February 9
February 10-11
February 12
February 13
February 14-16
February 17-20
February 21
February 22
February 23-25
After breakfast, we packed Carl's suitcase with the dirty clothes and headed for the laundromat again. Once those were clean, we returned to the hotel and got them settled in.
By then, it was lunchtime, so we went back to the Loaf and Ladle for soup. Carl noticed the yummy looking lemon meringue pie they had, so we shared one piece of that, also. It was very fresh and delicious.
We drove down to Westminister again, this time for the Butterfly Pavilion. Fascinating place! The butterflies were all over the place. I took some pictures, then Carl pointed out that they were having a butterfly release in just 20 minutes, so we stayed for that. It included a short talk by one of the naturalists there. Very interesting.
All identifications of the butterflies that follow are based on a flyer purchased at the Butterfly Pavilion and my best guess at a match.
The three photos above show a Tawny Owl butterfly feeding on an extremely ripe banana. It posed for the longest time. In fact, it was still in the same place when I passed back by fifteen minutes later. Must have been a good banana!
The butterfly in the photo on the left above is a common Mormon butterfly with a damaged wing. It was fluttering around on the floor. The center butterfly is an achilies or blue-banded morpho butterfly resting on a leaf. The butterfly on the right is a common postman butterfly. There were three very different butterflies in the brochure listed as common postman. It seems there's a lot of color variation among various sub-species.
The butterfly in the photo on the left above is another common postman butterfly. The center butterfly is a common Cattleheart butterfly, while the one on the right is a clipper butterfly (mainland).
From there, we went to a gas station, then a grocery store to pick up some things for dinner with my sister and her family. On to their house, where Jenny grilled the steaks and chicken breasts, baked some potatoes, steamed some asparagus, and had a tossed salad waiting. It was a yummy meal. Thanks, sis!
It was an enjoyable evening - good food and good company. We didn't make it back to the motel until after midnight.
There we ran into the same plumbing problems we've had all week - I let the hot water run for almost 15 minutes before giving up and taking a cool shower - barely lukewarm.... Carl said he got a hot shower - the hot water took another five minutes of running the water before it finally decided to show up. I don't care what general manager says, they have a hot water problem.....