GPS:<\/strong> I had a chance to put my driving-as-prayer suggestion <\/a>into practice when I hit the road on Friday and headed west to see my childhood friend, Kari, who was staying with her sister just outside of Syracuse. We have been friends for more than 40 years,\u00a0although we rarely get to see each other anymore. Doesn’t matter though. We pick up right where we left off in high school. It was a wonderful almost-24 hours of friendship and laughter and sunshine, of good food on the deck and beautiful children splashing in the pool, of\u00a0quiet conversations late into the night and early morning coffee shared before the kids woke up. Such a gift. I am blessed.<\/p>\n Viewfinder:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 And here’s a lovely peacock who was walking around in the food court. You know me and peacocks. Couldn’t resist a photo when he was walking right in front of me. \u00a0Unfortunately, he was almost off screen by the time I snapped this. Still, look at those feathers! (You can click on it for a closer view.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Menu:<\/strong> After our day at the Bronx Zoo, we headed to our favorite restaurant on Arthur Avenue: Dominick’s. No menu, no prices, no credit cards. They pretty much tell you what you want to eat, and we are never disappointed. We were stuffed to overflowing and took home enough for at least three more dinners. Here’s my stellar cavatelli with rapini in garlic and oil. Delish. Next time, however, we will go on a Saturday so we can go to all the other shops.<\/p>\n Soundtrack:<\/strong> This one makes me happy. And I do believe we’ll be okay.<\/p>\n![\"bear](\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/bear-bronx-zoo-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>Syracuse one day, the Bronx the next. Dennis and I took the kids to the Bronx Zoo<\/a>, an almost-annual tradition that we all love. It was a beautiful day for it, although by mid-afternoon we had surpassed steamy, as evidenced by my willingness to knot a broken hair tie and pull my hair into a ponytail because I couldn’t take it anymore. The animals were in fine form despite the heat. The grizzlies were frolicking in the pool; the gorillas were resting but full of quizzical and serious and playful looks; the tigers were on the move; the monkeys were putting on a show as they swung from vine to vine. We always become members of the zoo when we make these trips because it not only saves us money but allows us to become part of the Wildlife Conservation Society<\/a>, which does amazing work to make sure animals that are endangered or close to extinction manage to survive. And in case you have issues with zoos, know this: The grizzly bear you see here,\u00a0as well as the others that live with him are considered “nuisance bears” because they continually worked their way into human territory. If not for WCS and the Bronx Zoo, those bears would have been put down. Instead, they’re climbing rocks and playing together in a pond.<\/p>\n![\"peacock](\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/peacock-zoo-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dominicks](\"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Dominicks-cavatelli-300x225.jpg\")
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