Colts, Bengals and Orangutans, OH MY!

A new holiday tradition?

Colts-Bengals game in Cincinnati

In early October, when it was still warm and felt like summer, we decided to get tickets to a Colts-Bengals football game in early December.   And we didn't give much thought to an outdoor stadium, or how cold it gets in Cincinnati in December.

Last weekend we attended the game, and we got a good taste of December weather with a wind chill of only 10 degrees. We dressed for this chilly day in many, many layers.  I wore 2 pair of socks, my Ugg boots,  a turtleneck, fleece jacket and winter coat, tights, bike tights and winter walking pants.  I had to waddle my way to the game, but fortunately everyone else was dressed the same way.

As strange as it seems, we really enjoyed the whole experience of watching football in cold weather. It felt like we were part of a REAL football game with other with hardy, hard core fans.  And let me add the word CRAZY, especially those Bengals fans  with their "Who Dey?" chants.  Unfortunately the Colts lost, but we still had fun!

Pam, Alex and George

And it was a good opportunity to visit my sister and her family at the Hoffbrau House. Good German food, a few steins of beer and live Polka music made for a great evening!

Indianapolis Zoo Orangutan Exhibit, under construction

And then there were the Orangutans...

The Indianapolis Zoo is building a new state of the art Orangutan exhibit which will house 9 orangutans when it opens next May.  We had a wonderful opportunity to take a behind the scenes tour of the new facility which is still under construction.

Ok, so it was one of the coldest days in the last 3 years, but we dressed in our football game attire and headed to the zoo.

The building is amazing! It has numerous areas where the animals can be together as well as areas where they can be alone.  We saw food prep areas and walkways through areas of the building.  We learned about the zoo's research and how intelligent these animals are.   In this facility when the orangutans learn something new, they will be rewarded with tokens which they will use to get treats out of a vending machine.  And the LED light display on the outside of the building will be operated by the orangutans.   It's really kind of mind boggling!

The outdoor area includes 70 foot towers the animals can climb and hang out.  This is similar to their native habitat in Indonesia and other countries where they live in the tree tops.  Indianapolis is fortunate to have such a world class orangutan exhibit, and we can't wait until the opening next Spring!

With friends Chuck, Melanie, Brian, Stacy and Pat

And last night we girls got to attend the annual Boys Night Out event at the Red Key Tavern!  December is the only time we are invited to this auspicious event , and after appetizers of barbecued pork rinds, we feasted on cheeseburgers and chili and of course a few beers.
It's a great event we look forward to each year.

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season with some old and new traditions!

Diane