Zoo Day

We've been wanting to take Claire to the DC zoo for a long time and at the last minute this weekend we decided the weather looked decent and we should give it a shot! Mom and Dad joined us for the adventure....and it was definitely an adventure. Instead of driving into the city and parking there, we wanted to try the metro. I had some great tips from friends and we figured out exactly what we needed to do - should be simple. Except we had NO IDEA that it would take 2 hours from the time we parked in Springfield until we actually got to the zoo! The sign said the metro ride would take 45 minutes, but even with an extra change of trains due to work on the metro line we thought maybe an hour tops. Luckily we weren't in any rush! (And thank goodness Claire never had to go potty....I have no idea what we would have done. I was bad enough - don't tell a pregnant lady she can't use the bathroom for over 2 hours!)

Claire thought the train was really fun. I wasn't sure how she'd handle it, but she loved it - especially when the train was outside (not as much when underground) Her face was priceless when the train first started moving - she kept saying "wheeee! this is fun!" Once we got closer into the city the trains became more and more crowded. There was also a Race for the Cure going on so hundreds of extra people were all trying to get on the metro. There were a few scary moments of being pushed and shoved and crammed into the train like a sardine!


So after a 2 hour car ride, 3 trains, and a half mile walk, we finally made it to the zoo! It was a gorgeous day and I was so glad we decided to do it.


One of the coolest exhibits the zoo has is the Orangutan "O-Line" - a travel system for the orangutans to go back and forth between ape houses. Unfortunately we didn't get to see one go across it.

They had these great misters to cool off in.

She's checking out some naked mole rats running through the tube. They were pretty weird looking - they kind of looked like....well, nevermind.....let's just say they looked weird.


I was honestly kind of disappointed that we didn't get to see some of the animals. The elephant house was closed for construction as well as several others. We felt a little jinxed - every time we'd go to see an animal, we'd see it for a few seconds and then it would go inside or curl up to take a nap. We saw the panda and the lion very briefly and only 1 of the 7 lion cubs. I actually think there are more animals to be seen at the Richmond zoo! But either way, it was so pretty in DC and I was still very happy we went.

This giant ant eater was really cool

Our favorite was the gorilla exhibit. We saw 4 of them outside and then later inside we got to see the baby gorilla playing - he was adorable.

I think we all had our fingers crossed it would be a smoother trip back to the car, but it still took 2 hours. We were a very tired group! We stopped for dinner (thanks Dad!) and made it back home safe and sound. Very long and exhausting day, but worth it!