We woke up Wednesday morning to no power in our hotel which made it a fair treat to get ready, especially taking a shower in the dark. Afterwards we went down to the local Starbucks to get some breakfast before we went to the zoo. Apparently there are about 100 Starbucks in DC. It seems you can't go two blocks without seeing a new one.

We then took the Metro to the National Zoo. The weather was pleasantly warm and a bit overcast. It was a pleasant walk from the Metro Station to the zoo. We arrived around 9:30, after the grounds had opened but before most of the buildings. We went to see the Giant Pandas exhibit but only one was out. Then we went to see the bird house and the Great Flight exhibit where we could get up and personal with some of the birds.

We then went to the Elephant House to see one of the three elephants get a bath. Afterwards we headed out the elephant outdoor area where we met a very helpful docent who shared all sorts of pacadermal tidbits with us. Actually, one of the themes of the zoo were helpful, informative, available docents.

The other theme of the day were school children from about preschool through about grade 3, apparently, and a lot of them. Once again I took pleasure in how well behaved and polite my children are.

Overall we gave the National Zoo high marks, though Simon thought that it suffered in overall layout and organization. We did like that Orangutans had overhead cables with which they could traverse the park from their compound to a primate testing area called the "Think Tank."

After the zoo we headed back to the Mall and visited the original Smithsonian building and took a ride on the old, wooden carousel out front. At the time Emma and Simon were the only riders. Simon made a b-line for the one and only dragon on the carousel... of course.

When we returned to our hotel late that afternoon there was still no electricity. It wouldn't return until 7:00 that night. We went out for sushi, which was delicious, and later that evening we saw a marching band practicing in the street next to our hotel. A good day, overall

Today we woke up and took a last trip to the Mall to pick up knick knacks and souvenirs. Then we checked out and headed down to the train station, stored our things with Amtrak, and walked the three blocks down to the United Methodist Building and the Supreme Court. Simon was tired and unimpressed. So much for democracy. Now I'm blogging from the Amtrak Station as we await our train home.