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.