Apartment Showcase Blog

Lite-Brite: The poor guy on the left looks like he's in mid-sneeze. (greyloch via Flickr)

There are quite a few things to do this holiday season, but one of the neatest is happening at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Woodley Park in Northwest, and it’s called ZooLights.

Taking place until December 11 (Friday night through Sunday night) and from December 16 to January 1 (excepting Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve), from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., park visitors get to see the zoo in a new light – literally.

In its fifth consecutive year, ZooLights – powered by Pepco – is a free event featuring “thousands of environmentally friendly LED lights” that “will illuminate the Zoo’s beautiful trees, walkways and buildings; and life-sized animal silhouettes, dancing trees, and festive holiday décor.”

That in itself should make you want to make the trek out, but throw in the added bonus of seeing various animals inside their exhibit houses, including apes and reptiles, and you got yourself the makings of a family-friendly holiday event.

There are quite a few things to see and do here, including skating on an “‘iceless’ skating rink at the Zoo’s Picnic Pavilion.” The zoo boasts that it’s “the world’s best and most eco-friendly synthetic ice skating surface, composed of specially engineered polymers that permit skate blades to glide as smoothly as on real ice.” This is the first year they’re offering this attraction, which is sponsored by Geico, and it costs $5 for a half-hour of skating; there is a $2-dollar skate rental fee, though you may bring your own pair if you wish.

[ Related: Woodley Park: Lions, Tigers and Bears! Oh, My! ]

Oh, there’s more. More than you can shake a tiger paw at.

For one thing, there are trains – one you can ride for $3, and one you can watch in the Visitor Center.

Secondly, you can head on over to the Think Tank and learn how to save energy with the help of the Pepco smart meter.

Thirdly, guests can have their picture taken with Panda Claws, a demented giant pand-, er, ZooLight’s official ambassador.

Fourthly, on some nights you can enjoy a youth concert. Check the site for even more ZooLight highlights.

This is also a good time to do some holiday shopping “at one of the Zoo’s three gift shops or kiosks located throughout the event site.”

Hungry? The Mane Restaurant will be open for business, and seasonal snacks like cookies, gingerbread, kettle corn, roasted nuts, coffee and hot chocolate will be sold throughout the event site. Believe it or not, so will beer, wine, peppermint schnapps and mulled cider.

If you rent an apartment in Woodley Park or thereabouts, just jump on the Metro and get off at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop on the Red Line. Parking is $16 for most but $9 for Friends of the National Zoo members. Reserved parking is quite a bit more; see the site for details.

Fancy pants: The fur will be flying when Fred Schneider & Co. hit the stage Wednesday night at the zoo's Rock 'n' Roar event. (I Don't Know, Maybe. via Flickr)

Oh, yeah. Two of my favorite things: music and exotic animals.

The venerable B-52s will be performing at Rock ’n’ Roar at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Northwest on August 10, rain or shine.

Yes, music and wild animals seem to go together. What? How is that? ‘Cause I said so.

It’s probably because music and animals are things that give life joie de vivre, and if anyone can use a little joie de vivre these days it’s me … and you, the beleaguered apartment renter in the capital region.

Yes, I’ve written about the zoo before on this site, and why not? Like I always tell people (or spout off in my rich and extensive fantasy life, where my sound bites matter): “What’s cooler than a tiger?”

[ Related: Woodley Park: Lions, Tigers and Bears! Oh, My! ]

Nothing. And lions, cheetahs, gorillas and the rest of these beasts aren’t bad either.

Renters in the area are really lucky to have the zoo at their disposal, and those living in the Adams Morgan or Woodley Park neighborhoods can even walk to this gem. The rest of us can take the Metro and get off at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop on the Red Line.

Most people have likely heard of the B-52s, a unique group formed in Athens, Ga., in 1976, year zero for punk. The band even hauled it up to New York City and gigged at CBGBs early on, so no one doubts their cred.

Hardly a Ramones or Dead Boys propulsive act, the B-52s are a mix of pop, dance and retro-chic who’ve managed to pen some memorable tunes over the years. Plus, they’re funhouse weird.

[ Related: Woodley Park: Adams Morgan’s Sister Community Offers Plenty to Eat ]

The gates open at 6 p.m., with the band taking the stage from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Now, tickets are expensive: $50 for Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) members and $65 for nonmembers. Part of the take goes to support these magnificent animals, so that should take some of the sting away from your wallet, and kids under two get in for free.

Blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged, and food, beverages and alcohol will be available for purchase. But you can’t bring in any food or beverages. The zoo is smart like that.

Sponsored by Capital One Bank, this is certainly a fun event and one the whole family can enjoy.

So come out, dance and support the zoo.

Dropped call: Cell phones contain all sorts of nasty toxins like cadmium, arsenic and cobalt. Help keep wildlife safe by dropping off your old electronics at the zoo's Visitor Center.

Yes, yes, readers of this blog know that I’m a bit skeptical about all this environmentalism chic we’ve been putting up with for the past few years or so. Green this, sustainable that, rah, rah, hybrid boom bah.

Be that as it may, I want to conserve the earth’s resources and keep the planet clean as much as anyone. On April 22, we get to what may be the catalyst for the entire environmental movement:

Earth Day.

Instead of pointing you toward impassioned speeches by leading environmentalists or an event organized by whatever opportunistic politico happens to be looking for some face time in the news, I decided to highlight something a little more fun. This way, you can celebrate Earth Day while making a difference for the planet … and its animals.

The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Northwest hosts Earth Day Party for the Planet on April 22.

[ Related: Woodley Park: Lions, Tigers and Bears! Oh, My! ]

From 10 a.m. to noon, visitors to the zoo will get to learn practical ways to help save the planet, all while back-dropped against a wide variety of animal life (when you’re done participating in the day’s activities, the real payoff is getting to see these magnificent creatures up close).

The zoo will teach you the art of eco-craft. You’ll get to turn an old newspaper into a plant pot. They’ll even give you the soil and seeds to go with it, which you can then take home and put into the ground.

Participants also get to meet the zoo’s Green Team, who will show you just how green the zoo is. You’re also encouraged to take advantage of the zoo’s recycling program. Friends of the National Zoo has partnered with an outside company to help visitors recycle their old cell phones, batteries, digital cameras, MP3 players, calculators, laptops, gaming devices and external drives. Better yet, devices in good working order will be exchanged for money to help support zoo programs.

To top it off, the zoo offers Green Tips on how to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

Those who don’t live in the Woodley Park area can take the Metrorail’s Red Line and get off at either the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan or Cleveland Park stations. The zoo, located between the two stops, is a short walk away from either.

Celebrating Earth Day at the zoo kind of puts things in perspective. While you’re busy learning to save the planet, there’ll be a tiger stalking around its cage enclosure, a giant panda munching on bamboo and an orangutan swinging on the O Line.

You’ll be doing this for them as much as for us.

We're not in Kansas anymore: A couple of lion cubs at play at the National Zoo. As the weather warms up, the cubs will be given more time each day outside. (Ken_from_MD via Flickr)

Anyone who has read this blog for awhile, well, maybe scoured it, will know I have an affinity for great cats.

Other than an Amur or Bengal tiger, cats don’t get any greater than the African lion (discounting ligers, which don’t appear in the wild). And felines don’t get any more menacing than the big male lion with the hairy mane, fierce eyes and big ol’ head. There are few sights in nature more impressive or awe-inspiring as an angry male lion charging in to take what’s his.

But all landed mammals, be they lions, tigers or grizzly bears, start out as tiny tykes full of whiny ambition to grow up and eventually dominate their part of the ecosystem, even if it’s only a section of the zoo. Yes, this latter part of the equation is sad, but at least they’re still with us, hopefully poised to make a comeback sometime in the not-so-distant future (though unlike the aforementioned cats, the grizzly bear is currently doing OK).

We here at ApartmentShowcase.com can’t control the world – some of us can’t even control our six-pound cats or wandering imaginations – but we can sit in awe at magnificent creatures being born in our midst.

The newly minted renter in Woodley Park in Northwest will be close enough to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park to witness African lion cubs as they grow – all seven of them, born to two lucky lionesses, sisters Shera and Nababiep. In case you’re wondering, the same male, Luke, who we’ll bestow with the nickname “Lucky” Luke, sired both litters (though from the looks of some of these pictures, “Not-So-Lucky” Luke may be more fitting).

[ Related: Woodley Park: Adams Morgan’s Sister Community Offers Plenty to Eat ]

The seven cubs will eventually go from this to this in a few short years. That’s pretty amazing.

But the renter in Woodley Park won’t have to worry about his or her personal safety as long as they don’t do something stupid like climb down the moat on Lion Hill. Yes, as cuddly as the adult lions and tigers look, climbing in their den is crazy high jinks you want no part of. (Heck, even a “puny” jaguar, leopard, mountain lion or cheetah will tear you to shreds.)

People normally think of tigers as being endangered, and they are. But most would be surprised to know African lions are listed only as “threatened” by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (there is also a small population of Asiatic lions in India’s Gir forests that are endangered – the latest census from India puts the number at 411, which is actually good news).

It’s difficult to say at what rate lion populations are decreasing, but they are dropping; some say by a lot. According to the IUCN, their main threats are indiscriminate killing by farmers and habitat loss. We hope these difficult issues can be solved so the mighty lion and tiger can continue to roar in the wild.

If you have some disposable income, the zoo gives us non-Pantheras a way to help out these great cats at the National Zoo. Or, you could just be like everyone else and show your support in person.

The zoo won’t keep all these little lions forever, so go rent your place in Woodley Park and commence visiting.

For everyone else, the zoo is just up the street from the Metro’s Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station on the Red Line, so get to it and see these extraordinary beasts!

In good taste: The menu at Open City boasts a variety of seasonal specials. Unique winter dishes include Shrimp & Grits, Roasted Corn Flan and Red Velvet Pancakes. (Mr. T in DC via Flickr)

I bet when people think of the Woodley Park neighborhood in Northwest they think of one of two things: the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro station on the Red Line and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

Oh, that and the fact that you’re right next door to the bedlam of Adams Morgan itself.

To be honest though, just getting off that Metro stop you’re already into the “bedlam,” or I should say “gaggle of restaurants,” along Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Street. Yes, this little stretch has a ton of eclectic bistros that should satisfy the most ardent foodie. While I may be a neophyte when it comes to four-star restaurants, I do have a hearty appetite and know what tastes good, even if the know-it-all watchers of the Food Network say I’m getting fooled.

[ Related: Adams Morgan: Exotic Eateries Let You Travel the World, One Morsel at a Time ]

If you want variety – which they say is the spice of life – then moving to Woodley Park in Washington, D.C., will certainly give your culinary palate all it can handle.

Let’s start off with good ol’ American fare. That’s what you get at Open City, which is affiliated with Adams Morgan’s Tryst and The Diner. Also on Calvert Street you have Afghan Grill, which at least one poster on MenuPages.com rates among the best restaurants in the metro area (actually, all the posters really like it).

Heading north on Connecticut Avenue, we find more treats. Ipoh Asian Cuisine offers Asian fusion, and I think most people would find something tasty there, while Lebanese Taverna gets you into a Middle Eastern state of mind. An apparently successful enterprise, Lebanese Taverna boasts several locations (and sister cafes) in the metro area (plus one in Baltimore). Take a gander at their classy website: Talk about your shish kabobs!

French food your thing? If it is, I don’t have anything against it or you. But if your tastes run a little rarer than a can of Franco-American or a large order of French fries, Petits Plats may be right up your ruelle.

Lovers of Mexican food should at least like Chipotle Mexican Grill. If you don’t, you can always take the Metro and go to La Lomita Dos in Capitol Hill like all the smart people.

[ Related: Queen of the Hill: A Morning in the Life of a Capitol Hill Renter ]

Want Italian? I’ll give you your Italian at Café Paradiso, capisci?

Or maybe you’re particularly persnickety, don’t like anything I’ve mentioned and want something else. We’re running out of choices, but Indian cuisine at Rajaji Curry House is there for you my finicky friend. (I’m pretty sure I ate there once and liked it, but it’s been a few years.)

I’m saving the best for last: Tono Sushi Japanese & Asian Cuisine. While none of the places I mentioned made the 2010 Washingtonian list of the “100 Best Restaurants,” I can’t see Tono Sushi being very far off. Yes, I’ve eaten there, and I loved it. I even had a foodie snob friend with me who sang its praises as well. So, there. Sushi, sushi, sushi and good atmosphere are what you get at Tono Sushi Japanese & Asian Cuisine. And as their name implies, they’ve recently started doing the fusion thing that seems to be popular nowadays.

So, would-be Woodley Park renters, you’ve got the zoo, the Metro stop, Adams Morgan right down the road and tons of restaurants in the neighborhood proper.

What are you waiting for? Get on over to Northwest and find yourself an apartment in Woodley Park!