Back to the Zoo, for Animals, not Lights

I was expecting a Thursday of torrential rain, much like last Thursday, but so far, the rain has held off.  I don't expect that to be the case much longer.  We have plans for movie watching and bread baking and turkey and dumplings from a base I made last week and stashed in the freezer.

Yesterday, we had a different set of plans, to see old friends we hadn't seen in a long time:

Yesterday's forecast was for a clear and chilly day, so off we went to the National Zoo.  The last time we were there was in the 90's, and my spouse wanted to see what had changed.  We got soon after it opened, and for awhile, we were one of about five groups there.  I had taken a picture of the free passes that are required, and happily a picture on the phone did scan.  I did notice that there were other entrances from parking areas with no staff paying attention.  I don't really understand why we need to be this careful anymore.  Is it about disease?  Much of the Zoo is outdoors, and it's cold, so unlikely to be a disease hazard.  Is it about tracking numbers for grant applications?  I'm just glad we got in.

At first, I thought we might have made a mistake, coming on such a cold day.  Some of the exhibits told us that animals had been moved inside because it was too cold.  But then we saw red pandas, and I thought, well, these animals alone are worth the trip.

Then we went inside where we saw one of the giant pandas having a great time eating bamboo.  That, too was worth the effort of coming to the Zoo.

We wandered outside and inside, and I think we saw just about every exhibit that was available.  The one thing we weren't expecting:  a mother deer and her two small deer wandering through, I assume from nearby Rock Creek Park:

In some ways, it felt like we were there no time at all, but it did take up half the day, with travel time.  But that was O.K.:  we didn't have other plans.  And we wanted to do at least one activity that we can't do in other places, like the National Zoo or one of the Smithsonian museums.  Since we have been to the Smithsonian museums more recently than the Zoo, the Zoo was our choice for yesterday.  

It was roughly 25 years since our last trip--wow.  Hopefully, we'll make it back there before another 25 years goes by.  Sobering to think about how old we'll be in 25 years and what may or may not have happened, both to us as individuals, as a couple, and in terms of the larger communities where we live.