Television City at The MGM Grand

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 
Address: 3799 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Date: March 2003
Website:  tvcityresearch.com

  Deep within the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is Television City.   It is a place where those who are tired of trying their luck on the casino floor can try their luck with the CBS television schedule.  We were walking by when the staff out front asked us if we would like to take part.  It would take less than an hour and we would get some discounts in return.  We did end up redeeming our gift shop discount for a CSI t-shirt and a Late Night with David Letterman hat, so we did not do too badly.
  Basically you sit and watch a TV series pilot episode and fill out survey questions that ask you what you liked or did not like about the show.  They will in turn use this information to ultimately decide whether this show makes it to air or if any changes are required.  Often on TV, a show can change drastically between the pilot and the second epsiode.  Actors get replaced, characters removed, or the overall tone of the show is adjusted.  It was all up to us.

  The show we watched was called Charlie Lawrence and starred Nathan Lane in the title role.  Nathan has had many roles throughout the years, but is best known for The Producers, The Birdcage and as Timon the meerkat in The Lion King.  Other recognizable actors were Ted McGinley, who has appeared on both Happy Days and Married With Children, and Laurie Metcalf, who starred in Roseanne and plays Sheldon's mother on The Big Bang Theory.
  While the show was not bad, it was not something we would watch again unless we were on vacation and getting some gift shop discounts in exchange for our time.  When the show was over we filled out our surveys and let them know what we thought.  Several months after we returned from Las Vegas, Charlie Lawrence did appear on television.  Only 2 episodes ever aired before the show was abruptly pulled from the schedule due to poor ratings.  Hey, we tried to warn you CBS.

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Map of Our World
Television City At the MGM Grand

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Post # 25

Wombat Encounter

Location: Beerwah, Queensland, Australia
Address: 1638 Steve Irwin Way
Date: May 2012
Website:  www.australiazoo.com.au/our-animals/animal-encounters

  Few things have brought us more joy than our wombat encounter at the Australia Zoo.  We still can't look at these pictures without a huge smile on our faces.  The Australia Zoo is located about an hour's drive outside of Brisbane and offers many special animal encounters.  We have always had a soft spot for wombats since seeing our first one at the Toronto Zoo.  For about 40 dollars each we had the chance to spend half an hour inside the wombat enclosure, up close and personal with our 5 newest friends.

  It is always surprising that more people are not familiar with wombats.  Everyone you meet knows about koalas, but not their close cousin the wombat.  Both animals are marsupials and only found in Australia.  Marsupials carry their young in pouches and both the koala and wombat have backwards facing pouches.  This is useful for the wombat which spends a great deal of time digging in the ground and would not want to fill its pouch up with dirt in the process.  Both animals also have hardened backsides of cartilage.  The koala uses it to sit comfortably high up in the trees, but the wombat uses it for protection.  If a predator, like a dingo, attacks a wombat, it will dive into its burrow filling the opening with it's behind.  The dingo will be unable to get a grip on anything to pull the wombat out. In fact, often the wombat will allow a small opening over its back and when the dingo reaches further inside it will use its hardened backside to crush the dingo's head against the roof of its burrow.  The final thing koalas and wombats have in common is that they are both adorable.

  We were drawn to the wombats because they are so cute, but we had to be wary as they can also be aggressive and could easily charge and bowl one of us over.  They are almost like tough little bulldogs.  When we were at the Cairns Tropical Zoo one of the keepers told us that just the day before a female wombat had attacked another keeper and she required stitches from her wounds.  The Australia Zoo staff told us that we could only approach the wombats from behind and only while they were eating.  Once they had finished eating we would have to leave.

  Five bowls were placed in a row in the middle of the wombat enclosure and each wombat took their position behind one of the bowls.  It was then that we were instructed that we could touch the wombats.  We hopped from wom-butt to wom-butt and back again stroking their fur.  All the while the wombats munched away.  We even had the opportunity to lay down on the grass with one arm around a wombat and have our pictures taken.  Then we went back to running from butt to butt, giddy with delight.

  There are three types of wombats: Common, Southern hairy-nosed and Northern hairy-nosed.  The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is the most endangered.  The Southern hairy-nosed and Common are, well, more common.  The Australia Zoo had 5 wombats that we are now on a first name basis with.   They are Laura and Meg the Southern hairy-nosed wombats and Minibus, Tonka, and Wendy the Common wombats.  In the photo above, one of the Southern hairy-nosed wombats is facing us.  In the picture below, a Common wombat is enjoying its meal.  The Southern hairy-nosed wombats have a thicker, softer fur, while the Common has a shorter, coarser fur.  Trust us we checked them all.

   Once our wombat experience was over we still could not get enough, so we continued to watch the wombats from outside of their enclosure.  If you ever get the chance we highly recommend this experience.  If you are still not convinced, watch the video below and try not to fall in love.

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Map of Our World
Australia Zoo (Wombat Encounter)

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Post # 24

Maui Mongoose

Location: Hana, Hawaii
Address: Waianapanapa State Park
Date: Jan 2011
Website: dlnr.hawaii.gov

As we pulled into the parking lot for views of the eastern Maui coast our driver stated,  "If you want to come with me I will be at the side of the parking lot feeding the mongoose."  Who the?  What the? Come again?  We fancy ourselves to know a thing or two about animals and where they are located.  We would expect to find mongoose in Africa or fighting a cobra in India, but not in Hawaii.  At first we were not sure we had heard the driver correctly so we followed him to the edge of the parking lot.  Sure enough he threw down some food and out from the bushes crept a small asian mongoose.  The mongoose snatched up the food and ran back into the bushes for cover.  Again our driver threw some more food and yet another mongoose came out and took its food to enjoy under one of the parked cars.
  It seems that in the past Maui had a bit of a rat problem and someone thought it was a good idea to bring in some mongoose to get rid of the rats.  From our understanding the mongoose themselves have now become a bit of a menace.  We can't say we blame them as after our first visit to Maui we never wanted to leave either.

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Map of Our World
Maui Mongoose

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Post # 23