National Zoo

We visited the Smithsonian National Zoo on Saturday. Zoo admission is free so it's a great way to spend the day. I was impressed by the grounds alone. Very lush and green, lots of shade (even though it was still hot), you felt like you were in the animal's natural habitat and not in the middle of the city. They also have misters throughout the zoo to keep you cool and the kids just loved running through them and standing under them. The panda bears are a big attraction here and one of our favorite spots was the small mammals exhibit. Dilan's eyes got so big because she could really get up close to the monkeys, shrews, meerkats and all the smaller animals. People did warn us though that by the time you go down the hill and see everything, you actually have to climb back up to exit the zoo - not so great because I was definitely hurting by then and we were all tired. But we had a really good time and are glad we got to go. By the way, we did see at least two Amish groups there - I so wanted to take a picture - just fascinating to me! :)

At the front of the zoo

Making our souvenir penny that Drew collects in his bedside table

Resting on a rock

Panda bear exhibit

Meerkats - Drew thought they were so funny

Dilan's face every time we saw an animal - whereas her hair is usually wet because of pure sweat, this time it was because of the water from the misters

Small mammal exhibit

Gorillas - it really smelled in there and this silver back almost fought another gorilla while we were there!

At the end of our stay near a very pretty waterfall