We slathered on our sunscreen and hopped on our bikes for the six mile trip. This was the furthest I've biked since I took summer gym in high school. (You know, the class where you get credit for playing dodgeball, bowling, and frisbee golf.) I wasn't a pro, but it was a fun way to get around a part of the city I normally reserve for public transportation.
Once we got to the zoo I immediately remembered how much I love the place. It's such a beautiful nature oasis in the middle of the city. Plus it's free.
We checked out the sloth bears, fishing cats, elephants, giant pandas and a red panda. Oh how we love that red panda! It was just so precious. We went past it again and it had climbed up the tree and was only about five feet away! Ross was able to capture it's adorableness.
Strolling along to the next area I had an idea. If we stayed at the zoo until 3 then I could get a half price frappuccino at the Starbucks across the street from the zoo entrance. Ross got out his phone to check the time and noticed he had a voice-mail from an unknown number. His grandpa was calling from someone else's phone to let us know he had arrived in DC.
*Record scratch*
We had completely spaced that this was the day he was coming to town with a group of WWII veterans.
Having already biked more than I had in years, I was a bit anxious that we wouldn't be able to catch up with him. He was getting ready to leave the National Mall and go to Arlington Cemetery which is even further away from the zoo.
The veterans were going to watch the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. We arrived just as they were coming in. It was incredibly moving to be a part of this ceremony surrounded by veterans, especially Pa.
It was a quick but nice visit with him before they had to leave to make it back to York. Since neither of us had visited the cemetery before, we decided to spend our afternoon there.
When we finally got home we marveled at how our day turned out. Our day of hiking turned into something neither of us had expected. We ended up biking 15.5 miles, going to two DC landmarks, and got to visit with family. I guess it's important to remember that while it's good to have plans, sometimes the best things are actually Plan B.
