GA (grandson A, age 7) spent the night with us. We left around 8:55 in the Jeep and went ...

To the Village Inn restaurant in Parker for breakfast at 9:05. I had a Denver Omelet, J had the Village Inn Breakfast (scrambled eggs, hash browns, and pancakes), and GA had a Village Inn Funny Face (pancake with blueberry eyes, a dollop of butter for a nose, sausage links for a beard, and scrambled eggs for hair). The Funny Face arrived with bacon, so we got some sausage links on a separate plate, and GA liked having both kinds of meat. The kids menu had a set of jokes under the heading "Amoeba Antics" that were real groaners:

• Why did the amoeba cross the microscope?  —  To get to the other slide!
• How do amoebas keep in touch?  —  They use their "cell" phones!
• What is a scientist's favorite type of dog?  —  A lab!

We left around 10:00.

We went to O'Brien Park in Parker so GA could play with his new basketball on the basketball court there — backboards and nets! It was on the nippy side (maybe 37°F or 3°C) with light snow falling — perfect basketball weather. The lengths grandparents will go to for their grandkids. :) J didn't last too long outside, so most of the time it was just GA and I having fun.

We went to the nearby Safeway (grocery store) around 10:25 to get some milk, and of course we picked up some other items too. I got a small container of Nescafé Clásico instant coffee. Several websites recommended it as a reasonable replacement for "real" coffee.

We returned to the RV around 11:00. GA watched a Scooby Doo movie and I worked up a blog entry.

Had my normal lunch around 1:50, and I was dying. Processed images for a stock submission. I finished the images from our trip to the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, in October 2007, and started on images from our trip to South Africa. One of the last images I took in Kenya on that trip was of two baby warthogs (left). I think warthogs are neat animals and the babies are cute. J wasn't too impressed with the adults when we first got to Africa, but she warmed up to them by the end of our trip.

I went outside to pass the basketball back and forth with GA. We left in the Jeep around 2:20.
We went to the Parker Library to drop off and pick up things. GA picked up some books on baseball, and Babe Ruth in particular. He's really into baseball history and will be dressed as Babe Ruth for Halloween.

We went to Target in Parker and returned the nasty Folgers instant coffee with no problems. We also picked up some Bertolli skillet meals that were on sale.

We took GA home and visited briefly with SJ (J's Son J), DilK (Daughter-in-law K's), GJ (grandson J, age 4), and GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5). I also picked up the Lee Filters 2-stop soft graduated neutral density filter that I won on eBay and had shipped to SJ&DilK's.

We returned to the RV around 3:30, and J was pooped. I prepared the Giotto MH-1000 ball head that I had sold on eBay to be shipped. Processed more images for a stock submission. Showered.

Dinner at 5:55 of a Safeway Select Chicken Alfredo Portobello Gourmet Skillet Meal and Texas Toast.

Processed more images for a stock submission. I left around 7:55 by myself in the Jeep to go ...

To my storage unit to pick up shipping boxes.

On the way back, I stopped at a Loaf 'N Jug convenience store to fill up the Jeep with gas ($2.399 with our 10¢/gal King Soopers discount).

I returned to the RV around 8:40. Had some Bommerlunder Gold Jubiläums Akvavit while processing images for a stock submission. I continued working on images from our trip to South Africa in October 2007 and our stay in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The park, which encompasses the former Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, is one of my favorites in South Africa for wildlife photography. It's located in the Kalahari Desert, and I like the wide open spaces. It's good for lions, meerkats, springbok, and gemsbok. One of the things J really wanted to see on our trip was lions mating. She got to see it on our first full day in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. When lions mate, they copulate about every 15 to 30 minutes for about 24 hours, and that's all they do — they don't eat or drink. In the image below left, the male is eagerly following the female shortly before copulating. In the image below right, you can see how tired the male can get after all of that activity. :)