Yesterday we finally ventured up to D.C.
I've been nervous to make the trip because I've heard so many horror stories for the traffic and driving around D.C. But the weather cooled off so we decided to go.
It turned out to be a perfect morning at the zoo.
The National Zoological Park- or D.C. zoo is totally free- which I think is really cool. All the national museums in D.C. are free and readily available to the public.
Parking, however, is not free. But it was worth it.
We got their early, around 9 am. after a quick breakfast at Lincoln's waffles.
The animals at the zoo were active and entertaining. It made for a fun zoo visit.
Tucker was very excited about seeing so many animals.
One of the first animals we saw was a cheetah. Tanner loved this. We watched him for a while. He ran around for us. Played with his food and did some hide and seek that
was so funny to watch.
Then it was over to the bear exhibit.
We didn't get to see the red pandas but we had a great time spotting other little animals in their habitats.
Tucker's favorite thing about this zoo were the statues. He insisted on climbing on them all. Sometimes Tanner and Bailey joined him.
Tanner and Bailey really enjoyed the view finders and slides. They also had live web cams of the animals that you could check to see if they were being active or not.
Tucker really loved the little otter statues. They were just his size and he hugged them for quite a while. Did I mention this kid is getting weird? Such a funny personality.
Next it was onto the Giant Pandas. The paparazzi was going crazy as we approached so I knew the pandas were awake and putting on a show.
They are pretty cute. My kids really loved seeing the pandas. One of them was sitting in a tree. He looked like he was stuck because he wasn't moving, but he was just chilling there. Tanner was very concerned that he was stuck and wanted to help. lol.
Again, with the statues. Seriously...
Then it was over to the bird exhibit. Tucker and this ostrich had a staring match. I had to pull him back because I was worried the bird was going to attack. Apparently Tucker is very threatening.
The flamingos were kinda cute. They kept trying to sleep with their little heads tucked under their wings. So cute.
I love these three.
Bailey and Tucker wanted to pose for some pictures. Well mainly Bailey posed, Tucker just randomly held still and did weird smiles.
And then he would be off again, running to see the next exhibit. The zoo wasn't very crowded and that was an unexpected perk.
I love this boy and all his smiles.
The elephants were another big hit. They were also pretty active. Walking around and feeding themselves out of their dispensers. So cute.
Tucker loved the elephants.
Bailey and her beloved elephants
At this point, two of my best friends from high school met us as the zoo for a little while.
Kim lives in DC. We've seen her one other time since moving to Virginia- when we visited Fredericksburg. However, its been a very long time since I've seen Megan and she now lives in Bethesda, MA. I think the last time I saw here was when Bailey was a baby. So anyways, both Kim and Megan met us as the zoo and we were able to hang out for a while.
Then we all went into the reptile house. Tanner loved the large tortoise that was outside the reptile house.
I've never been a fan of reptile houses and it's no secret why- they are gross and full of creepy-crawlies. Like this massive snake. So gross!
And these snake-neck turtles- what the heck kind of weird mutation is that? Their necks are abnormally/freakishly long. Tucker was quite enthralled with them.
Then we went over to the big cats exhibit.
The tiger was awake and active. He was chasing his ball around and playing.
Then he accidentally rolled it into the water and just walked along the water line trying to figure out how to get it back.
We snagged a quick family picture before leaving the zoo. It was lots of fun.
On the way out we stopped by the gift shop and the kids each picked out a small souvenir. Bailey and Tanner both got stuffed pandas and Tanner got a Lego giraffe.
We had packed a picnic lunch and ate at the zoo. So we weren't too hungry when we left.
Our next stop after the zoo was "Union Station". I remember visiting Union Station with my family on our East Coast Vacation/Driving Tour, but I knew my kids would love it. Tucker loves trains and it was a fun and quick stop.
We all admired the beautiful architecture. Seriously? So gorgeous!
Tucker found a picture of the train station from when it was first built.
Then we decided to grab a small dinner before driving home. The food court at Union Station is legit and every kid got something different. It was fun to let them pick what they wanted. Tanner got Chinese, Bailey got a cheeseburger and Tucker just ate cheese fries and drank all my strawberry lemonade. I had a cheese steak and Chris had crepes. So yummy!
Then we stopped by one of the bakeries to get a treat for the drive home and stopped to watch the trains. Like I said, It was a quick stop but the kids loved it. It's fun to see a busy train station. With people traveling from all over.
Then we headed home. We hit some D.C. traffic on the way home and it took us an extra hour to get home, but all-in-all, we had a great time in D.C.
We are excited to go back next month. We have tickets for a "Hop on, hop off" tour bus that will take us all around to the main attractions in DC. There are 22 stops. We are excited.
But this was a great first experience in D.C.
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