Today the kids, Luisa, I and some friends ventured out to do something that tops my list of one of the most fun things I have ever done in Washington DC!
Every year, Nate told me about the “elephant walk” when the circus comes into town. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus comes into town and they take the elephants, clowns and ponies from the train station to the Verizon Center (huge stadium on the other side of DC) by walking them through the city and in front of the monuments and under Nate’s office building.
This past weekend I read a small clip about it in the newspaper and decided we were going to do this. It is an "underground" event that was on Twitter but it was not like the inaugration parade with masses of people. A lot of people didn't know what was going on and the crowds were sparse. We drove downtown, found a parking spot (another amazing story) and ate lunch at Smithsonian’s American Indian Museum (an unknown delicious place to eat great food!)
Then we walked outside in the beautiful weather to wait for the elephants to walk by. They were running behind schedule so we hung around, got hats and clown noses from the marketing (interns) department.
Every year, Nate told me about the “elephant walk” when the circus comes into town. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus comes into town and they take the elephants, clowns and ponies from the train station to the Verizon Center (huge stadium on the other side of DC) by walking them through the city and in front of the monuments and under Nate’s office building.
This past weekend I read a small clip about it in the newspaper and decided we were going to do this. It is an "underground" event that was on Twitter but it was not like the inaugration parade with masses of people. A lot of people didn't know what was going on and the crowds were sparse. We drove downtown, found a parking spot (another amazing story) and ate lunch at Smithsonian’s American Indian Museum (an unknown delicious place to eat great food!)
Then we walked outside in the beautiful weather to wait for the elephants to walk by. They were running behind schedule so we hung around, got hats and clown noses from the marketing (interns) department.
As you can see, because the crowds were so small, we could get a prime spot! This ended up being the highlight of the whole experience.
Don't forget Ellen! She was a good girl.
Then we saw them coming! It was so different than a normal parade because it was so quiet. No one was clapping and there was no music. The streets were closed to traffic for about 10 minutes, the elephants were just beautiful.
Then the best part was that the elephants stopped right in front of the Capitol so they could have a photo op... that was right where we were!!!
So Luisa grabbed Rita's hand and I grabbed Sam (while holding Ellen) and we ran into the street as far as we could go. The "interns" were all holding up ropes so we ducked and got in the front. We had the most amazing view. We could hear all the commands that the trainers were saying to the elephants.
Ellen, Rita and Sam soaked it all in. I wish Grace had been with us!
Luisa took this photo of the acrobat on the front elephant. To see her get on the elephant from such a close up angle was amazing! The elephant actually boosted her up with his leg and she flew on his back. Rita kept calling her a princess - she looked like one for sure.
This was the "Zing Master." He told us about the circus and I could touch him he was so close.
Of course the Nationals Racing Presidents had to get in on it.
Bye bye elephants. You can see Nate's office buildling right there in the background. He came down and met up with us right at the last minute. 
What will be our next adventure???
So cool! I wanted to go to the circus when it was in town here, but Nick laughed at me. :(
ReplyDeleteThat looks like so much fun.
ReplyDelete