Bethesda and the Zoo

In a shop window while walking to the zoo. At least it wasn't "Kosher."

Monday, August 24: National Zoo. As the weather promised to be below 90F for a day, Sarah and I headed to the zoo. We were there at lunch time for the pandas, so we got to see them consume mass quantities of bamboo leaves. They are much bigger than I would expect. We also saw a baby gorilla who started patting on the glass in response to the human children doing the same. But my favorite, of course, were the capybaras. They were hanging out in the water with their well-positioned noses, eyes and ears above it. I know some people think they are just giant rats, but really capybaras are very friendly.


Sunday, August 23: In downtown Bethesda, by the Barnes and Noble, there is a fountain and some benches. When the weather is nice, lots of people hang out there, listening to teenage street musicians and eating shaved ice from this cart. For $2, this man will freshly shave you an overflowing cup of ice and cover it with any of his syrups. I love watching people eat this--it's impossible to be sad when eating shaved ice. On days when I don't want to get on the metro or do anything big, I walk or take the trolley here and people watch.