Cleveland Definitely Does Not Rock

Perhaps if you can see your way past the highest number of douchebags per capita in the United States, you might find Cleveland a nice place to visit.  For the most part, we did.  But in general, as a city, Cleveland ROCKS blows and it's not just the amount of popped collars, orange skin, and too-tight shirts.  It's just smelly and ugly.  But I digress.  We had fun anyway because, well, that's what we do.

Thursday was great.  Golf at Phoenix Links in Columbus was very nice.  Not a great course, but challenging enough for us duffers (most of us).  The scramble resulted in the first ever tie at -6 so that was pretty cool.  Afterward, lunch then off to Cleveland where, believe it or not, we arrived at exactly 5:30 on the nose.  5:30 is the start time for the Embassy Suites' Manager's reception that serves free beer.  Perfect timing!!

After the reception we made our way to 'THE ALLIGATOR!!!!!" aka the "Winking Lizard" as you can see here

It was an awesome night.  Perfect weather.  Good food, we ate at the outdoor bar and were actually able to someone to let us watch "the Falcons game" as they took on those dastardly Bengals.  Following dinner, we went back to the hotel for some cornhole, beers, and cigars in the parking lot...and managed not to get thrown out (hear that, Atlanta?????).

Friday morning was supposed to be another round of 18 holes at Seneca Course, which is a municipal course in Cleveland just about 15 minutes from our hotel.  It was a good, long course which was more challenging than Phoenix Links, but still a very nice course.  The team of Fish, Jason, Matt, and Joe defeated Shane, Paul, and Jeff even to +1 in another evenly matched contest.  About hole 16, Shane brilliantly pondered if anyone would be interested in playing the other 18 hole course on the property since the day was so nice and we were all having a great time.  So, surprisingly we decided to make it a 36-hole day.  I think everyone did all right until about the last five or six holes.  10 hours or so of sunshine and physical activity can take its toll on us older dudes.

Oh, proof of golf?  Here ya go...

 



 L to R: Fish, Shane, Jeff, Joe, Jason, Paul, Matt











Jeff: this one goes right, as all my drives do

Paul getting ready to blast one farther than any drive Keith has ever had.  #teebox

Shane hits this one about 350 yards.  Or is that 350 feet?  Can't remember.

Sadly, Joe did not run and catch this tee shot in the air

Matt making better contact than at last year's #1 tee box.

Jason - You probably heard this oil can make contact from Cincinnati or wherever you are in this world

Fish with a likely perfectly played draw off the box, leaving himself with a full shot to the center of the green.





Following golf, we returned to the hotel to get pretty for our night out on the town.  And then it went up a notch.  Keith, unable to make the whole trip, decided to surprise us in the hotel on his way up to Geneva to do some work on his wife's grandma's (uncle's nephew's dogsitter's) house.  So at least for 14 hours we got our boy to join us for our usual crazy night of debauchery.  And that's when we met the Douchebags of Cleveland.  Lucky us.  Let me paint a quick picture: popped collars, too much tanning, shirts two sizes too small (said shirts apparently are sold in only "deep vee" style in Cleveland) guys trying WAY too hard, bad attitudes.  This all took place at a very cool place called the "Barley House" in the Warehouse District in downtown Cleveland.  It started out great.  We ate outside basically on the street.  Good food, excellent "scenery".  Plaid skirts are ALWAYS nice. 

But then, around 10:00 the worm turned.  So maybe we're all too old and don't get out much.  Maybe every city is like this now.  Good lord I hope not.  If so, I feel sorry for the younger women who have these guys to pick from in the love pool.  Anyway, despite a few fights, spilled beers (including the ones Jason cracked), we managed to still have a good time staying above the fray.  As usual, don't ask what happened between 10:00pm and 2:00am when the bar closed.  No one knows or can remember.  But here is a fuzzy representation of what the night was like...

L to R: Joe, Fish, Matt, Paul, Keith, Jeff, Shane (bottom)...Jason nowhere to be found







Following the club, half of us went back to the hotel (Keith, Paul, Joe, and Matt).  Keith proceeded to lose every one of his worldly possessions in the process.  Keys, phone, flip flops, wallet, and yes even his wedding band even though some of us think that was on purpose.

Shane, Jason, Fish, and I decided drunk gambling was the thing to do.  So, Horseshoe Casino was our destination.  2 1/2 hours later (not the 30 minutes Shane believed it to be) we headed home a little heavier (oh yes, we won some money) in the wallet.  After arriving back to our hotel at a little after 5:00am, I found this gem...

Oh yeah, that's our boy 9er dreaming of lord knows exactly what














After a refreshing four hours of sleep, it was time to greet Saturday.  OK not really.  It was a slow start to Saturday.  But we finally got rolling around 2:00pm and headed back downtown to see pretty much nothing in Cleveland but a place to eat and hang before hitting up the Indians-Angels game.  Nothing exciting at all.  Kinda boring really.  But relaxed and laid back, which is just what we needed.

As for the game.  Just like the past few years, couldn't tell you who won.  But here are some lovely pictures from "The Jake" (not Progressive Field).

 

 

L to R: Jeff, Joe, Shane, Paul, Jason, Fish, Matt

Following the game, I think we'd about had enough.  Not sure if we're all just getting old or what, but there was no drinking.  There was really nothing else.  We went back to the hotel where we basically vegged for a few hours.  Sat in the hotel lobby and just chilled and hung out.  It was a nice, laid-back night.  

Sunday morning...Bob Evans for breakfast, then we returned home.  Along the way, we saw this which made perfect sense for anyone who knows exactly why it is called the "Dan Lipscomb Ball Trip" 

So, #DLBT2013 is in the books.  Great time as always.  Next year's trip destination is up in the air.  Detroit, Chicago, DC, or NYC seem to be the names most mentioned.  But, it all depends on how we can align our schedules.  It's amazing that we can still find one common weekend over the summer where all 8 of us can get away for a few days.  Hopefully that continues.  Until next time, I'll leave you with this year's theme that began on the car ride to Columbus.  Enjoy... The "Odd Couple" Theme  (just don't ask).

#DLBT2013 is HERE!!!

In less than 24 hours, we will embark upon the official Dan Lipscomb Ball Trip 2013.  This year's trip takes us to the lovely, and I truly mean shitty, city of Cleveland.  But hey, they presented the best proposal and won the bid.  What can I say?  Maybe this time we can actually watch a game at Progressive Field.  If that makes no sense (and why would it?), please read this post and you will understand why, despite Cleveland being a ball trip destination previously, we've actually never seen an official game there.

So for those who care (8 of us), here's the rundown.

Thursday:
-7:30 am: departure
-10:00 and 10:08: consecutive tee times at Phoenix Golf Links and Dump (yes, it was built on a former dump).
-5:00 pm (give or take): arrival in Cleveland at Embassy Suites.
-5:01 pm: Manager's Reception (free beer)
-whenever: dinner at either Chili's or THE ALLIGATOR!!!!!!! (aka Winking Lizard) then cigars and cornhole in the parking lot until they run us out

Friday: 
-10:00 and 10:08am: consecutive tee times at Seneca Golf Course ...and that's just about all that's on the official agenda for Friday.

Saturday: 
-Indians-Angels with about 47 of Cleveland's biggest Indians fans (ya know since they don't draw much...and why would they?)
-then whatever our little hearts desire after the game (if we make it there) #shotsonly

Sunday: 
-the ever awful drive home in a cloud of beer and cigars...and maybe a few shots.   

So there you have it.  The trip in a nutshell.  I will have a full trip recap either Monday or Tuesday.  Until then, you can likely follow along on Twitter as all seven of us will be live tweeting the event.  I did say seven because Keith unfortunately is not going to be able to make this trip due to unforeseen circumstances beyond his control.

If you are a twitter person and would like to follow along, here are the twitter handles of the participants:

-Jason Gentil: @beatles62to70 
-Brian Fisher: @fishdawg923 
-Shane Ferguson: @SFERG021 
-Paul Farfsing: @PFARF 
-Joe Farfsing: @JoeFarfsing11 
-Matt Wertz: @bigredsasquatch 
-Jeff Gentil: @jgent15 
-Keith Lawrence: @wrigleyrocky  no he's not going, but will be fully dialed in and commenting.  Will make for some very interesting/funny conversations no doubt.

And as always, try to remember...

2013 Ball Trip City and Dates Set

After a long deliberation and a reconsideration, we have finally settled on a city and date for the 2013 DLBT.  We will be visiting the lovely (and smelly) city of Cleveland August 8-11 to see the Indians play...ah, who cares??? 

Our first choice was Detroit, but the dates didn't line up and we had to pick a date first (brilliant idea, Shane!) then choose a city.  I think, considering everyone's crazy busy schedules, this is what we will have to do from here on. 

So there it is.  Mayhem has a countdown date now!  Hells yeah! 

Minneapolis 2012 Recap

This recap is a couple days late for a number of reasons.  First of all, the 12-hour return home trip that began at 5:00 am was just a little exhausting so I needed to recover.  Secondly, I needed a few days to remember everything (and for people to fill me in on the lost events of Friday night). 

Here goes...

Thursday     

12-hour drive.  Chicago.  Wisconsin.  Minneapolis.  Chili's, beers, cigars, sleep.  Pretty much in that order.

Friday

Golf was either great or crappy depending on which team you were on.  The team of Paul, Matt, Keith, and myself?  We stunk up the course and got crushed by Fish, Jason, Shane, and Shmoe despite the fact we scored a -7 on the last hole.  But, it was fun anyway.  The weather was great.  Course was nice.  And we had a laugh or two (some of us were even on the ground laughing hysterically).

Some photographic evidence we played golf...

After golf, we decided to take a tour of the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area for their only gas station.  That took a few hours and was loads of fun.  We finally got back to the hotel in enough time to change clothes and head back out.

Stop #1: Mall of America.  Big place I guess.  We saw pretty much none of it.  Went to a sports bar whose name escapes me at this point.  Watched the Bengals-Jets and argued about Tim Tebow.  Typical.  The significance of that place was that it was the beginning of the end for a few of us.

Stop #2: The Loon Cafe in downtown Minneapolis.  A bar.  We had one beer, watched Excitebike on the Olympics, danced to some random stranger's homemade song...and left.

Stop #3: Sneaky Pete's.  And this is where things get fuzzy.  Suffice to say there were some shots, beers, dancing, and some expletives tossed around.  I'll spare you the details because to be honest, there are eight different accounts.  Trust me when I say it was a helluva good time.

Stop #4: Back to the hotel...I think

Saturday   

Since Friday night was a very late night, we slept in until around 7:00 am.  That's how we get down!  And since we basically had nothing to do but wait until the ball game at 6:10 downtown we had time to recuperate.

Once we finally got going we went back downtown and had lunch and watched some of the Reds-Cubs game and the PGA Championship (for the record this is the year McIlroy won by 8 strokes!!) and a sports bar called Huberts which was connected to the Target Center where the WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx play!!!!!  T-Wolves too but who cares about them?

Target Field    

The purpose for starting this annual trek across the country was to see all the MLB parks.  We have crossed off 18 now.  No idea if we actually see them all.  Someone might have to win the lottery for that to happen.  Anyway, at this point it's not important.  The trip has evolved into pretty much our only chance to get together and hang out.  But still it's cool to see the different parks. 

Target Field is a nice little stadium.  It's not a huge place but it's nice and cozy.  The upper deck is very small by comparison to most of the other places we've seen.  There are enough different sections to sit that give you a different experience from all over the park.  And probably the most wide-ranging fare you could ever imagine at a Major League stadium.  From pork chop on a stick, to fried walleye, to this (wow did it smell delicious)...

The game itself?  Doesn't really matter anymore.  We went, saw the place, couldn't tell you who won (Rays 4-2).  But, in case you wondered if we actually went, here you go...

After the game, back to the hotel, get about 4 hours of sleep.  Then the return drive home.  Yes, we left at 5:00am Central time.  Unlike the trip up where we were just happy to be out of the house and looking forward to a fun weekend, this drive was awful.  But we survived and made it home around 5:00 pm Eastern.  And we still haven't fully recovered.  But it's one weekend a year and well worth it.  I think. 

Next year we are tentatively planning on the Rogers Centre in Toronto.  Passports are required and some of us have them.  Others have to wait for certain road blocks to be removed (no names mentioned).  It will be a great time as usual.  And a bonus: it's only eight hours away.  Yippee!! 

Finally...

It is here!  The most anticipated 4-day vacation of the year is FINALLY here!! 

Tomorrow morning, we will embark on the 2012 version of the DLBT.  This year we head to Target Field in Minneapolis.  It is admittedly not going to be a fun drive (12 hours) but we'll endure no doubt. 

So, because you care, here is the tentative schedule:

• Thursday 7:00am - depart
• 7:01am - Paul has to pee
• Sometime around 12 hours later - arrival at our hotel.  Knees creak, back hurts...and that's just me.
• After check-in - the traditional kickoff dinner at Chili's where hopefully we can watch the Reds beat the Cubs.
• Friday 11:00am - Golf at Gross National Golf Club( http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=94&parkid=293 ).  With the addition of Shmoe this year we will have two 4-man teams battling in another epic scramble with the grand prize being lunch.  We play for big money!!
• After golf...who knows?  Hopefully it doesn't involve 11 shots.  And if it DOES involve 11 shots hopefully there is no pickle juice this time.  
• Saturday - only thing on the official Clark W. Griswold schedule is 6:10 Twins-Rays ballgame at Target Field.  
• Sunday 4:00am (yes approximately 4:00am) we return home.  My lord that is going to be awful.  But, it's worth it, right?  Right?????  

So there you are.  4 days of pure freedom.  Sorry, ladies.  It's not you, it's me.  Hope you're still around when we get back.  And have dinner waiting.  (yes, it's a joke)

And remember... 

Tentative Ball Trip Schedule...

For giggles, this is what the future ball trips could look like...

2012 (14): Minnesota - Target Field
2013 (15): Toronto - Rogers Centre
2014 (16): Washington DC - Nationals Park
2015 (17): New York City - Yankees Stadium
2016 (18): Chicago - Wrigley Field
2017 (19): Detroit (Comerica), NYC (Citi Field), other??
2018 (20): Boston - Fenway Park

My feeling is the next two years are pretty much set. Minnesota has been pretty much accepted and if everyone can get their passport Toronto will be a go as well. Thankfully we have plenty of time for that.

2018 at Fenway will be mighty expensive, but we have seven years to save up money. Also, with it being the 20th trip, returning to one of the parks we saw on the inaugural ball trip would be sweet. In between are the places we either have yet to see (Yankees/Mets/Nationals) or have not been to in a long time (Wrigley/Comerica).

Save your money. Be nice to your wives (as usual). We have some miles to rack up. And we ain't stoppin'!

Baltimore 2011 Recap...

It took forever to get here and was gone in a flash. Sadly, DLBT 2011 Baltimore came and went as fast as you can say "Last stop, boys. Gotta get off the train".

Every year we start the countdown. 3 months! 2 months! 1 month! You get the picture. It seems like years in between trips (for some, that is more literal) and once we pack up the car(s) and head out we are on our way back home in what seems like minutes. It goes by too quickly, but I think we all can agree by Sunday morning we are ready to come home (that's how you suck up to your wife btw).

Unlike last year when we played golf before leaving town, this year with the nine hour drive ahead of us, we packed the clubs and decided to play in Baltimore. So Thursday was basically a drive day. Nothing too exciting. We arrived at our hotel around 5:00. If Shane had his way, we'd have pulled a Harry and Lloyd and headed the opposite direction back toward Cincy after getting off for gas one time. Apparently Mr. T caught this almost mistake at the last minute and corrected Shane before he got back on the west bound expressway.

Following our check in was the now traditional dinner at Chili's which was even nicer this year as the hotel obliged in building a brand new Chili's attached to the Holiday Inn. How nice are they??? I believe Fish got his first taste of the Chili's queso which we all scarfed down in record time. I could be wrong, but I also think Fish wanted to eat the queso for every meal following. After dinner, nothing too exciting, just some cornhole, cigars, and pops in the hotel parking lot...that's how we roll, Flipper.

Friday morning...9:02 and 9:10 tee times at Pine Ridge Golf Course which was conveniently 10 minutes from the hotel. It was a nice course, probably a few too many doglegs but passable especially since we had no clue what it was going to look like from the website. The team of Jason, Matt, Fish, and Jeff (*mostly* putting due to the broken arm) beat Paul, Shane, and Keith (and some random dude who got paired up with them at the last minute) -1 to +1 (so says Keith) and thus got free lunch at the course. It was a beautiful day out on the links and again the golf was an enormous success. Hard to believe it took so long to figure out the addition of golf.

*Mostly: when you try to hit some chip shots because you moronically think your arm that has only been broken and repaired for just 3 weeks is healthy enough to ground a golf club...bad idea!!!!

Some beautiful swings for you...



And one guy who had some explaining to do when his wife saw this pic...



Post pic...

After lunch at the course, it was quickly back to the hotel (sing along) for showers and then downtown to catch the ball game. We took the light rail which was right down the street from the hotel and dropped us off next to the stadium. Cool idea...well, until...oh, you'll just have to wait.

The Blue Jays beat the Orioles 5-4 but the game itself was pretty boring seeing as we were there to sample the fare and check out the stadium itself. We did have awesome seats though...

see? front row center field right by Boog's BBQ and all the wonderful aromas by the warehouse in right field. Shane and I decided it was time to feed our fat arses and Boog's is where we went as you can see here...



and here (what do you want from me??)



Some other pics of us strange people...
never mind that nosy lady in the background giving us the weird look.

Oh, the ball park itself? Almost forgot...

warehouse behind right field...

behind home (duh!)

Hey, thanks!!

All in all a great place and you can definitely see why the rest of baseball seemingly stole the Orioles' idea to create a retro ball park. It's still one of the best.



After the game we met this guy... We asked him how to get back to the train and the only thing he said was "Prediction? Pain!" So we just bought a few of his pencils and moved on.

The rest of the night was played out at the hotel as we were all quite tired from golf and the ball game. But it didn't stop four of us from a rousing game of euchre and that "new" movie Aliens (still scary to this day). Keith, who didn't get in on the game, sat and watched Aliens, but admitted he was only still awake because "I don't want to miss anything". Well, the only thing he saw was euchre and Aliens...and nothing else. He gave in at 2:00 am...the rest of us 3:00 am.

Saturday morning...breakfast at Bob Evans because the hotel free (for a reason) breakfast stopped at 9:30 and we had no chance of making that. So we headed to Bob's where we got abused by our waitress. She had a special place in her heart for Keith who ordered a "diet water" but ultimately got a chocolate milk...then she brought him a refill and proceeded to smack him by saying "here's another diet chocolate milk for you" that got a nice reaction from the table.

After breakfast we headed back to downtown Baltimore to do some sightseeing and try to take a tour of Camden Yards. Upon walking up to the ticket window we got the "sorry, folks...park's closed" treatment and were sent away with our tails between our legs. So what to do? Saturday afternoon. Vacation. 7 dudes.

Pickles Pub!!

(First) Arrival approximately 2:00pm. (First) departure around 4:30. In between - 3 beers and a nice time talking with the lovely Alissa who was our bartender but more importantly put up with our crap (bad jokes and obnoxious arguments).

Obnoxious boys...

Off to Inner Harbor to see the sights. Not much really unless you like upscale stores and restaurants. But still nice to see the water and they did have some cool things to see.



And then...



If you've never been to a Dick's Last Resort before, you're in for a rude awakening.

Matt: "I'm a little uncomfortable. The bartender and the customer just got into an argument."

Keith: "The host was a little rude. What's the deal with that?"

The whole theme of this place is that they are mean to you, and you have to take it. Trust me, at first you're taken a little back by it. By the end of the night, you're pretty much having a great time. Unless you can't take a joke or aren't a hat type of person.

(Note: due to the graphic nature of said "hats" I will not be able to show you what I'm talking about. Just assume these hats they make you wear are vulgar, offensive, rude, and hilarious...again if you can take a joke. Sorry, the next portion of this post is being censored by the FCC)

But a quick summation: tiny, speedy, pokey, sheep, golden girl, brokeback, and restraining order are NOT the new Seven Dwarfs.

What next? How about a storm, getting soaked, and a quick (and almost deadly) cab ride back to...Pickles Pub. Assuredly Alissa was pleased as punch to see our band of misfits return.

Another quick (and censored) rundown: someone fell off a stool, security, emergency credit card, dilf, accountant, pickle juice, and 11 shots (EACH!!!) later we headed/stumbled back to the light rail to return home.

Enter disarray....

Light rail schedule said the last train runs at 1:06 am. At 12:45, about half way back to the hotel, we stop at a depot, wait a minute or two longer than we should, then the driver/conductor/whatever he's called walks back through the train and says "that's it, guys...time to go". What?!?! "Train's done running for the night. Gotta go" Who? what? huh??? "We're not at our stop yet. Will another train come by later?" Chuckling "I don't think so".

So there we are...7 dudes in the middle of nowhere/ghetto/murderville in the rain and completely LOST. Are we dead? Most assuredly we're dead. So we just start walking. To where? At 1:00 am I'm not sure exactly where we were headed. Thankfully we saw a cab who called in another close by cab and they got us back to our original light rail station - a nice 25 minute ride. I cannot, nor do I want to, imagine how long that walk would have taken. Suffice to say it was the best $45 cab ride ever.

Oh but that wasn't it for Saturday night. Oh no. Keith decided it would be fun to plop down on the bed and fall down in between the wall and the bed. He got stuck and, well, it was damn funny. Then, in what may become a new tradition, we ordered pizza at 2:00am. This time it came a LOT faster and apparently the driver made the pizza in his car because that was the HOTTEST pizza ever! But boy did it taste great! And eating pizza is better than dying in the ghetto I think.

Sadly, the Baltimore portion of the trip did not end there. Sunday morning. Everyone congregating in the lobby. Waiting on Jason to come down and with him bring the cooler. Elevator doors open, out walks Jason with his bag and cooler in tow. He approaches the group, slows down, and while stopping the cooler (or so he thought), it hit the corner of the mat in front of the automatic doors and tipped over. Unfortunately it was not empty. Well it was after the contents were unceremoniously dumped onto the Holiday Inn lobby floor (ice, melted ice, beer, etc.) in a pool. It was a nice cap to the trip...and a clear indicator that we needed to GO!!!

What followed was the quietest 9 hour car ride ever back home. Gee the car rides to the cities always are lively and loud. Funny how the return ride is very much the opposite.

That's it for DLBT 2011. Next year has not yet been determined, but Minnesota is the clubhouse leader. That 12 hour drive might put a crimp in those plans. But we have a while to decide. Either way, no matter where we go it will be a blast...even if we go to Arby's.

Uber Quick Recap...

We're back. Most of us are alive. All of us are dead tired. Don't ask us what we did yet. That takes a few days to come back to us. When it does, I'll post a longer recap. For now, just know...

It is here...FINALLY!!

Dan Lipscomb Ball Trip version 13 is finally upon us. Seems like we haven't been on one in a few years, but I think that's just how much we all look forward to this weekend. Thankfully the waiting is over. Baltimore, here we come!!

For those who care...all 7 of us...

8:00 am departure Thursday morning
4:00 arrival at the hotel in Bmore (give or take)
4:01 step out of gas-filled cars for fresh air
5:00 Chili's for the annual "first pitch" dinner
7:00 or so...crack beers, start cornhole, cut cigars, light the mothers...
Sometime later...roll into bed smelling like smoke, Coronas, Blue Moon, and who knows what else

Friday...
9:02 and 9:10 tee times at Pine Ridge Golf Course
Afterward...nap
5:00 or so...head to Camden Yards for Orioles v. Blue Jays
7:05 first pitch
7:06 "let's go to Inner Harbor"

Saturday...
Who the hell knows?? we're open and probably going to get into some kind of trouble that involves a beer bottle being held by a beer glass (Keith).

Sunday...
Return home
Discuss where 2012 trip is going to be...Toronto? Minnesota? Houston? NYC? DC?

Monday...
Depression (ok fine maybe not)

Despite kids (13 now...more to come?), family vacations, work shifts, flooded basements, marriage trouble, and everything else, we've managed to do this in some form for 13 years now. And we have no intention of stopping!

One more thing...

Washington DC

I am going to skip a year, because due to circumstances, I was unable to attend the Miller Park trip in 2005. This is the year that we discovered the benefits of mass transit. Before going to far, I have to tell this story. When we arrived at our hotel, they had a parking garage for the guests to park. Not thinking about 1.) We were driving a minivan and 2.) We had luggage and cornhole boards on top of the van, we attempted to drive into said parking garage. Well, we hit the first low clearance and you would have thought the we were being crushed. Needless to say we had to back up and remove the items from the top of the vehicle. I still remember the sound of the roof being crushed.

Anyways, on to the story. Luckily for us there was a train station across the street from the hotel which made things a lot easier and cheaper. For a few bucks, you can buy a weekend pass and ride as often as you like. We had tickets to both Friday and Saturday games at RFK. The place is too huge to have baseball games played in it, but they made it work. We also "Got our Red on" while attending one of the games. We also had our expert DC tour guide Shane, show us most of the monuments and buildings around the DC area. Arlington Cemetery was very humbling. Saw several burials while walking through, almost seemed wrong to be a "tourist."

It was an uneventful trip from what I can remember, but DC is a great sightseeing city. But I am sure someone will have a good story to add. There are always good stories from our balltrips.