zoo!

We got to the national zoo and we were ready for excitement! And pandas! We totally got squirreled with these tubes that mimic what it is like to be a prairie dog.  He would not go in there for a while. He just watched the other kids play in the tubes. 

Hesitation....

He came to check on Bennett and me. We were fine. 

Success! He got in the tubes. When we finally got him out of there, we found waters. 

I think the whole reason we started planning this trip was because I found out that giant pandas lived less than 3 hours from me...and I had never seen them. So, we went and found them. They were of course on the other side of the zoo from where we parked, but we made it! This is the boy panda; his lady is pregnant and stays inside. 

See him in the background? Proud moment for me!

Graham snapping a picture. 

We found this panda statue to take a photo with. 

The elephants were close by, and we walked over top of them. He could see them and he took some pictures there. 

Bennett and Brett with the elephant. 

We found an inside place to let Bennett get some air, and to take a breather. It happened to be where the gorillas and orangutans lived. We took a seat and watched and waited. The gorilla who lived here had just left the area. 

Waiting can be hard sometimes. We were patient enough to see two gorillas come by for a walk and we watched them eat. We also saw the orangutans that lived here too. 

The zoo was cool but not out favorite. We were glad it was free. But I got to see a giant panda and that was awesome. It was getting hot so we headed back to the hotel for a breather before heading back out to visit the museum of natural history.