A Day at the Zoo

Wednesday we made an impromptu trip to the Washington Zoo.  We hadn't been there in awhile, it wasn't supposed to be ridiculously hot, Kris was going back to work in ten days and Brian David was heading off to college in ten days.  So a zoo date was set and off we went.  We got a late start, but didn't hit any traffic.  It was crowded, but we parked and headed in.  Most of the animals were sleeping that we actually saw for the first hour or so.  Natalie is particularly taken with lions right now, but they were sleeping high on a hill and she couldn't see them.  She loved the statues and other pictures of animals, though, probably because she could actually touch them.  We saw the monkeys and went to the Invertebrate house.  The end, where the butterflies are all around, was a favorite for everyone but Kris, who wasn't crazy about them.  We lunched at the very expensive "food court" and then went in to see the pandas.  The boys and I got to see them, but Kris was over with Nat, who was enthralled once again with the exhibits she could touch and much less interested in the real thing.

We let Natalie run alot and it was a wake up call to all of us, I think, that she was this little toddler now....no longer a baby.  She would go from place to place and side to side, enjoying her freedom and squealing with glee.  After the bird house we saw the elephants and then worked our way back down the hill.  It had been several hours and, while we had fun, I felt that we didn't actually get to see very much.  There were many empty cages and cases and lots of construction going on.

Our last stop was the lion exhibit where this time the lions were playing and roaring and fascinating to all of us.  I am not sure Natalie could really understand that this was the "real deal", but it was cool to see and I got some great pictures.  It was a nice day trip, but I am not sure I will go back until next year.  It's a long ride and parking is expensive and until all the new exhibits and construction finishes up, I don't think there will be as much to see.





















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