2016 D.C. (Nationals Park)

The 2015 trip might have been the turning point of all trips.  It was perfect.  2016 was probably the most laid back of all trips.  Or perhaps the most laid back trip anyone can remember...which means the last 10 trips have been pretty crazy.  We still packed in plenty of tourist-y things while in our nation's capital.  And confirmed the ball trip as the four fastest days of this and every year.

Sadly, due to some unforeseen circumstances we were Farfsing-less this year.  So it was just me (Jeff), Jason, Matt, Keith, Fish, and Shane.  Still a great trip but we missed our guys.  

Thursday
Facing an eight hour drive we again left at 6:00am to get ahead of traffic.  Nothing major occurred during the trip.  Well unless you count the time I had to spit my drink all over the window of the Popeye's we were eating.  Since this is a PG rated site I have to withhold the exact reason why said drink was all over the window.  Suffice to say our collective "IQs dropped a few points".

We arrived to our hotel (Embassy Suites) in time for their wonderful manager's reception.  Free beer is always a good idea!  Afterward, off to a local watering hole for frosty beverages and Fish decided to treat us to some karaoke (Ice Ice Baby).

(A very non-PG pic)... 

(L to R) Keith, Matt, Jason, Shane, Fish with the flip off!

Friday
Obviously there are so many things to see in Washington D.C. so we set out to see some of the standards and perhaps a few new sites.

First stop was the Archives.  Unfortunately you can't take pictures in here but seeing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights is something no one will ever forget.  It's pretty cool to see the original documents.

Following the archives we set out to see the White House again.  Even if you've seen it before, it's still cool to see each additional time.

Front of the White House

Back of the White House 

Following lunch we made our way over to see Ford's Theatre for the first time (for most of us) and it was a pretty cool/sobering thing to see.  Words can't do it justice so...

After that, we went to the National Portrait Gallery where, as you probably have guessed by now, there are portraits of important people in history including all of the Presidents.

Then it was on to Nationals Park i.e. the reason for the trip in the first place.   A nice, new, clean ball park.  Check another one off the list!  See for yourself...

(L to R) Shane, Jeff, Keith, Matt, Jason, Fish

View from Section 105

Following the game was a trip back to Theismann's (yes, that Theismann) which was a bar/restaurant right next to our hotel in Alexandria.  Nice place to get a drink and quiet enough to have a conversation.  And the bartender gave Keith shit, which is always nice.  Then we crashed.

Saturday
It was HOT from the get go.  Sweltering heat into the 90s could have kept us inside for most of the day, but we had important things to do and see.

No matter how many times you go to Washington D.C. a trip to Arlington National Cemetery is a must.  If you have any love and/or respect for our great country it's truly a must-see.  And despite the heat we saw it. 

Eternal Flame for President Kennedy

If you have not seen the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier you must make a point sometime in your life to do so.  It is incredible.  Not a sound is made or spoken during this ritual because of the importance of the event and (thankfully) everyone respects its meaning.

(no words)

The Cemetery itself is incredibly impressive and obviously important.  You could spend an entire day there searching for important grave sites if that's your thing.  More awesome pictures.

Now comes probably the funniest moment of the trip.  Keith got left behind.  So here's the story.  After we left Arlington we wanted to go back to the heart of D.C. to see some other places (Smithsonians and some monuments).  Instead of taking one train all the way around (approx 10 stops) we decided to backtrack one stop then switch trains to go forward two stops.  Apparently Keith didn't get the memo.  So, when five of us got off at our stop, Keith was nowhere to be found.  We quickly found him.  Unfortunately it was too late for him to get off the train and join us so he was trapped and had to go to the next station.  Sadly no one captured the look on his face, but you can imagine a horrified person in a strange city on a subway train separated from the rest of his friends.  It was quite hilarious (you had to be there).

The good news is we all hopped on the next train that came no more than two minutes after the previous train left the station and caught up to him all in less than five minutes.  Crisis averted.  It could have been a lot worse considering we all had cell service down there.  That's not always guaranteed.  So we had our boy back and headed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  Well, five of us went.  Keith decided he liked being on his own and since he'd never seen the Capitol Building he walked down there and snapped some pics.

The Smithsonian was cool but crowded.  I got a few pics but we were in and out of there in an hour. 

Once back outside we had ice cream that was actually just the thing we needed to re-energize us to push on.  There had been talk of getting out of the heat and going back to the hotel and putting our feet up.  Instead we walked down to the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  All very cool in their own right.

Unfortunately, some people just don't respect the memorials as you can see here...

Parents were present yet didn't care

The heat had finally beaten us down.  So we returned to the hotel with no more separations on the train.  Everyone showered then we returned to Theismann's for dinner and drinks (and some Olympics watching).  Then shockingly we went back to the hotel to chill.  No more drinks.  No more debauchery.  Are we old?  It all just ended.  No desperate attempt to hold onto the weekend.  No nothing.  It was really strange and different.  And kinda nice.

Sunday
Return trip.  8 hours.  Yuck.  Still another great trip.  Looking forward to next year where we'll hopefully check off another new park.  Citi Field (Mets) and the new Braves park in Cobb County are the options right now.  Hopefully one is in town on the weekend we all coordinate our schedules.  And hopefully we'll be back at full strength with all 8 guys.  

2015 New York (Yankee Stadium)

The 2015 trip to New York City was perhaps the most enjoyable trip of the now 17 (17?!?!?!?!) we've taken.  From the start it took on a different feel and definitely a departure from the past five.  Maybe it was the craziness of New York City, maybe it was a coincidence.  Guess we'll find out next year.

Thursday:
Despite leaving an hour earlier than normal (6:00am) we still didn't get into Manhattan until around 4:00pm.  But once we arrived and checked into our tucked-in-the-corner hotel (see below. Yes it was squeezed in between two other buildings) in the heart of the Financial District, things picked up. 

Typically Thursday nights are low-key and this one was really no different. The only major thing we did was visit the World Trade Center site and take in all of that.  And there was a lot to it.  Pictures can't do it justice but since this is a blog pictures are going to have to try.

Just seeing everything for the first time was pretty emotional.  The last time we had been in NYC they were still in the clean up portion of the 9/11 tragedy so this was our first trip since the memorials were built and the new WTC towers were completed.  They were still working on two of the new towers in fact.  Maybe next time we go everything will be all done and we can visit the museum on site as well.

After this, we returned to our hotel area to eat/drink (Murphy's Pub), and act like free men again.  What we found was the perfect little village one block over from our hotel.  Filled with bars, restaurants, Insomniac Cookies and....Justino's Pizza, which we became very familiar with.  It was a great night to start the trip.  Hotel area village...

And the crew...

Friday:
Part of the fun of visiting new cities is being a tourist.  NYC has tons to see no matter what your tastes are.  From the obvious of the Statue of Liberty to art museums and parks you can find something entertaining.  Four of us (Matt, Jason, Fish, Jeff) chose to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  

And some (Paul, Shane, Keith) chose to tour the city on foot (Chinatown, Little Italy, etc).

Following these separate trips, it was time to head up to the Bronx to take in a Yankees-Blue Jays game at "New" Yankee Stadium.  We had been to the original twice (1999 and 2004) but we'd yet made it to the new park.  It was a LOT different but still had that same New York City buzz throughout a disappointingly boring game that the Jays won 2-1 in 10 innings.

It was still great to be able to check off another stadium even though the game wasn't the best (stupid pitchers' duels!!).

Following the game we decided to venture up to Times Square because aside from the Vegas strip there's nothing like Times Square all lit up.  It was predictably a mad house but a lot of fun with a ton of things to see.  And we also saw some other cool things on the way back to the train.

Oh yeah, we ended the night back at Justino's for more pizza!

Saturday:
Saturday was pretty much a "whatever" day.  Meaning we had no set schedule.  We had nowhere to be.  And we just roamed the city.  It was glorious.  As had been with Thursday and Friday, the weather was perfect - upper 70s with sunshine and a nice breeze.  Not too shabby for August.

We started out in Central Park.  After wandering aimlessly for about an hour (and only seeing a fraction of that humongous park) we decided to head back into the city for lunch and other sights.  A few of us went to Chinatown and Little Italy (and smoked a freshly rolled cigar that was really good) then walked all the way back to the hotel.  Others did the same but in a completely different part of the city.

From there it was a small bar called Shorty's in the hotel village where the bartender said "Fuck you, Cop" to Matt which was absolutely hilarious.  And she called Keith a murderer.  WHICH I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH!!!!

Oh yeah, we ended the night back at Justino's for more pizza...and some even threw a chocolate chip cookie on top and ate all at once.  They said it was better than it sounded...but we'll have to take their word for it.

Sunday:
Long ride home.  Pfffffffffffffffft!!!

It was a phenomenal trip...and I'm not just saying that because Joe wasn't able to make it this year.  Promise!

Weather was perfect.  Hotel was nice.  Financial District was very cool.  Saw plenty of landmarks.  Yankee Stadium.  Beers.  Cigars.  Laughs.  As usual can't wait for next year.  D.C.?