Ah, I remember my first elephant ride. It was a trip around a department store. Then at least once more with my two, then very young sons, at the Los Angeles Zoo in the mid 1990s. Asian Elephants for me.
I almost miss that type of weather. Here in Madrid (as an Irish expat) I have not seen rain since last November - today is 18 March and counting! There is actually a fair amount to be said on behalf of dull, cloudy , overcast days and not the least of that is that it is great for one´s concentration - real quality time to get through reading & correspondence backlogs and so on! Very good for daydreaming and the creative imagination generally; a real bonus for a country´s economy in this respect and not to be taken lightly.
