Zoo Lights

So it seems my blogging has been majorly slacking off lately.  Since session started Wednesday, I've been pretty bogged down with other things, and when I actually do have some free time, I don't really ever seem to want to spend it blogging ... Whomp whomp!  I'll have to be more realistic about how often I'll be updating things here, and save my updates for just the best of the best subjects. 

 

While I'll be nixing lots of less-than-super-exciting topics, I wanted to make sure I included this post about the excursion Josh and I made into DC right after Christmas.  Half of what was so great about our little adventure is that we actually took the Metro into DC!  Silly, I know, but since we moved to Silver Spring right next to the Metro we've probably taken it all of about three times.  We really need to get ourselves more oriented to the public transit! 

 

We headed down to the National Zoo to meet up with our friend from college to go see the Zoo Lights!  We saw an ad for the Zoo Lights posted in the elevator of our apartment, and while you might think it's a silly kid thing to do, the lights were actually really great.  Plus they had all sorts of other things going on at the zoo. 

 

In the building that houses the gift shop (which was a fun little side adventure in itself), they had animal-themed Christmas trees - like my favorite, the panda tree.  They also had set up all the entries into the tiger-themed gingerbread house contest.  The entries had already been judged, so we knew who the winners and "honorable mentions" were, but we still went through and judged them all really harshly ourselves.  Basically we decided by the end that we would crush that competition if we enter next year.  And apparently the prize is a behind-the-scenes with the tiger cubs!  (Though this does not mean, as we originally thought, hugging and cuddling baby tigers - boo!) 

 

We also wandered around for a while and checked out a few train displays, including this one which included a really amazing paper animal vista. 

 

Eventually we managed to find our way outside to check out the actual light displays, which included standard lit trees, but also all sorts of animals made from string lights, some of which were even animated!  The whole thing was tons of fun, plus totally free (my favorite kind of activity). 

 

After strolling through the zoo for a while we headed over to Open City for dinner.  They helpfully label everything on their menu, so it's easy to find vegan options.  I ordered the Bohemian Sandwich, which was roasted eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, red peppers, and grilled onions with vegan chipotle mayo and vegan cheddar on ciabatta bread.  Perhaps not terribly inspired, but in my book you can't go too wrong with a veggie sandwich.  Fun dinner with good friends and a festive evening looking at Christmas lights - all-in-all, a great evening!