Matt's American Adventure: Cats, Cars and Blue Men

After the marathon Kate and I spent the next two days lounging around her parents house watching movies and eating a mixture of junk food and left overs from her mother Phyllis's amazing home cooked dinners......it was AWESOME! 

The following two days were little bit more action packed. First Kate, Phyllis and I traveled to The Wilds, the largest endangered wildlife conservation centre in North America. We were going primarily to speak the Wilds Director of Animal Management Dan Beetem; a meeting that had been set up by Kate's friend and The Wilds supporter Sue Moderalli, who was there to greet us when we arrived. 

The Wilds is simply stunning and the work being done there is hugely impressive. It is situated on almost 10,000 acres of reclaimed coal mining land and was created by a group of civic leaders, political leaders and zoo professionals who believed that a serious scientific approach was required to find solutions to environmental concerns. The Wilds recently became under the management of the hugely respected Columbus Zoo. 

We were first taken to their 'Mid-sized Carnivore Conservation Center' where they keep several cheetahs, Wild Dogs and Dholes. This is where we met Dan and he showed us around the research facility which included a clinic, laboratory and quarantine pens. We then saw the animal enclosures including the off exhibit cheetah breeding complex. Kate and I were very interested in the design of the enclosures and holding areas which gave us some ideas for our holding pen complex at the NCCC. We of course got to see the animals themselves including their newest additions; two recently born cheetah cubs.

We discussed all kind of conservation related topics with Dan, and he was really interested in the work we/N/a'an ku se does and hoped to keep in contact.  We then went on the open bus tour through the enormous open range areas that are home to rhino, camels, giraffe, zebra and numerous other endangered species.

After leaving the Wilds I was dropped off near Mid-Ohio racetrack to meet up with Kate's brother Rob who had invited me to spend the next day with him and his friend Tony who were testing their race cars in preparation for a race in a couple of weeks time. It also was a good excuse to get me out of a baby shower Kate and Phyllis were attending!

That evening we had dinner at a steak house and I enjoyed a good prime rib and one of the biggest desserts I've ever had; a brownie covered in ice cream -two thumbs up! :)

 The following morning we went to the track where many other car enthusiasts had gathered with their sports cars. I have to say I know absolutely nothing about cars and not a particularly big racing fan but I really enjoyed the experience and Rob and Tony were patient enough to answer my dumb questions.

When Rob and Tony went out onto the track I went up to the stands to watch; I must have been there for 10-15 minutes when something unexpected happend:
An accident training exercise got underway........ :)

The highlight of the day undoubtedly was a ride in a Porsche 911 GT3, which Rob had arranged for me. Even me who knows nothing about cars could tell that this one was pretty damn cool!

After reassuring the car owner that there was very low risk of me vomiting in his car I put on the helmet and strapped myself in. I had no idea what to expect as I have never even come close to being in such a car but the next 15 minutes at 140mph showed me exactly why people like fast cars and racing.....it was an awesome experience. Big thanks to Rob and Tony!

Two nights ago we went to see the Blue Man group at Pittsburgh's Benedem Center. Earlier that day on Skype I told my Mum and sister this and they told me they had never heard of them, which I found astonishing; but having said that, they were in the UK and had not bought tickets to see them......the same couldn't be said for the row of woman sat directly behind Kate and I who for whatever reason had showed up and were not shy in letting everyone in earshot that they clearly had no idea what they had paid to see. One lady became concerned during a humorous pre-show skit involving an electrical scrolling text board, because as the letters scrolled telling jokes and making the audience cheer and clap, the lady could be heard saying "so is this what the whole show will be?"......you would have thought the show being called 'The Blue Man Group' would have given her a clue that the show would actually include some BLUE MEN!!!

It also soon became clear that one of them couldn't see very well and another had hearing difficulties so their companions were oh so kind to give them a running commentary on proceedings, thankfully most of the show included loud music and the moronic ramblings of these woman was drowned out but when the Blue Men were performing a quiet and very funny twinkie eating routine with a volunteer from the audience there was no escaping the cries of "what are they doing?", "why did he do that?" and "this is so stupid!" with the appropriate response given to them by their companions.....unbelievable. I of course in true English fashion dealt with this situation by making quiet tutting noises and giving them a stern stare. The row of twittering idiots aside the show was fantastic and hugely entertaining, I later found out that this was the opening night and therefore reviewed in the local paper.

Well, that's it for Chapter 3 of the American Adventure, keep checking in for more excitement including stories about why Kate and I will have our photo in the next local 'Whirl' magazine, a party with robots and my verdicts on more classic American cuisine!