A DAY AT THE NATIONAL ZOO

I rode the Honda to the Metro one more time and caught the train to the Zoo.

Just a little inbetween, I had over heard a couple talking the day before on my way to the Mansion on O. They said that the Zoo entrance was almost exactly halfway between two Metro stops. BUT the stop listed as the one for the Zoo required a steep uphill walk. The one they were going to take - and the one I took was mostly level. And since the Zoo is VERY hilly, this was a good thing to do.

We played "cell phone tag" for awhile. Tom and family entered at the bottom, parking lot entrance. I entered from the top, street entrance.

"Do you see the Gorillas on the cables in the sky?"




"Yes, I'm right under them. Where are you?"

"No you're not. Because WE'RE right under them and you're not here."

After we determined that the cables were in several sections, we found each other and went to see the Gorillas "up close and personal".

Next stop was the Small Mammals House.





Our favorite, at least Casey's and mine were the Golden Lion Tamarins.








Things are kinda a blur after that. Otters, elephants, Giant Pandas, Rhinos, and a stop in the shade for a rest and some snacks. Then the family headed back down the hill and I caught the Metro back to my "home".

On Tuesday I had an uneventful but VERY beautiful drive to Seven Mountains Campground near Milroy, PA. I'll be driving down the mountain every day to spend time with my three PA grandkids.

Life is SO good !

GRANDKIDS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

NOTE - I just learned that if I don't reduce the size of pictures, Blogspot does it automatically.

THEN IF YOU 'CLICK' ON THE PICTURE, YOU'LL BE TAKEN TO A FULL SIZED IMAGE. Then just hit the "back" button to return to the Blog.

COOL !

The day after the Wedding, we had a wonderful "family only" Breakfast at the Mansion, then went to the National Gallery of Art. I wasn't at all sure this was a great idea - come on, a 9 yr old, a 6 yr old and a 21 month old walking around looking at paintings and sculptures?????




But Casey insisted that her teacher had told her about a portrait of a woman by Leonardo da Vinci that she just HAD to see.

Well, I KNEW there weren't any original oils by da Vinci in the US.

Let alone a portrait.

Of a woman.

I didn't just think these thoughts. I said them out loud.

Several times.

And for the first hour or so, my comments seemed justified. Renoir, Degas, Cassatt, even Van Gogh. Including a self-portrait.



The girls loved all the young ballerinas. Especially the original of "The Dancer" by Renoir. A poster of it hangs in their dance studio back in State College.





And, then, in a gallery devoted to it, there was "Ginevra de' Benci".



One of just THREE female portraits known to have been painted by da Vinci. AND the ONLY original da Vinci oil in the US.

AH, the pleasure of listening to a 9 yr old say, "See Grandpa. I TOLD you so."

It was worth it, though. The kids were great. I got tired first. At least once I said, "This is a nice gallery. I'll sit here for awhile. Come back and get me." And they kept walking and looking.

We had a great time.

Tomorrow we go to the National Zoo. I KNOW they'll outwalk me there. But it's a family tradition. Tom dragged Mary Ann and me up and down those hills until we were close to exhaustion (us, not him) 36 years or so ago.