DC Entry - Day 2

As much as we really wanted to sleep in, the National Zoo opened at 10am so we had to be on our way. I'm pretty sure by 930am Jen and Chris had made it to our hotel so we could start walking. We needed a Starbucks pit stop though... but the one just down the street near 18th was packed. So we headed down and took a left on Connecticut towards the Zoo, which was close to 2 miles down. Only a block or two up the road was another Star-B's, so we popped it, caffeinated up, and continued on our way past Dupont Circle. Only a block passed that was a place I just had to stop. The DC office of the Church of Scientology. My Aunt has worked here for years, so we just paused to get a picture and headed up hill to the zoo. We also came across a large, ear bitten Bunny Peep, haha.

The National Zoo really was great. It makes the Norfolk Zoo look like the SPCA. My first reaction upon arriving was, "Hmm... I don't see anyone taking money." The place is free! Novel idea! They must make a killing off the sale of Zoo maps at $2 a pop, haha. We started off by taking a right, into the area of the zoo where they have Asian animals, like Asian Bears, Small Otters, and Pandas. The area in front of the Pandas was stupid crowded, so we really only got to catch a glimpse.

After all that we walked to the section where all the birds were. I really enjoyed the birds they had, because they were just so exotic, I hadn't seen anything like it before. They had a bazillion flamingos, and as such, I was able to get lots of sweet pics of them. And those were just all the outside large birds, we had to go inside to see the smaller aviary.

We then checked out the mammal exhibits. I was really hoping to see a little Hammy running around, but no luck. Plenty of Tamarins, Lemurs, Mere Cat, and small rodents to go around though. Got to see a few different Hippos and a little Capybura.

Next stop was fun. It was the primates. We walked around the backside of the Great Ape exhibit, and what do you know, most of the big guys were out there. There was a large Gorilla chillin' in a cave type tube thing, and then to the funny guy. For anyone out there who doesn't believe in evolution, and that apes our close relatives, just look at this guy. Laying on his back, in the shade, legs crossed, hand across his stomach... totally relaxed. What a life!

We came around back to the front and went inside to see some Orangutans being goofy for the crowds. Just back outside we spotted some Amish/Quaker/Mormon folk hoping to see some Gibbons. They weren't around though.

Having gotten our fill of birds and monkeys, the next stop was the Aquatic life. This consisted of Alligators, Komodo Dragons, Iguanas, and then of course, underwater stuff, like Octopus, Nautilus, jellyfish, etc. It was really neat, I haven't seen half of that stuff even at stand alone aquariums.

Headed back towards the entrance to the zoo we got to see a few Zebras, and then were lucky enough to see the Cheetah out and about... what a good kitty!

After the Zoo we decided it was lunch time. We stopped just shy of Dupont Circle at a place called The Woodley Cafe. It had that great Irish Pub feel to it, yet seemed to be run by Lebanese people. I had a yummy Ruben sandwich and a seasonal (Winter Ale at this time of year?) Sam Adams. Jen and Chris were not all about walking back, so they caught a cab back to One Washington Circle, where their hotel was. Ash and I manned up and hoofed it back.

Outside of the Scientology building there was a peaceful protest going on, I found out from my Aunt it was the group, Anonymous. A few months back they had a YouTube webcast that gained a lot of attention from the media about how they were going to war against the CoS. Whatever, the people were not very good at being anonymous, as half of them had their masks off. Seemed kind of pointless, but to each their own.

After stopping by the hotel to rest out feet for a few, and change clothes, we managed to hike it another mile and half over to the Newseum, just down the street from the Capitol building. On the way we passed the US Navy Memorial, The Hoover FBI Building, and The Old Post Office. The Newseum is really neat, and were having an exhibit called, Manhunt, which highlighted the media coverage and stuff after President Lincoln's assassination. This place was huge. Six floors of information, highlighting everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall, to 9/11. One of the really neat things about the place is how interactive it is. They have an area where you get in front of a green screen and you can record yourself giving an actual newscast. Think of the Daily Show on Comedy Central, when they show their correspondents "on location." They also had an outside observation deck where you could get very nice pictures of the Capitol building and the surrounding area. We only had 45 minutes to browse, hardly enough time to see much, but we got to go, and that's what counts.

Only a block and half away we then explored the International Spy Museum. Sadly, the place was completely packed, so it made enjoying the place fully near impossible. I thought the beginning where you choose a cover and a life story was pretty neat, because all throughout the museum, and at the end, there are terminals where you try to stay undercover without suspicion. My cover was that I was Collin McKay, an Art Student from England, visiting Turkey for vacation over a period of two weeks. I ultimately failed my final and was not permitted to leave Turkey on suspicion of spying. We bought a couple large mugs as souvenir and headed back to the hotel.

We only had an hour or so before Jen and Chris were to be showing up in a cab to whisk us away to dinner. And what better place for a DC dinner than Ruth's Chris. Not a DC original, but hey, can't beat expensive food! We showed up, and were led to a very tucked away, more private area that felt like it was miles away from the main seating area. Dinner was great. I had the Seared Ahi Tuna, sooo yummy. It's served over a tomato slice and topped with crab meat. I can't really begin to tell you how delicious it was. Coupled with my creamed spinach and shoe string fries, and a couple of Sam Adams, it was just fabulous. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal... time to drink.

First stop for the night was a place near the Verizon Center called Clyde's. It's like an Irish Pub/Sports Bar... yet restaurant at the same time. We sat down in front of the Red Sox/Orioles game and had a few. My Long Island's were quite tasty.

We then moved on to our final stop, Fur Nightclub. Apparently this is a big night life hotspot in the city. We were waiting in line until Chris asked the guy about table service. A few short minutes later, and a few hundred dollars whisked away, we had a table overlooking the main floor, and lots of alcohol. It was a hassle though, apparently Tommy Lee (yeah, that Tommy Lee) was in the house promoting his new, "Ink, Not Mink" album. We ended up leaving a little after 1am. I won't get more into it, but it was DEFINITELY time to leave.