Washington, DC (USA)

The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without Zoo Lights! I worked remotely for the day, which allowed me flexibility on our departure time (I texted with all three kids about leaving for the Zoo Lights early so we could see the animals.  Erin told me she'd made plans and couldn't leave early.  I coordinated separately with Brenna and Mollie and picked them up at 1510.  We drove to Huntington Station (1530) and we took the train to Woodley Park.  Mollie ended up mixing up her (3) SmarTrip cards as we exited at the Station but we made it to the Zoo (after the walk) by 1610.  Unfortunately, we missed seeing the outdoor animals by 10 minutes...  We weren’t able to see the pandas before their enclosures were closed for the day but we found some other (warm) places (Reptile and Small Mammal Houses) to hide out from the sub-30 temps. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and got a lot of exercise (to and from the Metro Station and inside the Zoo). And, when it got darker, we marveled at the sparking, colorful lights - wow! It got progressively colder (into the 20s) but, fortunately, we had brought extra gloves and hats.  The Christmas Lights were awesome and we stayed until almost 1830.  All of us tried to get in touch with Erin but we were never able to coordinate a meeting.  The rest of us walked back to the Metro and took the Red Line to Union Station.  We ate dinner at the Thunder Grill - a good tradition - and finished dinner at 1940.  We then explored the stores and restaurants, enjoying the special holiday decorations - Brenna was impressed because she’d never been there.  At about 2000, we headed home via the (slow) Metro.  I dropped the girls off at Nicky’s by 2100.