Washington, DC (USA)

Most years, I take Mollie with me to see the pretty lights at the National Zoo.  Sometimes, Brenna has come with me/us.  But this year, we had a special treat - Erin wanted to come!  And, even more exciting, we were able to coordinate attendance during FoNZ Member Week (something I've always wanted to do).  I picked up Erin and Mollie at Nicky’s at 1600 and we drove into DC.  There was lots of traffic and road closure issues - this made things difficult and I got a bit lost.  Mollie helped me get back on track and we were able to get a parking spot by 1645.  Erin didn't know what to expect from ZooLights but she was a bit excited.  When we first arrived, we found a lot of other people in line for tickets (etc.) - I knew there were other places to wait so I walked into the Zoo alone.  As a result, we got separated while we searched for a FoNZ booth to give us our swag for Member Week.  Eventually, I found out that the booth near the Panda Pavilion would give us a bag of items (free ride tickets, carry sack, glowing snowflakes).  Erin and Mollie caught up to me shortly after that and we got some dinner (hot dog for Erin, Stromboli for Mollie, chicken strips for me).  When we finished eating, Erin asked if we could get some hot chocolate and we walked a short distance to find a place that was selling little Italian got chocolates (VERY rich!).  I also got an apple cider donut!  Since we were near the top of the hill, we got some photos at the Connecticut Avenue entrance and then walked all around the Zoo, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.  There were new “lantern animals” - a huge upgrade - and the regular cool lights. We sported our lighted snowflake necklaces and browsed in the tents of the Grump Holiday Market (something we've never seen there before).  I convinced the girls to go for rides on the carousel and the ZooTube (they had fun).  We then continued our walk back towards the car and left the Zoo at around 1930.  I dropped off Erin and Mollie at Nicky’s 2015.  I believe Erin enjoyed the evening as much as Mollie and I always do - can’t beat Zoo Lights!