My Trip to John Peace Library in SA

          So I made my way to downtown UTSA and did end up going during the night. I was lucky that my husband dropped me off while he went to go run some errands. Now to find the library, was pretty tough but thank the lord I was able to run into the campus police and he guided me to where I would find the library. I walked for about five minutes and then noticed the library right in front of me.

            As soon as I walked in, the library was so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. As I was browsing around, I came into contact with the KIC machine. I had no idea what it was but I did notice a young lady using it so I asked if she could explain to me what this machine was. She said, “Well you can get a book, make copies of it, save it under a pdf or jpeg file and then make as many copies as you want.” I was still confused by it but I thanked her for explaining it to me and continued to look at it a bit more. Then that is when I decided to go ask the gentlemen at the help desk. He told me the exact same thing so I guess it is what it is. It makes copies, makes it a file and then as many copies, as you want. What confused me about this machine, was doesn’t it violate copyright issues if you make copies of a book into a file and then go and make more copies. I may be overthinking it but I just find it really strange. I found it neat how they also have a scanner for anyone who wants to scan pictures of any kind. The only downfall to it is there is only one for the entire library. Right next to the student computers, there is a small group of about four computers, which are for guests. I asked the gentlemen if those could be used by anyone and he said yes. All I would need to do is let him know and he will sign my on using his password. I think that’s pretty neat to have something like that.

            I asked where the books would be located and they told me it would be on the second floor. So there I went up the stairs and looked around. What I found really neat is as soon as I walked up; I came upon a phone that stated, “Call For Assistance.” So basically, if you can’t locate a book that you are looking for, then you call for assistance and they will help you. I have never seen that before. I may be too excited about it but it’s the first time seeing something like this so it just fascinates me. I came upon a distance-learning classroom so and many group study rooms on the second floor. I must admit though, the upstairs is pretty intimidating. I got lost and really thought I know where I was going. Well I got lost about three times, too funny!

            I honestly wish I could have learned more about the library but the librarians that I saw behind the desk were with someone from the time I entered until the time I left. I am hoping maybe to go beck because from what I hear they have new modeling going on and give tours on Tuesdays so we can get to know the library and what’s available to all to use and learn. I learned that the library is so much better than the one in my hometown. They have so much to offer and honestly students don’t have an excuse when it comes to computers not being available to them. They are for everyone and anyone to use. Would 110% recommend this and really hope to be returning.

Before Visiting the John Peace Library at UTSA

         I was really hesitant when it came to choosing a university library just because they end up being very large in size and hard to find. I was able to go online to look at what they offer at this particular library. The name of the library at University of Texas in San Antonio is the John Peace library. I absolutely love love love love the hours of operation. They close at 12:00 AM but during the original school year they are open 24 hours a day. How awesome is that! The only university library that I have ever been to has been the University of Texas at Brownsville, which is the Arnulfo L. Oliveira. I plan to go towards the night just because I heard from friends that not many people go at night. Then which in turn means I can find parking and not walk from one side of the campus to the total opposite side.

            What I also got from the website is based on students input, renovations have been made to enhance series for the UTSA community along with student accommodations. Some of these include:

·      Display area for DVDs and other items in the media collection

·      Display area for newly introduced popular reading collection

·      New study tables wired for power

·      Integration of new furniture to create 50 additional study seats

            This is something that other universities should take into consideration because it is the students after all that use the library. One thing that I really hope to learn is the different technology that is being used because I am pretty sure it varies between campuses and some are more technology friendly than others. Lets see what I can get my hands on. 

Trip to Wildlife Ranch

So now I am back to describe my experience. Can I be honest here? This was not a very good experience. This has got to be hand down one of my worst experiences. It all started on the drive. Yes the drive was about 30 -45 minutes from where we were staying at. But that’s fine; to me the trip was worth it. Well when we get there, they let us know that we will be getting a free bag of food and asked if we wanted to purchase another. So we said yes because we rather have more than less. I was also thinking we were going to see many animals, so we needed to have enough. We also purchased the Wild Life animal book to learn more about the animals on this ranch as well as see what’s available in variety of animals. Once we mentioned how many of us it was in the car, our total came out to $72.50. I was like WHAT WHAT? Who so expensive? Well forgetful me forgot to look at the prices online, which states entry is $17.50 for adults and $9.00 for children ages 3-11. I freeked. I didn’t mean to but it was a huge surprise on how pricey this visit was going to be. The coupon I had from the brochure was definitely going to have to be used. It didn’t make much of a different but every little counts. When the employee saw the look on my face, he asked if I was a military member, and some other program. I told him no but did mention to him that my husband and I were educators. So he said with that, I was able to get a discount. So from $72.50, it went down to $59.50. Still pricey I say but a big difference from what it was at first.

            We entered the ranch and first came upon the giraffes. They were really neat. I just didn’t like how they were very far away. So there was really no fun in that. After the giraffes, we came across the Barasingha and we were excited but just because we don’t get to see animals like this up close. That is when we started throwing the pebbles of food and they loved it. Then after seeing that animal we saw the Kudu, Springbok, Gemsbok, Waterbuck, Aoudad, Fallow, Formosan Sika, Elk, Axis, Blesbok, Nilgai, Bluebull, Red, Lechwe, a few others. So to my big disappointment, all these animals I just name all look like a deer some way or another. There is not big different between them. So to my family and myself, there was no fun in that. It’s just like seeing the same thing over and over except; they had different color of coats or different size antlers. We were so upset and though please don’t let the whole trip consist of deer looking animals and that’s what cost us an arm and a leg to come in. They we came into contact with an American Bison. That one was pretty neat but really boring at the same time. He just walked and walked and walked. Nothing thrilling about it I guess. We continued to feed whatever deer looking animal we came upon.

            Then we entered another part to the ranch where it stated we would see Ostrich’s. So I was really excited about that one because Ostrich’s are the largest birds in the world and I heard they are also somewhat dangerous. Did you know an Ostrich could run as fast as 45 M.P.H.? Wow is that fast for being a bird. It’s kinda scary at the same time. Now get this! We were approached by an ostrich that was walking in front of the car and walked past my husband’s window. He fed him by throwing the pebbles of food to the ground because there was no way he was going to feed him with his hand. So we were just looking at the bird go towards the back of our car thinking he was going to the car behind us. Well to my surprise, I had my window down and was looking out when I saw the Ostrich look me right in the eye. OMG!!!!!! I got sooooooo scared like there was no tomorrow. I panicked and told my husband, roll up the windows, roll up the windows!! NOW!!!!!! That Ostrich could have honestly bitten me and picked at me for a while before the car window was fully closed. I thought that window was never going to close. As soon as it did, I told me my husband, never again and we took off from that area. Whew close call!

            Then we continued driving while my heart was literally beating out of its chest. We saw a camel but from a long distance so that wasn’t too exciting. In our animal ranch guidebook, it shows that we will see some kangaroos and zebras. Well guess what? Thank never happened :(. Not once did I see any of those animals and we searched everywhere. So that was a major disappointment. We did pass by a llama but that wasn’t too exciting in that it just stood there and was eating. I brought up the Llama Llama books to my little boy and told him that is Llama Llama and he’s not by his mama. He got all excited after seeing a character to a book that he has read plenty of times before.

            So after seeing the Llama, we were going to go around the ranch again because we were told that we could go as many times as we want. I just really wanted to go again so I can look around for the animals that I did not get to see. But my husband wasn’t feeling well so we had to leave. Overall it is not what I expected. I really expected for they’re to be more types of various animals. I understand that not all animals can be at a ranch like this because they are a danger to us humans. But there had to be more animals that can get added to the ranch. So would I return? Not at all likely due to the variety of animals seen. 

Before our trip to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

Now I must say, I totally forgot about the Wild Life Ranch in San Antonio. I recall going there when I was a little girl. I was probably about ten years old. To be honest though, I don’t remember a thing other than I was in a car with my family and we were viewing many different types of animals. When someone brought this up on one of the discussions on the board, I had to fit it into my visits. To find out more information on it, I visited the website online and encountered quite a few things. They had these educational videos of the animals that are at this ranch. Videos that include Ostriches, Kangaroos, Lemurs, Giraffes, and Zebras. This is something that everyone should look at prior to doing the actual ranch visit. 

            I also called just to make sure they were going to be open the day I was visiting because it is quite a long ways out and didn’t want to shop up and then they end up being closed. So ends up they are going to be open. Yayyy!! I also had to give my son a little lesson on how to behave when we are in the car. I don’t want any animals going crazy on him now. You have no idea how excited he is to go and see all these different types of animals. He is more into movies that contain animals and loves non-fiction books as a 3 year old. He always tells me, “Mom can you please read me this book.” There’s nothing better than having your child ask you to read a book aloud to them.

            I was able to find some brochures that had a coupon so yippee for that. Hey every penny counts! Planning for this trip also made me think. My car is somewhat brand new and worried if animals would damage it in any way. I guess that is a chance I am risking to take.

My experience at the Witte Museum

So I ended up arriving at 4:00 PM, which meant that I only had one hour for my entire visit. I had already told myself. If I don’t get a chance to finish the museum, then I will be returning tomorrow and pay the fee since I waited till that time to visit. Well guess what, they closed at 8:00 PM that day. I was soooo relived like you have no idea. I know was able to take my time and did not have to worry about rushing. Even though it was free, I still had to wait in line so the museum can get a count of how many people visit after 3:00 PM on Tuesdays. I did however have to pay the $3.00 for the Amazon Voyage.

Upon entering, after I paid, I walked straight to the Amazon Voyage just to make sure there wasn’t a time limit for it’s viewing. Well to my surprise there was. I actually was there in perfect timing. The exhibit was starting at 4:40. I do have to say though, the gentlemen at the front door who was checking tickets was very rude. He did not make me feel welcome what so ever. As I entered of course it was very dark and very, very nice looking. I first encountered a section with eels. There was a machine that I actually took a picture of, (you can see it at the bottom of the page) that actually shocks you from the feel of a baby eel. So basically, the person turns the crank and you feel the shock of a baby eel, which is not as powerful as an adult. My husband and son tried it and were all excited. I, on the other hand, was not quite excited about trying it. But of course I did after my husband asks me about 50 times to do it and telling me that my 3 year old son could do it, why couldn’t I. I was like all right, all right, I will do it. I did and boy did that shock the living lights out of me. I was like never again, don’t ask me! Boy was he laughing at me. Did you know the longer the eel, the greater their shock is? What about this? Did you know that electric eels could generate five times the energy of a household outlet? I think it’s all so crazy but very much true. So you mean to tell me I can have an eel at my house and put any appliance I need on it to get electricity? Haha just joking!

            So the next part of the exhibit that I was confronted with was the “Red-Bellied Piranha.” This was by far my favorite part. I have seen piranhas in movies as being killers just like the movies “Jaws” for the Great White Shark and “Lake Placid” for Crocodiles. So to be standing right in front of a school of piranha’s had got to be one of the coolest things I have ever encountered. I was sad that I missed their feeding. I was told when I had called over the phone, that the SA zoo comes in randomly to feed them so they couldn’t tell me an exact time. However, they did have a television that showed the piranhas live and how they feed. So basically, they drop a chunk of meat into the water with a rope and hold it. That is when one piranha comes to sniff and others come and forget it, it is gone in seconds. Below I also have a few pictures of the live piranhas I took. Don’t freak out now! I came across a sign on the wall that had former president Theodore Roosevelt on it that states, “A Perilous Journey.” It read that three men were killed and one lost his foot to piranhas. Roosevelt was very much injured while saving two canoes full of people. He told his companions to leave him because he felt he was a burden to the party. Roosevelt survived to see the River of Doubt renamed to Roosevelt River in his honor. I never knew it existed, but I know now. A few other things I saw at the Amazon Voyage Exhibit were Poison Dart Frogs, which I also took a picture of. The Poison Dart Frogs were so beautiful but yet dangerous. In their Amazonian habitat, the frogs diet allows them to produce a toxin. If these frogs are kept in captivity, they will loose their toxicity if their diet changes. Really, really neat but scary too!

            Throughout the visit, I was really hoping to get a tour because you learn so much from them and the tour guides are the geniuses since they work at the museum everyday. I did see one lady but she was more about watching out making sure everything is in place. So I was sad in that part because there were quite a few questions I had. Maybe I can write to them about my inquires. Hopefully they can start a tour guide kinda thing because I think it’s needed. Then I walked into the section where it’s all about stingrays. Something neat here would have been if they would at least had a stingray to look at. I was only able to look at photos of them and learn a little about. I did learn however that stingrays in the Amazon are sold all around the world as pets. This is something that is legal but a shark and stingray specialist studies their life cycles to find out how many stingrays can be taken without harming their population.

            After we completed that exhibit, we went back out into the main museum and came in contact with a dinosaur section. My son was so hooked; he did not want to leave. The neatest thing I learned about them is how many dinosaurs were found in Texas including the Dallas area and mid west area. There was a list of about 20 different types of dinosaurs. What you do is lift the handle for that dinosaur picture you see, it then gives you a bio on that one particular dino and it highlights on the map of Texas where it was found. I would have never known this if it weren’t for the gentlemen who worked there. I didn’t even notice him and made me aware of how it worked which was really neat.

            I was able to view things like the food chain that included grass getting eaten by a mouse and then the mouse getting eaten by a fox. I love the real effects on these animals. I encountered tons of animals, which are all from the Texas area, which is really, really neat. All animals were fake but towards the end of the exhibit, there was a room that had live animals. Some of these included snakes, a tarantula, a few bees which some were dead, and a few others. A really neat experience as well.

            By the end of the visit, I was exhausted! I was out all day and was at the museum until they closed. I was really happy to experience this visit. I honestly never really knew much about this museum. I had heard about it but didn’t know this is what was behind a building. I think everyone should go and try to make the time to visit this museum. It has so much to offer for people of all ages. Children will get a kick out of it but adults will learn what there is and it also gives a small little history of San Antonio. I honestly wish this were closer to home. Museums like this are what’s needed in a city like mine.