Washington D.C.: Day 3 (Sunday)

After sleeping in a little bit and getting in a quick workout at the hotel fitness center, Todd & I packed up and checked out of the hotel at noon. Since we were just a few blocks from the National Zoo, a group of us decided to head over and walk around before heading home. Like all the Smithsonian Museums, the zoo is also free so we figured even if we just went for an hour, it'd be worth it.

The main entrance

I feel like I'm spoiled since I live in Columbus and we're known for having the best zoo in the nation. Thanks to Jack Hanna, the Columbus Zoo is also featured frequently on late night tv. They just opened up a new polar bear exhibit a few months ago that I've been dying to go see. Despite all this, I was still very excited to go to the zoo in D.C. to see what they're known for, pandas!

Zoo Map

Posing with a panda....Paolo, Julie, Ian, Lars, me, and Todd (clockwise from left)

One of the two pandas that was on exhibit

Just enjoying some branches of bamboo

Todd & I with a cheetah in the background

(I forgot to mention it was 98 degrees on Sunday, I feel like you can literally see the sweat dripping off of me & Todd here)

We walked around for about an hour and a half before taking Lars & Julie to the airport so they could head back to L.A. After a stop at Subway for lunch, Todd, Paolo, and I finally left D.C. around 3:00 PM for the 6+ hour drive back to Ohio. Of course, we weren't anticipating on passing a bunch of wineries in Virginia! If you know Todd or I, then you should know what's coming next....yes, we stopped at one of the wineries for a quick tasting. Paolo had never been to a winery either so we figured it was a win-win situation for all of us. I, however, slightly regretted this decision when we didn't get home until close to midnight and I had to work the next day. Luckily for the guys, the Honda plant is closed this week for one of their twice-yearly shutdowns which means the Research & Design building is also closed, so they didn't have to go to work on Monday morning.

Anyways, we made a stop at Tarara Winery just outside of D.C. We sampled 6 wines (3 white, 3 red) for $10 and enjoyed a beautiful view from their deck overlooking the vineyards. Todd & I didn't think any of the wines were outstanding so we decided against buying a bottle to bring a home....a rarity for us!

The entrance to Tarara Winery

Beautiful afternoon for enjoying some wine outside on the deck

Todd & I drinking one of the red wines

Paolo, Todd and I with our last glass

Even though we didn't get home until late and the drive back seemed like it took 12 hours, I had a blast in D.C. and was sad to see that it went so fast.