National Zoo.

I have always loved going to the zoo. I have very early memories of a red elephant-shaped "key". This key was for placing in a box at the zoo that would tell about the animals. Or maybe the box made the animal sound? I'm not sure, but I know I loved that key and I loved going to the zoo. The "runt-runts" (elephants) were my favorite. Now, at 40 years old, I still enjoy the zoo, and I'm blessed with a family that does, too. We decided to go to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. over the long Memorial Day weekend. We've been there once before, and even though the girls are teenagers now, we were all so excited to go again!

Last time we went, we made the mistake of driving all the way to the zoo and trying to find a parking spot. This time we parked and rode the train/subway into the city. A much less stressful way to go! When we got there, we bought a map (the zoo is free, so you pay for everything else) and started wandering along the trails.


Family favorites: the pandas (I think there are two, but we only saw one) and the great cats. We saw cheetahs, tigers and lions. Pretty kitties! I only got to see my favorite elephants from far away, because their house is under renovation.
Our least favorites: the monkeys and the emu. We were looking for the wallabies, and the emu came right up to the fence and stared at us while pacing and moving its head from side to side. "Ew!" we said. "That thing is creepy!" We moved farther down to the next viewpoint, and it ran after us, stopped right in front of us, again freakishly moving its head, pacing and staring. We're lucky we didn't have nightmares!

By the time we were done seeing all we wanted to see, we were hot and exhausted. We were SO thankful for the misting stations throughout the zoo! Whoever thought of those was a genius. They were very refreshing, and made the heat a little more bearable. All in all, it was a fun and memorable trip to the zoo.