Looking for a baby panda at the zoo

So yesterday Megan and I decided to head up to the National Zoo to check out the new baby panda, Bao Bao.  She just started to show off to the public on Saturday.  Really she does not have to do much to show off because she is just so darn cute!  We headed up early since they opened Bao Boa's enclosure early this weekend and we were hoping of getting there by 8:30.  We didn't want to go and end up not seeing her because she was sleeping! That would just be the worst thing ever!

We headed towards her enclosure since most of the zoo's animals were not out in their yards yet and all of the houses at the zoo didn't open until 10.  There really wasn't much of a wait..maybe 30 minutes.  They were letting groups of 30 people in to see Bao Bao and her momma for a bit.  Once we got in to see Bao Bao we were very disappointed.  She was just finishing up feeding from her mom and of course that means nap time.  Turns out pandas are not much different than we are. When we went to see her, momma was covering up Bao Bao so we really couldn't see much.  So sad.  The nice thing was the zoo people let us in there for quite some time hoping that Bao Bao would move around.  I don't think they were as concerned about the length of time we were in the panda house since the lines were not yet crazy.

   I wish she was moving around this much..but I guess when it is naptime and you are a baby, it is naptime.

We headed out of the panda house and just walked around the zoo.  We visited the gift shop to find some panda stuff to buy later in the day.  We then decided that we should head back and see if Bao Bao is awake yet.  We kept checking the panda cam to see what she was doing.  She looked to be moving some so we figured by the time we stood in line again we might be able to see her.  After over an hour wait we were able to see her.  She was just so darn cute!

Afterwards since it was near lunchtime we headed down the street to a very yummy pizza place.  Really who wants to eat zoo food when you could enjoy a yummy pressed sandwich made with homemade bread and a salad?  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  It was so good.  

After lunch we headed back to the zoo. I had hoped to see the new tiger cubs.  They were about as cute as the baby panda. When we walked into the zoo the line for Bao Bao was outside of the panda area and the zoo person said that it was at least a 2 hour wait.  I would guess closer to 3 hours.  Wow!  Glad we went earlier in the day.  I don't know if I would have waited in that crazy line.  

Unfortunately the tiger cubs were not out when we headed over to the Big Cat area.  Boo.  I really wanted to see the cubs.  

We did get to see some other animals while visiting the zoo. It was not all panda and tiger cubs.  

The Gorillas were not amused with us.

The cheetah wanted some cheetah friends to play with.




The Red Panda, I think,  felt a little short changed with all of the panda craze.  Really he is just as cute as the giant pandas!









It was a great day at the zoo.  We walked for miles so when I came home, no running or working out for me.  My legs were done!  All of that walking and standing in line, I was done.  It was  a great day at the zoo!

What is your favorite animal at the zoo?

tired...tired..and more tired...

So I feel like I have just been running and running but not actually running...know what I mean?  I traveled to PA on Saturday to say goodbye to Becky and slept on an air mattress..not my best night's sleep.  Then came back on Sunday and took Riley on his 1 1/2 mile walk.  I planned on running but I was too tired to lace up my running shoes. Up early on Monday.  Not the time that I wanted to get up.  My poor iphone was super hot and my alarm didn't go off.  Actually the phone did not work at all.  So I had a moment (ok, maybe more than a moment) of panic.  My phone can't be dead!!  So I unplugged and left it to cool...and now I can only squeeze in a 1 1/2 mile walk with Riley.  Great! At school still no iphone so I spend my morning ordering a new one.  My phone is 2 1/2 years old..so it has had a great life, but I was trying to have it hang in there till the new iphone came out.  Oh well the new one is on the way..and of course mid morning the super hot iphone starts to work again. Randomly gets super hot so I am guessing it is time for a new one..sigh...

Monday after school Kristi and my three nieces were stopping by my house on their return to Virginia Beach.  Kristi drove to school and we headed towards the National Zoo in DC.  I learned that you should really check the address when you use the point of interest on your gps.  I gave Kristi and the girls a lovely tour of some nice neighborhoods in DC.  I did comment that I didn't know why the gps was taking us to the zoo through Rosslyn and Georgetown..but who am I to argue with the gps?  So after traveling the streets of DC we finally make it to the zoo.

 All three girls were really happy to be out of the car!  They got up at 6 am to drive to my house and now we are taking them to the zoo.  We had a great time at the zoo, but in the end we were all hungry so we headed back to the car and off to find some food before headed to see the Whitehouse and the Lincoln Memorial.

We ate at the Shake Shack..yummy burger and shake.  The girls were super hungry.  I don't think we heard a peep from them the entire time they were eating.  Next up the Whitehouse.

We had one more stop before we headed home..Abraham Lincoln was calling our name.

 And it was back home.  We were all super tired.  The girls fell asleep on the ride back to my house.  Needless to say no running on Monday.  Tuesday I set my alarm to walk Riley.  I knew I wasn't going to get in a run, but that was ok, because it was Tuesday which means run club.

I headed to run club and ran (what did you think I did? bike?)  And chatted it up with everyone and then headed home super tired.  I knew after the weekend and the DC trip I was going to take Wednesday off and not take Riley on a long walk and not worry about squeezing in a morning run.  It was the best choice I could have made.  I felt much more rested than I have for a week.  It was a beautiful day today so after I got my allergy shot I mowed the lawn took Riley on his long walk and decided that I couldn't let the evening end without a run.  81 degrees on my run..you have to run!  I think it might be a law that you have to run in weather like this during the summer!  I think it is supposed to be great weather for the rest of the week.  I was thinking of moving up my long run to tomorrow if the temps were going to go up..but looks like I can have a great long run on Saturday with no problem.  :)  That long run will be the perfect cap to the end of summer school too!

Hope everyone had a great running day!