Washington, DC (USA)

[Mollie woke up at 0730 and ate breakfast - Mollie told me that there was a new elephant at the National Zoo and we decided to check it out - rain was predicted so we got an early start - we drove to Gallery Place, parked and then went into the Metro Station - I had to buy Mollie a new SmarTrip Card (Nicky had hers) at 0825 - we rode on the Metro (Red Line) until reaching Woodley Park - we took a short walk, and arrived at the entrance by 0845 - it was overcast and a bit chilly but this kept the crowds away - we got to see nearly every animal, a real treat since they often close exhibits or the animals aren’t out of their private enclosures - we were treated to the sight of three different pandas outside, happily eating bamboo - veterinarians were checking the elephants and we got close up views - we saw lions and tigers and (sloth) bears - our favorite area, the North American Trails, had playful sea lions, gray seals and river otters, along with a gray wolf with his nose high in the air - we also enjoyed encounters with small mammals and several great apes - after two hours, the rain was clearly threatening so we decided to leave - Jill had originally said she planned to come by later in the afternoon but we decided not to wait - Mollie and I backtracked to our car and it started raining just after we arrived at Gallery Place - on the way back to Alexandria, we got gas (1145) - we went home and ate lunch (taco salad) - I cleaned up my apartment in preparation for a visit by the Duff family - we later watched some movies (“Moana” and “Despicable Me 3”) and Mollie made sausage and cheese balls - we went to Mass (St. Bernadette) at 1700 - later, we went shopping for car service supplies at Walmart - at home, we ate dinner (pizza and salad) and had a nice conversation - we did chores afterwards (dusting, laundry, dishes, picking up items to prepare for Duffs, trash & recycle) and I assembled a mini dresser for Mollie’s room - Mollie told me that she liked staying over for extra time (because of the Student Holiday on the following day) “because it is fun and you always do things with me” - we watched a movie (“Armageddon”) after all our work was done - bed time was at 2300 - we made some great memories today!]