That Georgia Biologist

Despite the busyness of the semester's end, I have found it quite beneficial to have balance in my life. Exercise, sleep, eating, etc. I think balance also applies to the school/break ratio. Yes, I need to get all my school done...but it's also important to take a break now and then and have fun. Last week with it being Thanksgiving break and all I had a lighter school load. So I took the opportunity to visit the Potawanami Zoo in South Bend, Indiana, roughly an hour south of Berrien. I had never been before and so was very excited to go! It was great, it was the late season and a week morning, so I basically had the place to myself. It's a smaller zoo, but definitely still great. I was especially excited because this my first trip in a while that I brought along my telephoto lens. I thought that it would help me in capturing great shots of the animals from safe distances, and boy was that right!! So without further adeiu...here's some of my favorite pictures! ...

Hey everyone! So in addition to Warren Dunes State Park, my family and I also visited Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore while they were here! Indiana Dunes is located in Indiana, duh, on the small strip of Lake Michigan coast line that Indiana can lay claim to. It's intermixed like a potluck (here a little, there a little, etc.) with industry and the ever-reaching urban extensions of Chicago. So while I never felt like, "ahhhh....I'm in a national park" sort of relief that I do when I go to the Smokies or Mammoth Cave, I still did have a very fun time with my family exploring what the park had to offer. I was excited to visit Indiana Dunes as it is a national park (yay stamp!!), plus it looked like there were some pretty cool things there - beach, trails, old pioneer homes to name a few. Sounded like a recipe for a good time to me! :D Anyway, the first place we went was West Beach. West Beach is a popular beach at the park (duh) and I'm happy we got there ea...