National Zoo

To kick of the 2014 Adventure Tuesday season we decided to go big-

 the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.. 

...and I'm going to roar!

Planning:  Planning for this trip was pretty easy.  The Smithsonian's National Zoo has a great website: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/    We used this site to figure out the address, parking and timing.  We also had decided to pack lunches and bring snacks and drink- all which is perfectly fine with the zoo.  The zoo is free, parking is $22.

The Drive:  The drive itself was not too bad.  It took just over 2 hours, but was a straight shot south and the GPS (its name is Jack) took us exactly to the zoo's entrance.  We parked in parking lot A, which was right by the entrance/ exit on Cleveland Avenue NW.

Arrival: We arrived at 10:30 am and had no trouble finding a spot. A minor hiccup was driving past an open spot and then having to back up and angle my MommyMobile (big red van)  into one of those crooked spots.  I managed to do that without sideswiping any other vehicles or small pedestrians.

Panda-monium

The kids decided it was lunchtime and since I knew the moms would end up being the pack mules, we decided to eat right there in the parking lot (yes at 10:30 am).  Conveniently,  there are trash cans in the parking lot.  We ate, grabbed a few waters, my backpack full of goodies, my camera and we were off.



The Adventure:  The zoo was fantastic!  We had intentionally decided to go early in the season and I believe that, and the dark looming clouds, helped to thin out the crowds. 

Baby Bao Bao

First stop: Zebras, they are my favorites.  The zebras were up front and munching on some hay.  Next: Pandas.  As we walked around the outdoor panda exhibit we were extremely disappointed that none were visible.  HOWEVER, when we went into the Panda Building, there they were in all their furry cuteness.  This was how a lot of the day went: walk around empty enclosure, go inside building.  This really was not a bad deal, as most of the buildings were well air conditioned. 

rain delay

Weather might have played a roll in the animals being inside, as it started to rain about half way through our adventure.  For a while we were able to tip toe through the raindrops and escape into buildings, then the sky unleashed a serious deluge and we ducked into the Visitor Center/ gift shop/ potty for a 15 minute rain delay.  The Visitor Center is a beautiful building with a small art gallery/ wall of fame (i.e. the real Smokey the Bear). The air was pumping and everyone seemed grateful for a small hiatus.

rain delay

After 15 min, we decided that we could brave the rain drops, which had slowed considerably, but not entirely.  I decided to reach into my bag of tricks and pulled out 3 ponchos (and some animal crackers- since the children were now STARVING).  Kim had not packed ponchos, after a few feet in the rain, she stopped at a kiosk and purchased the readily available ponchos, thus effectively causing the rain to stop virtually instantly and the sun to come blazing out. THANKS KIM!

Chomping away

Post rain, the animals seemed to be in their element (no pun intended).  The lion got up and roared so loudly it rumble though my insides.  The gorillas came out and shoved some food into their mouths with their giant hands (paws?). Then we went into Think Tank, one of the orangutan buildings.  There were lots of hands on activities that all of the kids enjoyed and we happened to time it that there was a demonstration starting.  The kids all had an opportunity to play tug-o-war with one of the orangutans (who was on the other side of thick glass).

Pull T, Pull!

The rest of the adventure went as zoo trips do: Lots of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" and several "I'm hungry".  By 3:30 pm were had seen all of the animals (except maybe the tigers???) and were back at the car; damp, sunburnt, hungry but happy.


A very successful  first Adventure Tuesday 2014!
 
 Tips/ Tricks:  Print a map or take a picture with your phone, camera....  The zoo charges $3 for a map.  There is also an interactive GPS enabled app, that is $2. We managed to navigate without either.  There are large maps all around the park.

Parking- if we were to go again, I would try to park in Lot D- the farthest one from where we entered.  The zoo is on a bit of a hill and the trek up hill to get back (as we were looking at more exhibits) to the car was a bit tedious.  I would rather have started going up hill and ended with a downhill jaunt.

Food- packing our own was smart.  Food prices at the zoo were okay, but it is still cheaper to pack our own.

Restrooms-  are plentiful and clean.  If you are not near one, there are signs pointing you to the nearest one and letting you know how long it will take to get there.

Welcome to Adventure Tuesday!

Adventure Tuesday was created 2012 by two families who had enough of, "What are we doing today?????" all summer long.  Neither of us had the time, energy or money to keep our kids busy 100% of the entire summer (not to mention all of us need downtime). Sooooooo, we decided that 1 day a week (Tuesday) we would take our children on some type of summer adventure.  As for our adventures: some are close by, some are far, some are expensive and many are free. 

Over the past year or so we have developed a minor following, people asking us where we were off to next and how our past adventures went.  We decided that blogging about it would be a fun addition to our adventures.

So sit back, relax and join us for some summer fun!

With anticipation,


     Robin, Kim and their 4 Adventurers

Pics from previous adventures:

 Ringing Rock Park


                           Giving kids hammers!

Carlisle Sports Emporium



Games, go karts, and mini golf