Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My

"Are we going to the zoo today?" asked the small person relegated to the very back of the minivan. Finally the day had come for us to go to the zoo. With mom and dad comfortably at Grandmas and the morning pleasantries over with, we headed off in the direction of the National Zoo. Knowing that there was an octopus feeding at 11, we attempted to make it in time, but the need for coffee was just too great. The urge to stop at Starbucks overtook us and we succumbed to the desire. The hotel room coffee has left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. The coffee at Grandmas is not much better, the best we've found so far is Dunkin Doughnuts, as the in laws don't 'do' Starbucks. So yes, we decided on coffee over the octopus feeding.

As with all the Smithsonian Institutions, there is no admission. It was a little unsettling just walking into the zoo. There are no front gates. You just park your vehicle and walk in. Or should I say 'hike in'. The zoo was build on a hill, of which we were unfortunate enough to park at the bottom of. The first thing I noticed was that the zoo is exceptionally clean and beautiful. Like the Seattle Zoo, there are pathways to each exhibit, trees line the walkways, and there are grassy areas to sit and enjoy a snack. I could spend a lot of time here. We purchased our zoo map for $2.00 from the vending machine, then we planned what to do first. The Big Cats were in the area, so it seemed fitting to get a look. But something unusual caught our attention. Something I never thought I'd see. 45 feet up in the air and heading my way was an orangutan. She was on her way from the Ape House to another enclosure along what is called "The O Line". We were encouraged to step back away from the splash zone, to avoid being inadvertently peed on. Following closely behind, was a large male. He was a little more adventurous than the female. She moved along the cables in an upright position, while he swung along in true monkey fashion. Thankfully we didn't get anything on us because shortly after the male passed our way he chose to leave behind a present for the other guests.

After our close encounter with the orange kind we continued on our path to see the cats. Surprisingly, the enclosures were not behind bars, but open for viewing, safely on the other side of a moat. The cats were all having their mid day naps, so we snapped a few photos and went about the zoo. On our way to the Amazon exhibit we visited the local farm animals. Once in the fabulously air conditioned Amazon house I was once again impressed by the grandeur of this zoo. The displays are truly world class. We were greeted with the sting ray pond, visible from above and on the side. Great photo ops! Considering the extreme heat and humidity of the day and the vast amount of displays available to us, we spent over an hour in the Amazon house.

After some time in one of the outdoor sprayers to cool off, we ventured into the Reptile Exhibit. While waiting in a short line to enter, we were treated with the up close and personal view of a sleeping alligator. Unlike other reptile houses there was no stench to contend with. Again, the displays were great. We spent some time in the discovery room, a place (like in most Smithsonian Museums) that children and adults can learn about and touch the artifacts. We touched the skin of an anaconda, the shell of a tortoise and a sea turtle. We learned about snakes (did you know they can shed their skin 10 times a year?) and watched a zoo keeper chase an escaped iguana. Many of the worker areas are walled with glass, so we can see what really happens. One thing that I noticed in the worker only area, was the many “press in case of snakebite” buttons. I guess that takes workplace hazard to a whole new level.

We soon found our way to the Invertebrates House where we watched the afternoon octopus feeding. Did you really think I’d choose coffee over watching an octopus feeding? It was here that we came upon a giant lobster. This thing was massive, it must have been at least 2 feet long. On our way out of the exhibit we had to pass the ‘Orb Spider’ Apparently this particular breed of spider never leaves its web, so there is no glass separating it from us. I was NOT ok with this scenario. Upon leaving the Invertebrates House we ventured over to see the Komodo Dragon, like most of the animals today, this one was sleeping, but he woke up enough to move his head and give us a great picture.

We began the long walk uphill to the Giant Panda exhibit, this was the most crowded part of the zoo. They were both sleeping, but we were able to get pictures of one of the male. The female was asleep inside behind the exhibit in another room. But we could see her on the zookeepers monitor. Again, because the zoo allows you to see behind closed doors, we could watch the zookeeper, watching the Pandas.

From here it was back to Grandmas to pick up the in-laws. We headed over to Fuddruckers for dinner (dad's new favorite place). After dinner, with a storm approaching, we had time to shop at Burlington Coat Factory. It's a fabulous place to get a great bargain. Surprisingly they sell coats there and we managed to pick up a new winter coat for Diane. It's raining, but still hot out and the sky is a beautiful array of pink, purple and stormy grey. So we are back at our hotel, tomorrow, we are going to change hotels to be closer to the airport. Early Monday we will be flying to Toronto for a few days to visit with mom's side of the family.

As I sit here recalling all the moments of the day, I look up just long enough to see both Mike and Diane, in separate beds roll over at the exact same time, in the exact same way. I love my family.