The Mystery Metro Journey

Woodley Escalator 

Do you remember your first escalator ride? How about the most fun one? Do you walk up the escalator on the left side, or do you just stand on the right side and let it ease you to the end? How often do you ride escalators? Daily, monthly, rarely? When you were little, did you call an escalator an elevator and an elevator an escalator? Don't worry, you're not alone. Sometimes, it still confuses me. Personally, I like escalators more than elevators. The main reason is because in an elevator when it stops, you're stuck until someone comes and gets you, but while riding an escalator, and it stops, you aren't trapped. You can continue to walk up to the top or down to the bottom.  Plus in movies, you never really see action on an escalator, but you definitely see it in an elevator. Am I right? Consider, White House Down, Tower Heist, or even, more recently, The Maze Runner because he was forced into the "new civilization" on a type of elevator. They were some scenes on elevators filled with some intense action, but shh! No more spoilers! Let's just say, you never get that type of action of escalators. Do you agree? Tell me what you think in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you! The Metro system in Washington, DC has a total of 588 escalators. The longest in the WMATA's system as well as the western hemisphere is found at the Wheaton metro stop with a length of 230'. Obscurely, 9 out of 10 longest escalators are found on the metro's red line.  Although Wheaton's ginormous escalators are 1st in the western hemisphere, WMATA's longest conveyor belt stairs place seventh worldwide.  The Woodley Park metro station has the third longest escalator in the WMATA's system coming in at 204', and that's the 

Liza's so sweet! 

neighborhood to which we were headed. 
Woodley Park is identified normally by Rock Creek Park as well as where the The National Zoo is located . Did you know this neighborhood was not named after a person but a house? But of course, behind every house is a person, in this case, Philip Barton Key.  Mr. Key was a prosperous lawyer, who moved his family from Maryland to a stylish home in Washington. What did he name this house? You guessed it! Woodley! Why so random, though? Well, Mr. Key was a traveler before he settled down with his family, so while he was in Berkshire one year, he spent some time at Woodley House and fell in love with the look of the place. Later, when Woodley was being built in Washington, he modeled it to be similar to the house in Berkshire.  Today, Key's Woodley still stands and lends a lovely view of the still growing Nation's Capitol.  Hey! The name Key sounds familiar right? Of course! Francis Scott Key was the nephew of Mr. Key and actually engraved his initials on a window in the mansion. Unfortunately, it was lost due to renovation, but hey! The connections are still crazy! 
Our first stop in Woodley Park was the National Zoo! The zoo opened in Rock Creek Park in 1889 on a sight designed by architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.  About 1,800 different animals classified in 300 different species call the zoo their home. The zoo offers two locations. One is public and located in Woodley Park, and the other is private and serves as the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute located in Front Royal, VA. Its mission is "to provide leadership in animal care, science, education, as well as sustainability is as vital as ever if humankind is to save what remains of the Earth's biological diversity." 
At the Zoo, we were supposed to document three animals in addition to our other sight seeing.  First we went to see the pandas.  I would like to let my future husband know that if could get me a baby panda that'd be great, thanks. THEY WERE SO CUTE! First, we saw a full grown panda. He was living the life I want to live. Laying on his back, no worries, just stuffin' his face. I need that positivity in my life.  Did you know that although Giant Pandas are the easiest animals to recognize, they are the rarest animal in the world? Most of these pandas survive in the central forests in China, but some are in zoos around the world. 
After the pandas, we visited the Elephants. Unfortunately, they were not out, but we went into the elephant house instead! I would like to make an announcement: An elephant poops more in one sitting than I poop in a week. That is all, thank you. While we were at the house, there was a scale where you could compare your weight to an elephant's. Dude, that scale's my bestie. I wanted to take it home. After everyone weighed themselves individually, all 9 of us got on the scale and only weighed as much as a one year old elephant. Awesome, right!? 

Luke, the king of the Jungle 

Third, we visited the orangutans. Let me tell YOU something! Imagine 8,000 people in the same room together, whose underarms smell like they've just ran a 5k without deodorant, and who've just interrupted the flow of oxygen, which is vital to human life, with one of their silent but deadly farts. Do you smell this? Well, this my friends is exactly what the monkey house smelled like. I am not over-exaggerating.  What are some of the worst smells your sniffer had the pleasure of taking in?  Let me know! The orangutans at the zoo have orangish- red hair, long arms, and curled feet, which are crucial when they swing and climb trees.  At the zoo, there is even something called an "O-line," which is a tightrope that sits right above the pathway at the zoo for families to walk under.  Although one wasn't out this last time, normally a orangutan climbs and swings from that line, right above the visitors heads! On top of that, it never falls! Ever! Once you got over that smell, the orangutans were pretty awesome!          
Next we were off to visit the loves of my life, Ms. Shera and her tiger cubs. Unfortunately only Shera was out, but the whole lion family was out. To my future husband, in addition to a baby panda, I would also love a lion cub if that isn't too much trouble, thanks! Luke, the male lion, sat on the highest rock, and he looked like he knew he was the king of jungle. I guess he actually is, buuut, maybe he could've been a little less rude and smiled for my pictures? 
Finally, we made our way through the petting zoo and to the Amazonia exhibit. Here, there were fishes that were probably about 1.5 times my size! It was stupendous! Upstairs in the exhibit, the monkeys were free to roam, so we were able to see them up close. On the not so bright side, it was humid, and out of ALL days, my hair was staightened. Ugh, struggles! 
After we finished at the Amazonia, we headed straight out the Rock Creek Park entrance towards Pierce Mill.  Walking, we observed the architecture of Woodley Park.  Woodley is famous for preserving the historical feel and architecture. This is seen through it's string of 20th century row houses lined up on the streets. The building that eluded this area was completed in only 25 years, 1905-1929.  As a result of some of the modern construction, Woodley's architecture results in a cohesive urban/authentic feel.
You might be wondering what Pierce Mill is? Well, it's a mill (obviously) that was built in the 1820s, and ran until 1897.  It was the most successful water-powered mill, which was invented by Oliver Evans, and it ran along Rock Creek.  Restored between 1930 and 1970, the park now provides a educational as well as recreational site where students take field trips or people spend their leisure time.  The mill was such a hit because for years, the mills used humans' power to run, but when the mill was built instead of using humans' energy the water from the creek turned the wheel so as to generate the 20-40 horsepower needed to work the different machinery that turned grain into flour.  
My experience at the park was really fun especially because I got to share this experience with my friends. Although I would've rather have more time at the park, I could tell it was beautiful. We also had a gorgeous day! I think we went during the best season, the fall! The leaves on the trees above the creek were all different colors, and it was a breath-taking sunny day.  According to Ms. Anna, they have horseback riding there also! I definitely am going to come back to ride! Hey! Maybe I'll see some of you all there! To find information about the park or to plan your visit go to their website! 
At about 1:45, we finished at Pierce Mill, and made the journey up the HUGE hill to Connecticut Avenue, turned right, and walked about .2 miles to Van Des metro station. The end of our Metro Journey has come, but we all journeyed back to Ms. Anna's to fellowship and to have our Metro Journey Meeting.  It was a nice relaxing end to a tiring day. Until next time, readers! 

Literally how all of us were after all the walking we did. 

 Ps: Who went to the Valor Concert? How was it? Leave your thoughts on the performers in the comments below!