Cheetahs and Elephants and Pandas Oh My

Winter in the National Zoo is looking

different than my winter

About to head out for our first run together

in DC

Cool, cloudy morning at the Monument

There is no snow in DC.  It is colder than I was expecting but I think that is going to change tomorrow.  But I repeat..........there is no snow in DC.

I arrived last night and met Emily at the New Zealand Embassy for a reception.  It was just a tad fancier than any reception they ever throw for teachers.  Wait, they don't throw receptions for teachers.

Today she went off the teach spinning bright and early this morning.  I was determined that I was going to tour the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. So I went to Starbucks where I had coffee and sat for awhile with my book, then jumped on the Metro and headed to the Mall.  I got a ticket no problem but there was an hour to kill and it was cold.  Nothing was open. I walked up the Washington Monument to kill some time, took a few pictures and headed back.  Now the building was open and it was warm. It wasn't time for my tour so out came my book.  I was happy.  Once the tour began it took about 45 minutes. I had been told this was the second most popular tour in DC.  Not in my opinion. It was fine but it is not one I will repeat. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best, I would give it a 2.  When I left I thought I would go back to the Washington Monument just to see if I could get a ticket.  Score! I guess March is good time to visit. It wasn't until 11:30 so I had some time to kill. I went to the Freer and Sackler Galleries which I had been planning to do.  I have to say, it rated a 1.  Was I discouraged?  Heck, no.  Lots of choices left. I actually went to the Smithsonian Castle next which is an information center but had examples from all of the different museums. LOVED it.  They had a Nike license plate amongst many other cool things like warm, clean bathrooms, a place for a snack and a quick read.  Then  I headed back to the Monument, where it was freezing.  (When did I get so wimpy?)  They were running behind BUT a lady who had an extra 11:00 ticket gave it to me so I got right in.  Soon we were inside where it was warm and I read my book while I waited.  Do you see a theme here?  Maybe you wonder what I am reading.  The new Jodi Picoult book - Sing You Home which I am enjoying immensely and which Emily wants me to finish before I leave so I can leave it here.  Soon enough we were headed up the elevator.  I have never been up to the top of the Washington Monument. It wasn't sunny but you could see a long ways. It was fun picking out things in all directions. It wasn't that crowded and people were taking turns at the window. Life was good.

Looking at the Capitol from

the Monument

My favorite memorial, the Jefferson Memorial,

but what I also liked seeing was Haines Point,

behind it and to the left. You run there in the

MCM and Emily and I ran (she biked) there

last summer.  It is a pretty cool place.

When I came down I headed back to the museums and decided to go to the National Gallery of Art to make up for my earlier disappointment.  I went to two exhibits as it was getting close to time to meet Emily but they were great.  I went downstairs to the Impressionist Era and was in heaven.  I will go back another time.

It's packet pickup time.

Once I met up with Emily we headed off toward downtown to pick up our race packets, eat lunch, head to Starbucks for the free petite snack and go home to change for a run!!!!

cheetahs

We headed off to the zoo to run.  There weren't a lot of animals out as it was cold (apparently I was not the only one thinking this) but we saw some favorite ones. I would have liked to see the new lion cubs but we were too late.  We did see the cheetahs, elephants, and panda.

pandas

It is quite fun to run around a zoo. It is where Emily goes for her hill workouts.  She did a few while we were there. I did not join her.  I had so so so much fun running with her!  It is at the top of my list of what I have liked so far.  That scale of 1 - 5. It was a 5!

Following the elephant tracks to...

.... the elephant of course

Just enjoying running in the zoo

Then we headed out to dinner to my favorite DC eatery where I had a banana and peanut butter panini.  Yeah, I have very refined taste buds.  Then we went to Target in a bit of a shadier section of town, but Emily protected me. I bought a new thingie to download my pictures and no matter what else I buy here it will be my favorite purchase. My camera has been a real bear when it comes to downloading pictures and this thingie downloaded at the speed of sound.  

Running back to Em's house

Dinner

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

And one more important thing..........heel pain..........nowhere to be found!