The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has been featuring ZooLights, a colorful holiday celebration in which a large number of (large) trees along the main route through the grounds are completely lit up, along with displays of lit-up animals and other features of the zoo. I had been wanting to see it but was concerned about finding a place to park, and indeed, even on a Tuesday evening, it took us almost two hours to get through the backed-up traffic (normally a 20-minute trip), finally find a place to park some distance away and actually get into the zoo. Still, it was quite enjoyable and I’m glad we had an entire evening to devote to getting there (with an hour left to see the lights)!

Qu’ran exhibit at the Smithsonian, posted earlier: