National Smithsonian Zoological Park

Now that is a name for a zoo!  I love having a zoo membership back home.  A great outing to get out of the house, burns off energy, lasts a long time, kids love the animals, educational, and so on.  So I am hoping to continue the fun out here!  And by the way, could it be cooler that for a year like this, I get to be right outside of DC!  TONS of stuff to go see and do and, get this, it is all free!  The only issue to figure out... getting there.  I wasn't sure if my Cadillac of a double stroller was going to fit on the Metro.  I certainly wasn't going to expect Abby to walk around zoos, museums, and parks.  One of the first things I wanted to do when we got here was try it out.  Especially before school started so that I could have Jason's help and preferably when my parents were here so that I could have their help.  So last Saturday, we packed up and headed for the Zoo.  The Metro was so easy!  I was thrilled!  The Metro station is really close to where we are, the parking was easy, and we utilized all of the handicap accessibility benefits.  Plus there was plenty of room for my big stroller.  I am excited to see what adventures the girls and I will have this year!

The girl's first Metro ride!

So, adventure #1, the Zoo.  This Zoo was huge!  I don't think we saw half of it.  I have been prepping Abby for the Panda Bear exhibit, so she was pretty excited.  When we got there, the Panda Bears were taking naps.  Abby was glued to the exterior fence, saying over and over, "Mommy, I can't see his face!  Where is his face!"  Finally, one rolled over and she got a brief glimpse.  

Have you ever heard of a Red Panda? It looked like a cross between a Panda's face and a huge Racoon's body, and it was red. Can you see it in that little window?

The other really cool exhibit we saw that day was the 5 BIG Gorillas! It was kind of freaky to be so close to those animals! I just kind of looked at them and thought, "You are really smart, really big, really strong, and really wild!" There were some people there that were sadly taunting them. But it was crazy to see them respond and beat their chests and clap their hands in anger. Abby again was totally engaged!

Do you see the electrical fence around the perimeter?

I love this set of pictures. Abby was really into the gorillas and wanted me to be constantly looking as well. When I tried to take her picture she would emphatically say, "Mom, Look!" So here was how it went...
Me: "Abby, say cheese!" Abby: "Mom, Look."

Me: "Abby, say cheese!" Abby: "No, Mom, Look!"

Me: "Abby, say cheese!" Abby: While grabbing for the camera, "MOM LOOK!"

I am glad she is so into it!
Then there was the Komodo Dragon! This thing was also cool, also scary! It's cage is pretty small so you get pretty close to him. It was sitting perfectly still when we walked up. Jason was holding Abby, Katie was in the stroller. And there were lots of people there. After a couple of minutes, he looked right at Katie and walked right at her! I am not even kidding, it was like he realized that she was just the right meal size compared to us all! It even freaked Katie out and she started screaming! Crazy huh! The pictures don't do it justice but we tried to catch his direct route!



And then there was the butterfly pavilion! How can you ever take a butterfly pavilion seriously again after that Brian Reagan act?

And we can't forget about Katie! Everything to her was, "Dog! Dog!" Even the giant orangutans in the sky!





And THANKS to Mom for pushing the stroller the whole time! That was a nice change!

And there is our day at the Zoo!