I had the opportunity last week to take an impromptu trip to Washington, D.C. Never one to turn down anything with the words travel, trip, or vacation, we loaded up the car and headed to the nation’s capital.

It was a girls’ trip with me, two of my sisters, and my daughter Joellen. Since none of us had ever been to the National Zoological Park and we figured Joellen would probably really enjoy such an attraction, that was our final D.C. stop on our way home Saturday.

The National Zoo is in a rather inaccessible area of D.C., making the trip there difficult, if not downright impossible. I’m not sure if our problem was common or only attributable to Mapquest, but we left a trail like Billy in Family Circus and had to ask directions twice.

It was certainly a treat that the zoo was free and we did get to see many animals-including the rather rare, at least in captivity, Giant Panda. However, my advice about a visit to the National Zoo is to skip this Washington attraction in favor of one of the other plentiful offerings. There is just too much to do in the capital to waste your time at the zoo. Quite frankly, with the exception of the pandas, I think the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium is better. So I would advise a traveler to spend your time more wisely in Washington and take a day trip to Pittsburgh or Columbus if you want to go to a zoo.