Sam started his day with a run around the monuments and the National Mall. It was one of the highlights of his trip. When he got back we packed up...coffee, chai tea and umbrellas in hand again...for the National Zoo. 
If you have never been to the National Zoo it is a must if you are in the area. Get on your walking shoes and walk right in...it is free and so beautiful. The trees provide lots of shade and we were there early enough that all the animals were out and active. We went straight to Asia so we could find the Giant Pandas...on the way we saw many neat animals but the Pandas were the highlight. They were amazing!!
Abby looking at the Giant Panda
The zoo is on a hill so we kept walking down to the bottom looking at the animals along the way...elephants, gorillas, rhinos, lions and tigers...you name it, they had it. We made a stop at the small mammal house and Abby and Luke loved it in there. They could walk around and see the animals through the glass at their eye level. Abby's face lit up with excitement every time an animal moved. She was frightened of the meerkats because they moved so fast but Luke loved them. He kept running back and forth with them.
Strolling along down the hill at the zoo. It was such an nice stroll and we had gotten off the metro at the top so we thought that we could catch it again at the bottom of the zoo. Nope...the zoo goes down a different direction than the metro stop so we had to walk all the way back up! Abby and Luke fell asleep as we walked up so we decided to find a place for lunch. We walked for bit outside the zoo and stopped at an Irish Pub for lunch...of course the twins woke up right when we got there. After lunch we rode the metro to Arlington National Cemetery.
What a somber but yet amazing site to see. We made it in time to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers (after a long walk up some more hills). Then the twins got down and explored the ampitheatherWe tried to get a Father's Day picture but they were more interested in playing. Sam and I walked over to Kennedy's gravesite while Grandma took the twins. We were saddened by how many children's gravesites that we saw.
By this point we were pretty exhausted from our super tourist of a day so we called it good and headed back to the hotel. Sam and I got ready for Maggie's birthday dinner and went to Whole Foods to get Grandma and the twins dinner. They stayed in that night and played in the hotel room. I think they all went to bed early that night.
Sam and I joined Maggie, Dave and Liz for dinner at Perry's. We sat on the rooftop and had a delicious meal. I even tried sushi for the first time and liked it...that made Sam very excited. After dinner we went to Maggie's place for cupcakes and champagne. Perfect way to end a wonderful Father's Day and Maggie's birthday!
The first round of sushi
Liz, Maggie and me!
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