Destination: D.C.: Day 7 - It's a Zoo Out Here!

We had a little more time for breakfast this morning because the National Zoo was our first destination. Charla and Amy, Charles and Tyson accompanied us; Charles was our guide. It was a scorcher of a day and the animals knew it. They hid in the trees and grass or played in the water, but we were eventually able to see many: a black bear with cubs; prairie dogs; an anteater; otters; a panda bear; meercats and gray wolves. We bought a few souvenirs and Diet Cokes before leaving the zoo.

Kathy had read about Ben's Chili Bowl, which is in the historic U District and somewhat close to the zoo. They're known for their half-smokes, chili dogs and celebrity clientele. Now we know, a half-smoke is a hotdog made with smoked sausage. (It would be nice if the waitress could explain that.) Our order included some of all of the above as well as chili rice and chili cheese fries. We would have thought it was a dive if we'd just happened upon this place, but the food was really good and clearly the locals love the place.

Our cousins dropped us off at Washington National Cathedral for one last afternoon of museum and monument hopping. This church was absolutely beautiful, with some of the prettiest stained glass windows I've ever seen. We checked out the gargoyles around the roof line, which are essentially elaborate waterspouts that divert rain away from the Cathedral walls. We went to the 7th floor and had a great view of the surrounding area, but we were unnerved by the broken pieces of stone that fell during the 2011 earthquake.

Having been in the D.C. area a full week, we couldn't believe we still hadn't seen all of the monuments in the National Mall! We were supposed to do that early in our trip, but the rain forced us to change our plans a bit. It was a long way between the Cathedral and the National Mall, so we jumped on a Metro bus and rode it as far as we could, bringing us within a few blocks of the Lincoln Memorial. We felt fairly empowered because we got where we needed to be without spending money on a taxi or walking our feet off. In addition to the Lincoln Memorial, we visited the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (where we found the name of a Seymour boy on the Memorial Wall), the World War II Memorial, and the MLK Memorial. From a distance - too far for us to walk that late in the afternoon, thank goodness - we saw the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and walked by the Washington Monument for about the 5th time. The Washington Monument is under reconstruction because of the above-mentioned 2011 earthquake and is completely surrounded by scaffolding. When lit at night, it looks amazing. For the last time, we dragged our bodies to the closest Metro station, fought with the machine to obtain our tickets, and traveled to Bethesda, where Charla once again rescued us from our misery.

Let me just say, the Poulands went over and above our expectations as hosts to feed us, provide taxi service, act as travel consultants and guides, and furnish better-than-hotel accommodations. We've always loved Wanda and Charles and their girls, but it's impossible to say how much we enjoyed spending time with this family for the last week. After our very hectic day today, we had a wonderful meal starting with appetizers and wine, then chicken and fish, cauliflower and broccoli and salad; and ending with brownies, berries and whipped cream for dessert. Ahhhh!