The Zoo!

Shrike had a quicky appointment at the fertility clinic (just bloodwork) this morning, and was off work this evening, so we made a family day of it.

Peeper and I dropped her at the clinic and went down the block to Starbucks for some coffee and a cake pop, and she joined us there when she was done.

After we finished our sort-of brunchish snack, we went to the Metro station, hopped on the train and went into to DC to visit the pandas and their friends at the National Zoo!

This was Peeper's first trip, since she's been on the outside (We made a brief stop - just for the pandas - the morning after a DC Melissa Etheridge concert, right after our whew! ultrasound when I was eighteen weeks pregnant.) and she seemed to enjoy it.

We saw the pandas, of course, as well as an elephant, a tiger, a whole family of lions, a sloth bear (who looks like PerfectPup), otters, prairie dogs and some farm animals.

Then, back to the Metro (where Peeper napped) and a nintey-minute drive, and we're home and exhausted.

Our feet hurt, and Peeper did get a bit heavy on my back (and front) by the end of the day, but we had fun, and we're glad we went ahead and went now. The weather was perfect - not hot, not cold, and overcast so there was no glaring sun.

I didn't wear Peeper the whole time, she did a couple of stretches on her own two feet, with the harness and "leash." We just took the plain one because the panda takes up a lot of room in the backpack, but I kind of wish we'd gone ahead and taken him.

For one thing, of course - hello, it's a panda! They have pandas! Everywhere you turn, you see panda paraphrenalia.

Also, the only comments or looks we've ever gotten when she's wearing it have been along the lines of "Oh, how cute is that!" or "Look at you, you have a panda!"

Today, on the other hand, I didn't really notice, but Shrike says that we were getting looks all over the place. And not of the "Oh how adorable" variety.

I'll have to ask her if there were more looks then or when I was wearing her in front and she was nursing while we were walking around.

While we were looking at the lions, she did come over and ask me "Are you hanging out?" I said, "I don't know. Am I?"

She couldn't see anything, but she'd overheard/seen some fellow speaking a non-English language and making "boob" gestures, so she'd assumed he must be talking about me.

Um, thanks?

Oh, and there are photos. Not as many as there probably should be, but we were busy having fun.