Summer Coaster Tour - Day 09 - Smithsonian Zoo and Pandas - 2026/05/29

Now that I've written up our 2023 Washington DC visit, and how much the kids loved the pandas, it's time to continue the 2026 writeup of our summer roller coaster tour, with stops along the way at lots of other fun sites. Fun sites in this case like... the Smithsonian National Zoo and their pandas! 

When we last left off, the pandas we'd seen in 2023 had been sent back to China. Over a year later, in late 2024, a new pair of pandas made their way back to Washington. It's been on our list of things to go see, and this provided the perfect opportunity! 

Freeze Dried Candy Taste Test - Skittles Pop'd, Sours, Lemonhead, Sprees, Jolly Rancher, SweeTarts, M&M Caramels

I've seen some freeze dried candies and we've tasted a few freeze dried candies here, mostly Skittles and Starbursts, and they've typically been someone's homemade version of it. But recently manufacturers have started getting into it too, and the official freeze dried candy options have exploded! 

Our friends Beth, Mike, Savannah, and Charlotte are visiting us today and I know a couple of them that love love love candy. This seemed like the perfect taste test to do with them! 

Like usual here, we'll be trying the real thing along with the freeze dried version. Will freeze drying improve the candy? We'll see! 

2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - NASA office and National Botanic Garden - Day 08 - 2023/05/05

It's our last day in Washington DC and we've had a lot of fun on this trip! Our flight out isn't until the afternoon, so we've still got a few hours to explore! 

2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial - Day 07 Pt 2- 2023/05/04

We're in DC and just finished a fun morning and afternoon at the Smithsonian National Zoo seeing the pandas. It's our last full day in DC, so before we go, there's a couple big sites we need to see. 

Like the reflecting pool, Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Monument!

2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - Smithsonian National Zoo - Day 07 Pt 1- 2023/05/04

Today is Day 7 of our 2023 Washington DC trip and we've left it pretty open. No specific plans, so we can just go do whatever we want. And what's the main thing the kids really want to do? If you guessed "Go back and see the pandas" you are 100% correct! 

2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - Hirshhorn, Air and Space, American History, Washington Monument - Day 06 - 2023/05/03

It's Day 6 of our 2023 Washington DC Trip and we've got a lot see! 

2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - Smithsonian Museum Natural History, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress - Day 05 - 2023/05/02

It's Day 5 for our 2023 Washington DC trip. We've got a lot to squeeze in today. Since it's a Tuesday, we're hoping it will be a little less busy all around compared to the weekend.