Farewell, RFK

Today was the last baseball game ever at RFK Stadium.

Quite frankly, it's a dump and I'm not sad that I won't be going back. The new stadium is going to be so amazingly awesome; I can't wait till next spring. (Be sure to check out the construction webcam.)

Before the game, they had old Washington Senators players come onto the field. The great Frank Howard is at third base with Ryan Zimmerman. One of their old pitchers threw out the first pitch, but unfortunately I didn't catch his name because of the craptastic sound system.

The pink backpack: a popular form of rookie hazing.

Darla, Lacey, Laurel, and me.

Chad Cordero getting the last out of the game. The Nats won 5-3.

Good job, boys.

The players lined up to give their game jerseys to the lucky fans on the first base line.

Manager Manny Acta and owner Ted Lerner dig up home plate to be placed in the new stadium.

And that's the end. Farewell, boys of summer. I will miss you. And farewell, RFK. (I won't miss you.)

Season ticket appreciation

Last night, the Nationals held a special Season Ticket Holders Appreciation event. They opened the gates early and we got to watch the Nats take batting practice. It was cool to see them up close and watch them goof around with each other.

Ryan Zimmerman....looking sharp!

Hey hey, Wily Mo!

Our fearless leader, manager Manny Acta.

Chad Cordero signing autographs.

Robert Fick being interviewed for tv.

Austin Kearns chatting with some of the guys.

Why, I do believe that's Hall of Famer (and ex-Dodger) Don Sutton!

Even Teddy made an appearance.

It was a fun experience, and I hope they do more things like this for season ticket holders. The Nats played a great game last night, beating the Mets for the second time in a row! Go Nats!

A fine Navy day

I got to drive a boat, y'all! But more on that later...We've been having wonderful fall-like weather lately, but not too cold. On Sunday my coworker Kirsten invited the office over for a cookout. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland, sailing capital of America and home of the US Naval Academy. She rents a room from a large house on the water, and the setting was perfect for a late summer/early fall outing. Her landlords have their own private dock for their boats. Yes, boats. Plural.

They had a nice deck (a.k.a. "crow's nest") overlooking the water, and behind that was a grassy alcove where we ate dinner.

Now, on to the boat rides! Our original plan was to go on this water taxi thing:

Actually, it reminds me of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Anywho, the boat is completely electric. We all climbed in, ready to go....

And then...nothing. The battery was dead. So we all climbed off in disappointment, and took turns riding in the speedboat. (See, this is why they have multiple boats.)

The exhaust fumes were making me nauseous.

Heading towards the Chesapeake Bay....

Then once we were out on the open water, we each got a chance to take the wheel. (If you squint, you can see the Bay Bridge off in the distance.) So I got to drive for a bit! The owner even said I did a pretty good job. :)

Some of the houses we saw were ridiculous. Could you imagine living right on the bay? Amazing.

It was a lovely day to be on the water.

After we got back to shore, we saw a really neat antique wooden boat cruise by.

And we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

Me and Kirsten.

A good time was had by all.

Special thanks to my coworker Charo for providing me with additional images.

Fredericksburg

On Monday, Lacey and I drove about 45 minutes down south to Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was like a different world down there. Most of the locals had Southern accents. We saw a lot of Confederate flags and "Johnny Reb" souvenirs, but I think that's mostly to commemorate the Civil War battle that was fought there. We spent the majority of the day walking around the historic area doing some shopping.

Don't worry, mom, I didn't get a tattoo.

We went to George Washington's Ferry Farm, which is where GW spent most of his youth. Most of you know what a big Washington fan I am, but this site was very disappointing. There are no original buildings left and they don't even know where the house was located. This was built in the 1960s:

We walked around the grounds and went down to the Rappahanock River, and that was it. Kind of a letdown.

I'm not sure what's across the river, but I want to live there.

I wanted to visit the Civil War battlefield as well, but we ran out of time and didn't get around to it. Maybe some other time.

A great day for a ballgame

Sunday was another day of perfect weather. Laurel and I went to the Nats game...and I don't think I've showed y'all where our season tickets are this year!

With the higher prices at the new stadium, our seats won't be this good next year.

The President races - poor Teddy never wins.

My boyfriend Ryan Zimmerman gets on base. He ended up winning the game with an RBI single.

The Twilight of Summer

I can't believe it's September already! Every year, I always feel like I didn't do anything when I look back on the summer. I'm sad that it's ending, but I'm kind of glad it's starting to cool down. Today's weather is just absolutely gorgeous, so I went up to Eastern Market. I hadn't been there since it was destroyed by fire.

Before.

After.

It was definitely sad, but I'm glad to see they're rebuilding. And the beautiful murals on the outside walls are a nice addition.

I bought some yummy West Virginia peaches.

I walked across the street to my favorite little used book store, Capitol Hill Books. I always feel like I'm looking through someone's personal library.

Their category signs are always amusing.

Grits!

"George Washington Rests Here."

I got to talking with the shop owner (as I was purchasing my military history books), and it turns out he's a Navy veteran and is a member of the Naval Historical Foundation! And he knows my boss. Small world, eh?

Screen on the Green

One of my favorite summer traditions in Washington is Screen on the Green. Every year, HBO sponsors a film festival on the Mall. They set up a big screen and show old movies. People bring their picnics, frisbees, etc....it's a good time.

This past week they were showing Casablanca, one of the greatest movies ever made, in my opinion. Unfortunately, because of where we were sitting, we couldn't hear very well and could barely see the screen, so we didn't stay very long. But it was a lovely evening to be outside.

Oasis

I just discovered my new favorite spot. Since the weather was so nice this weekend, I went for a walk down to the Alexandria waterfront. I walked past the hordes of people at the marina and came to a park on the other side. There are rocks right on the riverbank, perfect for sitting. It was so quiet and peaceful. I sat there for quite a while, just thinking and praying and reading. It felt like I was far away from the hustle and bustle of the city..and yet it's just a short walk from my house!