Boston and Washington - Spring 2016 - Day 13 (Snow!, National Zoo, Dupont Circle)

[Guest]

This is my first trippie (please be gentle)...


Trippie Index Here



Day 12 Here



What:

Boston, Washington D.C. and Baltimore


When:


Spring 2016


Who:


Me (April) Getting Frostbite

DS (Pooter) Getting Free Books! Woo-hoo!



Day 12 - Return to National Zoo, Dupont Circle



This will be a short post (well, relatively short, it’s still me…) - the weather put paid to our original plans and we spent half of the day sheltering from the snow, sleet and freezing rain.


We had *planned* to go to Arlington National Cemetery today.

We had our hotel breakfast (yogurt, fruit, ham - and English muffins for Poot) and headed out.


As we walked to the Metro, it began to rain, evil freezing rain.

It was SO COLD, and all we had were lightweight waterproofs, two pairs of gloves and one hat between us - I thought the weather was too cold and miserable to spend hours walking outside at Arlington.


I suggested to Poot that we go out to the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center (out by Dulles Airport).

The U-H Center is made up of two massive hangars that house all the aircraft too big for the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. It has tonnes of aviation and space artifacts, including a Concorde (an Air France one),

the Enola Gay -

and the Space Shuttle Discovery.

The Center also has a massive observation tower. And because it’s national museum - it’s free!


Poot loves aircraft engineering, I thought he would be all over this...but, no.


He asked if we could go back to the National Zoo and see the indoor exhibits we had missed on our last visit (due to DH wandering off!).

I’ll pop a link in for that day if you want to put them together:


National Zoo First Visit - Pandas, Frank Zappa, DH Gets Lost



It was properly SNOWING as we walked into the zoo - but there were even fewer people today than there were Tuesday. It was too cold for the pandas, they were all tucked away in the Panda Palace.


We went down to Amazonia (a massive indoor habitat for rainforest animals) so that Poot could observe the frogs at length.

The Smithsonian is involved in the big frog rescue project in Central America, so there is a lot about the project to see here.

If you’re interested in the Smithsonian’s attempt to halt the extinction of amphibians () try this link:


nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/News/June2010/panama.cfm


There is an excellent film about the project shown in Amazonia - it was sobering, and well worth a watch (and not just because it was lovely and warm in with the frogs ). They say that - environmentally - frogs act as our canary in the coalmine...scary stuff.


Amazonia is great - there are quite a few free-flying birds, rays and fish - and, of course, Poot’s beloved frogs.


We had a long chat with the volunteer on duty - he had some great stories about the birds in the exhibit - the spoonbill was a real character.

It was a lovely and relaxing half day at the zoo.

I know we got something to eat at some point, but I don’t remember what it was or when we ate it...


If you are visiting DC with kids, I strongly recommend a visit to the National Zoo. It’s free, it’s huge - and I think it’s great for a break from the hardcore history/museum stuff.

Even our (extremely nerdy) family likes taking a break from nonstop learning.


--------------------------------------------------------------


After leaving the zoo, we got the Metro to Dupont Circle Station and had a little wander around the neighbourhood.

It’s a fun neighbourhood to walk - embassies (this is the Columbian embassy)

...beautiful old houses, Strivers’ Section -

and lots of cool shops and restaurants (apparently bars, too - travelling with one’s nine year old does have its drawbacks…).

It had warmed up *a little* - so it was a fun couple of hours just getting lost in a new neighbourhood.


Eventually we made our way to our destination - Books for America.

BFA *was* a shop run by a tremendous charity whose mission it is to get books into the hands of kids who wouldn’t otherwise have them. For ten years they operated a bookstore on 22nd St - unfortunately it closed last month.

They are currently looking for a new retail space, so DC-bound bibliophiles should check to see if they have had success. Fingers crossed!


We had a great time - as part of the mission of the charity, all children could choose 10 (!) free books to take home. Poot was in ecstasy choosing his books. In addition to Poot’s freebies, we also purchased some grown-up books and a few comics (these were fifty cents each!).


I was beginning to worry just how we would get all these books back to London (flying hand luggage only)...


We ducked into a nearby CVS where we picked up a refrigerated container of Poot’s new favourite food - Panera macaroni and cheese.


Back “home” we went - I had leftover Target snacks (), Poot had his mac ‘n’ cheese.


After dinner, we headed down to the pool for a swim. I was hoping the hot tub had been cleaned, but it was still…

The pool at the Residence Inn was small -

- but we used it several times. I really appreciate when city hotels have pools, they really do add to the fun for kids.


Off to bed - more baseball tomorrow! - with Poot hoping to meet a President or two…



continues in next post with Poot’s Day 13 memories

[Guest]

continued from previous post


Poot's Day 13 Memories:


We got to the National Zoo very early, but we had to brave a storm of freezing rain, sleet and snow!

Before we got to the National Zoo, we went into a shop so Mother could buy a pop. She should drink water!


Outside the shop there were many people who were cold and wet. Mother had seen some umbrellas inside and said, “They sell umbrellas here,”. Those people were very thankful!


Then we carried on our long and arduous quest to get to the zoo.

We finally arrived; there was no-one there! The weather had put everybody off (except us - haha).


When we got to the pandas (Mother wanted a second look) they were not out. It was too cold; they were all in their little panda hidey-holes.


Then we took a second look for the giant salamander. We saw it, but were not able to get a good picture of it - it was too dark. Then we went over to Amazonia. First we saw the amazing spoonbill. It was bright pink - you can see these in Florida - they’re called roseate spoonbills.


Also in that exhibit there were several types of rays which went around the bottom of the water, collecting bits that other fish missed on top.

Ray:

Then we went to see the purely amazing amphibians. We first saw a Suriname Toad. Then we saw Californian newts. After that we saw a large number of endangered frogs and toads. My favourite was the Panamanian golden toad, which is yellow and black. It is one of the most endangered animals in the world, because of the chytrid fungus.

Then we met a very nice man, who took us to look at some of the other frogs. My favourite was the Lake Titicaca frog. It is very special; because of the altitude of Lake Titicaca, the frog has special folds in its skin which allow it to absorb more oxygen.

Then we saw an amazing film on the chytrid fungus and how the Smithsonian is working to save frogs in Central America.


There was an aviary/monkey habitat/turtle exhibit where all the animals could move around over your heads (except the turtles, obviously ). My favourite here was the blue-green tanager.


Next we went to the reptile house. There we saw a long- necked turtle. It is also known as the skunk turtle because of its smell! We also saw the emperor newts, which were so brightly colored. They are very orange to warn predators that they are deadly.

Reptiles:

Then I bought some pressed pennies and we left the zoo.


After that, we rode the train all the way to Dupont Circle, where the escalators were so long and s-l-o-w that it took us about five minutes the get to the top!

We walked around Dupont Circle looking at things - we finally got to what I was waiting for: Books for America!

Inside, we found out that the children’s books were free!

My best children’s book find was a National Geographic book about earthquakes - but my best find overall was a book called “Connecticut Disasters”.


Then we bought some Panera mac ‘n’ cheese (like I had in Baltimore). Yum.


After dinner we went swimming. There were no people other than us in the pool, so there was plenty of room for me to practice my “tornado swim”.

It doesn’t work very well, but it does splash a lot of water around.

I worked on all my real strokes, too.


Then we watched a weather documentary and went to sleep.


Day 14 Here

[Melbatb]

What a great day despite the weather - though I am not sure I would be so happy mear all those reptiles

I love your son's view on the day!

[Glee Fan]

Harsh sounding weather today.

I would love the museum with the Concorde , bit of a nerd myself!

At least Poot had a fab day

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Glee Fan

Harsh sounding weather today.

I would love the museum with the Concorde , bit of a nerd myself!

At least Poot had a fab day

See more...

Yes, that would have been my third Concorde. We've seen the prototype at Duxford, and an Air France one at Le Bourget (outside Paris). The Paris museum is free, too!...at least it was in 2009...


I think for me the best part would have been seeing the space shuttle. I haven't been to Kennedy since 1987, so that would have been a first for me!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

What a great day despite the weather - though I am not sure I would be so happy mear all those reptiles

I love your son's view on the day!

See more...

LOL! I think parenting a son has anaesthetised me to many of the things that used to freak me out (hornets, snakes, etc...). I still don't like bats, though...

I'll never forget the time that I came back from a meeting up in town to discover that Poot had filled the bathtub with worms (and dirt)...

My DH just said, "Yes, I thought he'd been quiet..."...

[disney owl]

another good day apart from the weather

[Guest]

Originally Posted by disney owl

another good day apart from the weather

See more...

I know - it was supposed to be 80 degrees! I brought shorts for Poot and cotton dresses for me - and then we had to wear our jeans and waterproofs EVERY DAY.

Kept the crowds down, though!

[RachelM]

Another good day. Its a shame you couldn't get to Arlingtron cemetery because of the weather.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by RachelM

Another good day. Its a shame you couldn't get to Arlingtron cemetery because of the weather.

See more...

This felt like a wasted day to me ( ) - though Poot was happy as Larry - first frogs, then books. God bless you for commenting on such a nothing post!


We were expecting 80 DEGREES in Washington - so the freezing rain and snow really messed with "the plan".

I am normally somebody with a Plan B, C and D. But Poot's tumour and all the worry/panic that went with it meant that I hadn't done my usual research.


Must try harder!