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! 

Checking out of our hotel. 

Why is it that the cheaper hotels give you coffee, juice, and buffet breakfast for free, while the expensive hotels want to charge you $4 for a Nespresso coffee pod. Luckily T has hotel status and gets 2 (and only 2 despite however many you have in your room) coffee pods for free. 

From the hotel, we piled into the car, paid $30 to park in the zoo parking lot, and made our way to see the pandas again! Luckily entry into the zoo itself is free, as long as you remembered to make reservations ahead of time. 

And walking down the panda trail, we were greeted by a panda who was outside! Looks like a keeper is cleaning his enclosure. 

"Spray me!"

Watching as he plays with his Kong. 

The path leading to the inside panda viewing has a red panda, who is cute, but not quite to the level of the black and white pandas inside. 

And sure enough, inside who do we see? 

It's Qing Bao! A female, born in 2021. And no surprise at all, she's looking for treats! 

Today must be a special treat day because instead of the little biscuits we saw last time, she's got something even better. 

Sweet potatoes! Look at how happy she is. 

One for each paw. 

Then licking her paws to not miss out on any of that tasty flavor. 

A little water to wash it all down. 

Then what? 

Over to lean against a post and eat again. This time bamboo. Yum! 

The kids of course loved seeing all the cuteness. We spent hours here on our last visit, just watching the pandas do whatever. 

This bamboo looks even tastier. 

Such a happy gal. 

After all that food and excitement, it's time to climb up to the top of her wooden tower. 

And take a good nap. She looks comfy. 

Let's go check out the other viewing area and see if the panda who was outside is back inside. 

Sure enough, Bao Li, a male born in 2021, is here and he's doing what pandas do best. 

Those jaws sure are powerful. 

Grab a sip of water to wash things down. 

Checking back in on Qing Bao, she has found another comfy position atop her tower. 

All in, we spent over an hour watching the pandas and taking pictures. Sadly we didn't see Alonzo (from our 2023 visit) or any other keepers around that the kids could pepper with panda questions. 

Goodbye Qing Bao! 

One more goodbye to Bao Li. 

At the end of the building, we can see a keeper who is always keeping an eye on the pandas. 

And if you want, you can watch too! 

Visit nationalzoo.si.edu or click here to go directly to the cameras. 

The previous trick with the pressed penny machine giving out free money has now been fixed. No longer do you get 4 quarters and 2 pennies when you put in a dollar. Now pressed coins cost $1 each, and it's all done inside the machine. 

That's pretty much all we came here for today. Just to see the pandas. 

We soon hit the road to head to our next destination. 

Through the outskirts of DC as we got to the freeway. 

Passing a tiny little Matchbox car as we continue. 

Much earlier in the morning, there was a horrific accident that was causing a massive backup along our route. With no way to get around it, we were going to be stuck in standstill traffic for over an hour. There is a bypass toll lane splitting the highway, but at this time of morning, it's going into DC instead of away from it...

We watched on the GPS as we were approaching the major backup. Closer and closer. Then we started seeing fewer cars in the middle toll lane. Then we saw Highway Department trucks with flashing lights coming down the center road with no one behind them. Will the tollway open up? It's going to be close!

That was a lot of traffic we got very lucky to avoid. And good thing too, because we're due to meet someone. Who? 

Jacob! We started the trip out with him, separated for a little while, and now we're going to be back together! He's already at our next destination and was sending us pictures as we drove. It's Kings Dominion! Another roller coaster park! We'll be there soon!