Weekend of October 20th

With a long work week under our belts, we planned a fun filled weekend. We left the apartment early on Saturday to get to the White House for the fall garden tour. Unfortunately the Army 10 Miler Race had shut down what seemed like the entire city. The 20 block trek from our apartment to the White House took approximately 45 minutes. With the road blocks and detours throwing off our schedule, we just decided to figure out how to get out of D.C. for the morning. 

After abut two hours of driving, we made it to Alexandria, VA(10 miles from our apartment). Our next activity was Top Golf, which is a technologically advanced driving range. The golf balls have microchips that are registered to the individual. You hit the balls to targets that awards points. 

Ben thinks Kelly figured out a way to cheat by using her real golf skills to actually hit the targets.  Kelly had the highest score and the 2nd highest of anyone on the 'course' that day.  Ben is sticking to the fact that in golf the low score wins. Generally, it was a lot of fun and we look forward to going back.

Next up was some high school football. We stopped by T.C. Williams to "Remember the Titans" at their homecoming game.

There was very little resemblance to the movie, however it allowed Ben to make several movie references, which is always a treat.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon in the peak of tree color change around D.C. We stopped by Teddy Roosevelt island for a taste of nature.

After a hiking the island, it was time for dinner in Georgetown. Normally out of our price range, we had an above average dinner at Paper Moon. Kelly accidentally ordered a lobster pasta dish that included an entire lobster. After enjoying a cannoli for dessert we headed to the Georgetown waterfront for our boat cruise or "party yacht" as it is advertised.

The boat went back and forth over about a mile or two of the Potomac for 3 hours.  It was nice to see the waterfront and several of the monuments at night.

We enjoyed the sights and our complimentary beverage and some peanut M&M's. Our experience was quite different from the majority of the passengers. Comprised of mainly Georgetown students, bachelorette parties and a birthday celebration,  the crowd was highly inebriated and ready to party. We sat on the roof of the boat, which was more quite and further away from the DJ, which made it a very pleasant ride.

After a long Saturday, we spent the morning sleeping and spending much needed time with the dogs.  We took the dogs around the neighborhood and then went to the dog park, where Dexter's OCD was in rare form.

Later that afternoon, we took a drive to the National Arboretum to check out the tree change, and we were not disappointed.

Hooray for mid October!

The major league playoffs coming to Washington was big news for the city and us as the Cardinals and Nationals played in the National League Division Series.  

Ben got the opportunity to work the first home game (game 3) and we had tickets for game 4. With the Cardinals up 2 games to 1, game 4 was a potential elimination game for the Nationals.  The sellout crowd was nervous for game 4 and routing for a Nationals win to force a decisive game 5.

The game was a pitcher's duel throughout and was a 1-1 tie when Jayson Werth led off the 9th inning. The video below shows what happened.  

With game 4 being one of the greatest sporting events we had ever been a part of, we decided to bike down to the stadium for game 5. Tickets were scarce, so we watched some of the game on the big screen from outside of the stadium and the nearby stadium bar.

After the Nats grabbed a commanding 6-0 lead, we headed home while making plans for the impending NLCS and World Series appearances.  However, it was a roller coaster night with a 9th inning collapse by the Nationals and the epic come from behind victory by the Cards.

We got home in time to watch the Nationals blow a two run ninth inning lead to our beloved Cardinals. We were devastated as Nationals fans, but ecstatic that the implosion came at the hands of the Cards.  It is hard to admit to many our of family and friends, but we were both rooting for the Nationals deep down, which made the collapse hard to take.

With the baseball season over in Washington, some of our schedule was freed up.  In celebration of our first wedding anniversary, we drove down to Charlottesville,VA. Our first stop was Monticello, home to Thomas Jefferson. It turned our we probably should have purchased tickets ahead of time.  No tour was available for a few hours, so we decided a return visit made sense.  Instead, we decided to visit James Monroe's home at Ash Lawn - Highland for surprisingly pleasant experience. Termed by Ben the "poor man's Monticello", it was a wonderful history lesson about our nation's 5th president. 

All that history caused us to work up an appetite, so we stopped by a place called the Bluegrass Grill and Bakery for a delicious brunch.

While we waiting for our meal, we were treated to a piece of chocolate covered bacon by the owner or manager.  While it is hard to imagine this could be anything but delicious, Kelly was not a fan of the cinnamon.

Next up was the University of Virginia's homecoming football game against Maryland.   For Virginia's homecoming, the Cavaliers were taking on the rival Terrapins.

In a battle of mediocre football, the 1-4 Maryland Terps beat up on the Cavs throughout much of the game.  By the end of the first half, it was pretty clear that game was all but over.

After the halftime festivities, we decided to spend second half walking around the beautiful campus.

After touring the campus, we spent some time walking around downtown Charlottesville and then called it a day headed back to DC.

Sunday we had to catch up on life chores and spend some quality time with the dogs. 

Monday was the big day, our first anniversary. We had an awesome dinner at La Plaza where we enjoyed Paella and Steak Fajitas. We busted out some wedding cake that had been preserved for dessert.

When we blew out our candle, we wished for another year as great as this one!

October - Here Before We Knew It!

The first week of October brought the end of the regular MLB season. Wednesday was the Nationals final home game and much to everyone's delight Teddy had his first victory in the racing Presidents. After over 500 consecutive losses, Teddy's win to close out the season made plenty of headlines and was a big crowd pleaser.

The Nationals beat the Phillies for the team's 98th win of the season and clinched the best record in baseball for the 2012 regular season.  Upon reflection, we thought back to all the games we have been to this summer. The Nationals have a combined were 16-3 when Ben was at a game and 9-1 for Kelly.  It is nice to see a winner!

Kelly's parents arrived on Thursday night for a long weekend visit. They have a busy schedule so we were happy they could figure out a trip before the holidays.

Friday was a beautiful day in D.C. and started off the day with a walk to Lincoln Park followed by a visit to the recently opened Union Market. We spent an hour tasting free samples and checking out all the vendors. We met Ben for lunch at Loeb's Deli before heading to the National Building Museum. Our final stop of the busy morning/afternoon was the botanical garden near the Capitol. Kelly's Dad wandered around getting inspiration for his own garden before heading through the various eco systems.

On Friday night, Ben made a traditional family potato dumpling for dinner and we watched the Cardinals defeat the Braves in the one game Wildcard. The victory set up a St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals matchup in the NLDS. It was a tough series for us, as our hometown team was playing our adopted team in our adopted city. It also made for some serious trash talk between us and Kelly's Dad. Ultimately, Dad got the last laugh, however it was fun to have him here to watch the games with.

Saturday we headed to East Potomac Golf Couse for a round of golf. As many rounds as Kelly has played with her Dad, this was the first round she can ever remember playing with her Mom. It was a great day to be on the course made even better by Kelly's 1 stroke victory over her Dad.

After golf, we headed to Captain White's Fish market on the Southwest waterfront. Kelly had hoped to have lunch there, but everybody else was reluctant when they realized it was all live seafood that you bought and they cooked in front of you! 

As an alternative, we stopped by the Eastern Market and grabbed a bite at the lunch counter in the market. Additionally, Kelly's mom bought enough baked goods to feed a village. We spent some time at the house watching a baseball game and relaxing after a busy day.

For dinner, we went to U street for what we billed as the "second best dinner you will have in a gas station". While Mom and Dad were reluctant, Fast Gourmet delivered the goods.

Being a fellow intellectual, Kelly's Dad was curious where the Albert Einstein memorial was located. Located across from the Lincoln memorial, we let him met his idol and get a few pictures on Sunday morning. 

From the Einstein statue, we then made the short trip across the Arlington bridge to the Theodore Roosevelt Island. 

Due to its location, Theodore Roosevelt Island is often overlooked by tourists and even the locals. It is beautiful island was great trails and views of the Potomac. 

It also has a great memorial to the 26th President, with a very Eastern European statues of Teddy Roosevelt and a variety of water features.

After a short hike around the island, we headed to Georgetown for some BBQ at Old Glory. We split the "Whole lotta glory", which was a variety of delicious meats and complimented the football games on tv quite well.

In need of dessert, Janet and Ben braved the line at Georgetown Cupcake while Kelly and Roger got the car.

With a few cupcakes in hand, we headed back to the house for a few hours to catch our breath and say hi to the dogs.

Refreshed and ready for dinner, we went to to a new favorite Cantina Pacifico, which has some pretty tasty nachos and sangria that are half price on Sunday after 5pm.  As we enjoyed nachos, we watched game 2 between the Cardinals and Nationals. 

Before heading home, we stopped by the Pentagon memorial and then called it a weekend.  Kelly's parents headed out in the early AM hours and we headed back to work on Monday.