A little rain didn't dampen the fun spellers had Monday at the National Zoo.
Sure, the carousel was a little bit slow for Nathan Jarrett, speller 273. The Wisconsin 8th grader said he didn't get to see a lot of animals, but he had a good time. The annual barbecue also had face painting, caricatures, a DJ and plenty of games.
"It's so fun so far," said Luke Yap, speller 242, a Texas eighth grader.
Meeting other spellers was one of the highlights for Samantha Academia, speller 81, an eighth grader from Indiana.
She also danced the running man and the Macarena and managed to see the pandas as the zoo.
"We ran straight there," she said. "Apart from the rain, I had a fun time."
