Washington D.C. Day 4

The next day was my birthday, and we had another full day planned. This was actually the only day where we didn't get to do everything on our list :( We started the day at the Smithsonian Zoo, and because the Metro was closed for repairs, we had to take a bus. The bus ride seemed pretty long once you account for all the stops it makes, but I guess it makes sense that the zoo is a little further out of the heart of the city. Gotta have room for all those animals! 

This little boy was such a trooper! He napped everyday in this stroller and was (mostly) happy to ride around checking everything out.

Jaguar

Just a panda hanging out in a tree. So cool!

Elephants

There were a couple of panda bears on the inside of their exhibit as well. It was awesome to get to see them so close! This was a female who doing some kind of mating ritual and rubbing all over the rocks. I can't remember exactly, all I know is that it's about time to make a panda baby! :)

Lunch :)

This was the coolest thing ever! There were orangutans walking on these ropes way up high over the zoo. They were heading back into their exhibit. See the baby in front and the mommy in back? The mama orangutan had really long, matted hair. They were awesome!

Lions, my personal favorite :)

We didn't spend a ton of time at the zoo, partially because it was HOT AS HADES outside. We ended up walking from one end of the zoo to the other, and then had to turn around to head back towards the entrance. We didn't notice it before, but the zoo was on an incline, and we had to walk uphill to get back. We were just trying to push through it, but we were all soaked with sweat, and it was over a mile walk! And Henry became unhappy in his stroller and had to be carried. We all passed him around, but I think Aaron was the one to end up carrying him most of the way. hahaha. 

I had picked a D.C. classic, Ben's Chili Bowl, for my birthday lunch. They serve hotdogs and fries, which are my favorite foods! It took FOREVER to get there. We had to walk a pretty long way from the zoo to a bus stop, and then we got off the bus a little too early and ended up having to walk further. We finally made it and enjoyed our food! The female employees were all obsessed with Henry, and they kept hovering around our table talking about him/to him. One of the girls even offered to go change his diaper when he had a huge blowout (like poop all up his stomach. yeah.) We of course didn't let her, but we were all like WHO ASKS TO DO THAT??? It was kinda strange, but they all seemed to be from the Jamaica or Barbados, or somewhere similar, so that kind of explains it. If an American stranger asks to change your kid's diaper, RUN, but otherwise just assume it's cultural.😂😂

Sweet sleepy baby!

It was late afternoon and we still had a lot on the agenda and not a lot of time! We headed to Ford's Theatre, which ended up being tied for my favorite thing we did! They had an awesome museum set up before you went into the actual theatre, and they had artifacts such as the gun that John Wilkes Booth used to shoot Lincoln, the door they used to carry Lincoln's body out of the theatre, and the pillow he had his head on when he died (which still has a blood stain!). Talk about fascinating! In the theatre, they have the box where Lincoln sat closed off, which was kind of a bummer because we wanted to go inside it. There was a tour guide in there to answer any questions and he told us SO much interesting information about the series of events as they are to believed to have transpired. The only thing that dampened my enthusiasm was learning that this was not the actual theatre where Lincoln was shot. What?! I know! It's the same building, but apparently after his death, no one wanted to go to Ford's anymore and the family had to sell the theatre. The interior was gutted and used as an office building for years, before being repurchased by some organization that wanted to restore it to to look like it did in Lincoln's day. They have taken meticulous care in their restoration, and have made it, to the best of their knowledge, exactly like it was, but it is not techincally the original theatre where Abe was killed. Nonetheless it was still awesome! I think going from the theatre to the Peterson House would have been neat, since that was Lincoln's route the night he died. That's typically how it's done, but it just didn't work out like that for us this trip. 

The gun!

Our original plan was to go to Arlington National Cemetery after Ford's, but we were all completely worn out and decided to go rest at the hotel for a bit. We had reservations for dinner at The Hamilton, so we needed to get cleaned up and changed anyway. We had about 2 hours, so we went to our separate rooms and crashed. I was able to nap for about an hour and then it was time to get ready for dinner. We all really enjoyed our food, and the restaurant itself was beautiful! We loved the atmosphere. It was swanky without being snobby, which was nice. 

After dinner we walked over to the White House to see it one more time, and this time we went to the opposite side. I think this is called the Hollywood side? It's the side you always see in T.V. shows, movies, the news, etc. It was so beautiful all lit up at night, and the picture really doesn't do it justice at all! 

Caleb and I headed back to the hotel, but Aaron and Jessica stayed out a little bit later to enjoy their last night sans kids :) They checked out a couple of the war memorials which they said were really cool. Again, next time! Caleb and I got all of our bags packed and ready to go, and then got to bed. We still had one more thing to see the next day before heading home! :)