biodome building full of tropical plants, birds and more.  It smelled like jasmine, and the birds were amazing.

NEXT STOP DINOSAUR EXHIBIT:  The zoo had a special Dinosaur exhibit. It was animatronic dinosaurs that you could walk through.  It was an extra 4$ per person,  It was cool, but really for kids about 10 and under to be honest. a little young for my kids.  They enjoyed it, but it wasnt as awesome as they thought it was going to be.

 NEXT STOP: PRIMATES.  Lemurs, Gorillas, Chimps and more.  LOVE these guys.

I like to move it move it:

Now my favorites...the chimps were eating popsicles. It was hilarious. They are like little people. The gorillas were just hanging out.  There were 2 new gorillas born in august, about 7 months old. Bomassa and Apollo.

NEXT STOP: LIONS.  These fat cats were the laziest things Ive seen. and I know lazy cats, I have two at my house.  They would have given Rusty and Skittles a run for their money.

NEXT STOP ELEPHANTS, RHINOS AND ZEBRAS:

And other random pictures from the day...and yes that IS a dung Beetle sculpture.

And finally, after a LONG LONG LONG day, Foof just couldnt handle it.

Looks like he had the right idea.

Love my boys.

Flag Football...He is Brilliant.

So Finn is in Flag Football. Im going to tell you all now, that he is brilliant.

He is brilliant at keeping that mouth guard in his mouth.

He is brilliant at huddling up.

He is Brilliant at running really hard and making it look like he is doing a lot of work.

He is brilliant at pointing like a pro, pointing like he knows what he is doing. 

Brilliant at letting that helmet slip down past his eyes so he can only see half vision.

He is Brilliant at jumping in the air for no apparent reason when someone on the other team falls down.


Yay Flag Football.

All photos taken with my canon powershot sx50Canon PowerShot SX50 12.1MP 50x Optical Zoom Black Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad)

Love this boy.

The thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat

Or in other words, the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby!  Every boy involved has that secret hope that HIS car will be THE BEST. (and still be a good sport, even if they lose)

Here is Finn testing the track, making sure his wheels are aligned and his car is road ready.

A few of the pinewood derby contestants.  Finn's Car is the grey one on the left, with all the pennies.  "THE PENNY POUNDER".






And they're off!! Come on Penny Pounder! Come on Penny Pounder! Come on Penny Pounder move your bloomin' Arse! (Thanks Eliza Doolittle and My Fair Lady for the blatant plagarism)



NOW THE MANY FACES OF VICTORY AND DEFEAT...

Well Poop, shucks. Maybe next race.

Next Race...VICTORY!!!
Penny! Penny! Penny!

Peter, age 12.5 (The Pinewood Derby Veteran) giving brotherly advice to Finn before his next race)

Me with the boys awaiting the winners and certificates.  Finn didnt win for speed, but his car won "Money Makin' Machine".





Proud of Finn. He did a good job, and was a very good sport about the whole thing. Love that boy.

All photos taken with my Canon Powershot SX50Canon PowerShot SX50 12.1MP 50x Optical Zoom Black Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad)

im ready for my close up....

Finny had his 4th grade play school house rock. It was as good as any 4th grade play can aspire to be. He was cute.

Proud mom...

moon shot

I took this photo 2 nights ago. 200 zoom on my camera, handheld no tripod.  JPEG image, 12MP.  Zero editing has been done.

Can I just reiterate how much I LOVE my new camera...Canon PowerShot SX50 12.1MP 50x Optical Zoom Black Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad)

just playing...I love my new camera

So I bit the bullet and purchased a new camera. A NICE camera. I had so many different people tell me to just spend the money, that I wouldn't be happy otherwise. So upon several recommendations, internet research, various photography blogs etc...I finally found my new baby.
Canon powershot sx50 hs.Canon PowerShot SX50 12.1MP 50x Optical Zoom Black Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad)
I have taken it disc golfing and gotten amazing action shots. I have taken awesome"point and shoot dummy"pictures, and the lens and zoom on this are amazing. I have found my poor cars to be the most willing subjects for me to test out upon. They are so patient. I pull out the camera and there is a visible and audible response, like "here we go again". So here are a few shots of "my babies", Rusty and Skittles.

The detail on these are amazing.  So thank you everyone for your recommendations, comments and thoughts.  (These were taken in my bedroom with no flash, from 10 feet away and have not been edited in any way. )

I need a new Point and Shoot Camera. HELP!

OK, so as many of you know, I am planning a really cool trip to Arizona and Southern Utah. This is one of those "Once in a lifetime" deals (well twice, I did this trip as a teenager almost 25 years ago) and I don't want to miss a thing. I m kind of wanting to do a photo journal experience and blog about it.

Here's my problem. I have a REALLY REALLY REALLY just "ok" camera. (sanyo t1495)
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 I guess it is my fault, really, I bought it on clearance at Walmart.  It was only 79$ and is a 14mp point and shoot digital camera. Nothing special.  I thought "Hey it's 14mp and it's on clearance. This sounds like a good idea to me!"

CONS:
It takes Good pictures.  GOOD...not great. Decent. But I don't want decent. I want great.

It has 14 million "settings" I can choose from.  Water. Sunset. Sunrise. man. woman.pets.night sky. mountains.  So every time I want to take a picture of something specific, I can go all the way into my menu, choose presets and toggle one of these special functions and it will automatically set to ISO and Aperture/f stop thingamajig. Those pictures tend to turn out really nice, it is just a matter of  toggling those settings. What happens when I need to do something fast because I don't want to miss a shot, but here I am stuck trying to get my functions together? I wound up with a missed shot, or a crappy shot because I didn't pick the setting I wanted(or mis-picked)

I can only set the ISO speed manually. It wont allow me to set my own shutter speed, my own aperture etc.

And if I have it on Auto, everything turns out kind of grainy and just "blah". Unless it is a decent day outside...not too bright, not too cloudy. Then they are great. But lets be honest. Southern Utah and Arizona in the middle of July. It is going to be bright. It is going to be hot. These auto photos don't stand a chance.

PROS:
 it takes fantastic Macro function photos. I get crisp, clean gorgeous detail, which is one of the reasons I got that camera in the first place. (photographing my jewelry, flowers and other things close up)

, it is slim, easily pocketed and lightweight.

If I do use the preset settings, the photos really are nice.

it is easy to use, point and shoot and it is pretty idiot proof as far as what buttons to push and how to get into menus etc.

It has a tripod mount  and a great self timer.


WHAT TO DO??

So here's my dilemma. I am sure I will be taking close up macro photo settings of the various cacti and flora, so that camera is a plus. However I am not going to be wanting to fiddle with my speeds and presets every time I take a picture. That camera is a con.


HELP!
 I need a new POINT AND SHOOT camera that will take good pictures both normal and macro.  I need something that I wont have to fiddle with a whole heck of a lot. Something I can just point and shoot.
I am not wanting anything with a zillion lenses to tote around.  I am not wanting something that I have to have a PhD in engineering to figure out how to use. I want a camera that is lightweight and not too bulky.
Something that I can take photos of the night sky while in the desert, yet the next day be taking photos of waterfalls, animals, kids, hoodoos and more.

AND most importantly, it needs to be affordable. My budget is NOT very flexible these days.

I would like something with a minimum 10mp.

So any point and shoot recommendations would be greatly appreciated.  And please no foreign language spam to some questionable website with knockoffs of purses, shoes, tablets etc.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!