Better Than I Imagined: National Zoo

Last Monday we headed to National Zoo. All week Arden anticipated going to the zoo. Monday could not get there soon enough. She woke up and ran downstairs to eat breakfast. She was so anxious on the train and in the subway. Once we were off the subway it was a 3 block walk to the zoo. Arden could barley stand it. She was so excited. As soon as we walked into the park. I said "Arden we are at the zoo." I heard nothing in reply. So I repeated myself and still nothing. Ed looked at me and said "Lisa, she's asleep." Of course I look down and she is sound asleep. She slept for an hour which was perfect because that was the only nap she took that day.

Don't you just love how she crosses her legs.

Once she woke up. I told her we were at the zoo and what did she want to do. And the first thing she saw was a popcorn stand (she loves popcorn) and said I want some of that. Classic.

So our first animal was the Panda Bears. The female was outside and the male was inside. They were so hard to get pictures of because everyone loves the Panda House.

I tried to get her picture with the panda statue but she did not know what to think of it. It took her most of the day to warm up to the animal statues.

The order of the rest of the day is a blur so I will tell you about our adventures.

Arden loves birds. Always has...hence her calling for her woodpecker. She loved the large birds. I have no idea what this bird is but she really enjoyed it. As well as the flamingos.

Here are the elephants. Their area is under construction and they didn't have much room. The elephants are wanting to go inside. I believe they were hot (even though it was in the low 80s) because they kept throwing dirt on their backs.

We then saw the hippos. There were two different types. The pygmie hippo that was small and shiny and the Nile Hippo that was huge and I mean huge and fascinating to watch. Here are the hippos and Arden watching the Nile Hippo.

After the hippos we went to the Ape House where they had gorillas and orangutans. She loved the apes. The female gorilla just had a baby in Jan. The baby was about the size of Thomas and she carried her (her baby) around with her everywhere. When she traveled she carried her like a football. And when she was feeding her baby everyone was watching. I wanted to get her one of these so she could feed her baby without everyone watching and taking pictures.

The orangutans were so funny. This one is outside with a paper bag over his head to shade him. Arden loved watching them hang around on the ropes.

The reptile house. I was able to avoid these animals because it was time to feed Thomas. I can't say that I missed seeing all of the various cold blood creatures. I will spare you the details and just show you the turtles.

The large cats were beautiful but rather boring. They just laid around. The tiger did mange to hold his head up so we could see him. Arden kept yelling "Hey Tigger" at him. She kept asking where Winnie the Pooh was. We also saw the lioness but not the male loin.

The cougars were hidden well the in the tall grass. The weird thing is they can see the zebras from their area. I guess they are too well feed to be tempted to attack the zebras.

Arden said that zebras are her favorite animals and wouldn't you know it that this was the only view she saw. She still loved talking about the zebras.

She started getting into having her picture taken on the statues.

She also like the cows. The farm area won the best manicured lawn hands down. Thanks to the goats.

Arden and Daddy taking a break and sharing an ice cream cone.

The seals were sunning themselves on this rock and all of a sudden one jumps in to cool himself off and then leaps back on the rock. It was spectacular. I would have loved to watch them when they are more active.