The Weekend of All the Things

Well - last weekend I did nothing and this weekend I did all the things. I know...I know...I went from famine to feast and while both are enjoyable, it doesn't seem to matter how I spend the weekend - it always passes too quickly!

The pictures above were snapped throughout the week - leading up to the weekend of many activities. The weather on Monday was positively winter-y; it snowed from the time I got up, all the way to the office and got heavier the closer I got to work. It was chilly and a downright dismal day - so I had soup for lunch and kept my heater going in my office. The week warmed up bit by bit each day, my dog had less need to warm himself by the fire. I started a new devotional and by Friday - the weather was much more Spring-like: sunny and 80+.

Which was perfect because I left work at 1:30 and headed for DC and Nationals Park with my Dad - to attend my first of many Nationals games for the 2018 season! It was Sean Doolittle bobblehead night and we arrived shortly before the gates opened at 5:00 and joined the no bag line (tip: I grabbed a wallet style phone case to keep everything that is a necessity and it lets me speed through the no bag line - it's great!) We got bobbles, and grabbed a table at the Brewhouse for a little pre-game supper!

I was - suffice it to say - extremely excited to finally be back at Nationals Park with another season of baseball ready to unfold. I think the picture below is a pretty accurate representation of my excitement at being back at Nationals Park! It's also a representation of how quickly the weather changed over the course of a week - it was so warm out that when we found out they didn't have an outdoor seat in the shade, we happily requested a seat inside the Brewhouse because sweating while eating your supper is never a good thing!

My Dad and I had dinner at the Brewhouse - I had a double cheeseburger and my Dad got a Cubano...and we watched the table next to us get a pretzel as big as my head! It was crazy! After eating, I had to check out the Team Store and of course - I made a purchase. I had to grab a Curly W Cherry Blossom Tee and I picked up an All-Star Game baseball for good measure. We popped our bobbles into the bag and made a loop around the park to see if we saw anything new... which of course resulted in a few more pictures being snapped!

I purchased tickets on the third level; the seats offer a great view of the field and they also offer some awesome views of the city spread out in every direction. I snapped some photos of the Anacostia River off the back of the stadium and another in the direction of the Air Force Memorial (barely visible in the picture - it's to the left of the airplane on descent, but hard to see because of the haze). I love being at Nationals Park and being able to survey the city from so many vantage points...and while I'd have told you a couple years ago that sitting so high wasn't for me, I really do love the views of the field and the surrounding areas from on high!

I thought the view from our seats was pretty amazing - it was a perfect night for baseball! There was a gentle breeze coming off the river, it wasn't too hot and the sky was a perfect shade of blue! Let the game begin!

I loved the new "hype" video and I thought there choice of music was delightful. I'd have never thought to put music from The Greatest Showman to a video highlighting baseball, but as I watched the video I was instantly impressed with how perfectly it fit!

Unfortunately - my Nationals did not win the game. It was a battle back and forth...but not a very involved battle. The Rockies scored a run, after a few innings the Nationals tied the game, a few innings later, due to an error made by the Nationals (*sigh*)...the Rockies scored another run. And those three runs were the only ones needed - the Rockies won the game 2-1. *sigh* I also don't know how good my team is going to be this year; if April is any indication (I hope it's not), this could be a long season.

When it's all said and done though - a fan cheers for their team through good and bad, so I'll keep going to games, cheering on my boys and hoping for the best! I do love spending time at Nationals Park; granted, I love it a little bit more when my Nationals win!

We got home around 11:15 on Friday night and I all too happily crawled in bed because I had plans on Saturday and my alarm was already set! I woke up around 8:00, had my delicious coffee and then got myself ready to meet my friend Rachel and head into DC to catch a play for the afternoon. I remembered the night before that we were headed into the city the day of the Cherry Blossom Parade - eek! I was worried about long lines at the metro, but thankfully we had nothing to worry about!

  

We rode the (very) crowded metro into DC - we had a wee hiccup when I needed to purchase exit fare and the machine only took cash; thankfully the nice metro employee let me pop through the turnstile, reload my Smart Trip card and flash it over the sensor...and then we were on our way! We had lunch at the Green Turtle - our waiter was less than inspiring - we sat down to eat at 12:40 and we were not done until 2:05! The food was good, the company was better and thank goodness the theater was literally right across the street!

We saw the parody show Potted Potter and it was hilarious - I'm so glad I spotted the advertisement for it on the metro! The show crams all seven Harry Potter books into a 70 minute, two man stage show that includes a quidditch match (yep) and plenty of zingers related to all things Harry Potter (and a few things not related to Potter). I laughed the whole performance and would definitely recommend catching the show if you're a Potter fan and it's ever in your area! It's an hour and a half well spent!

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday - however; once the play was over, we decided to hop back on the metro and head back to our cars. My friend's daughter was getting tired and so we headed back to Vienna, said our farewells until next time and I made the drive home in heavier than usual traffic - gross! I love being able to pop into DC whenever I want to catch sporting events, theater performances and special events but man - the traffic is one thing I don't ever love! Thank goodness the sun was shining, I had a podcast to listen to and the traffic finally cleared up around the Manassas exit!

When I got home, I was just weary! I cannot explain why - but I do think I'd never want to be a person who commutes to DC and back every week! Two days in a row was enough for me! I lounged outside in the fading sunshine with my pup for a little while, then had some leftovers while watching Legion and took a bubble bath! Once again, I was more than happy to snuggle into my bed around 11:00 and catch some Zzzz's!

Sunday dawned - well - not so bright! It was sunny on and off; rain was predicted for later in the day and a sort of haze seemed to roll in as the day progressed, blocking out the sun. I went to church and attended my second membership class - when we were done with class early and I left the church and saw that it hadn't started raining yet, I knew I wanted to head over to the Arboretum.

The Arboretum has a field that; if you happen upon it at just the right time, is filled with white daffodils! I knew that with the rain bringing another cold front (in mid-April - yes, grrr...) that if they were in bloom, they might not be after Sunday. So I raced home, picked up my pup and my parents and headed for the Arboretum - and as you can see, we were in luck! The field of daffodils was in bloom and the white flowers spread out across the field!

The whole place was just beginning to come alive with color - the gray skies and the brown in the meadows made everything seem much less bright than it was, but everything was still beautiful! I discovered a new flower as we walked around the Arboretum; the Virginia bluebell! The little flowers dotted the ground and filled a grove with their pale blue, periwinkle and pink blossoms and I was enchanted with them!

We snapped pictures here and there of Spring doing it's best to make itself known - despite the fact that Mother Nature can't quite seem to figure out exactly what season it's meant to be. We found more gorgeous daffodils and Virginia bluebells...and y'all know I took more pictures! My Mom and I helped my Dad scope out locations for taking a family friend's daughters senior pictures and I even posed for a photo or two - most of the time being goofy about it!

We stopped at the Drippety Cone on the way home - and while we had big plans to eat our cones at the picnic tables behind the little ice cream hut, the wind was starting to pick up and the temperature was dropping - so we ended up eating the cones in the car! Watson did his best "poor pitiful me" face and of course, he ended up getting bites from both me and my Mom! He even crawled to the edge of the armrest in the center console of the car and leaned toward my parents...hoping for a lick of cone! Little stinker!

Once we got home, my pup and I settled onto my couch to watch the Nationals/Rockies game and my sweet pup got downright snuggly! The game was a back and forth scoring match - filled with walks and errors - and sadly, in the end my Nationals couldn't pull out a win. *sigh* I think I'll be sighing a lot this season where the baseball team is concerned. I'm not sure how I didn't fall fast asleep curled up on the couch with a warm little fur ball in my lap - but I managed to stay awake!

The rains arrived and we stayed curled up on the couch, watching TV. We had dinner and my Mom and I caught up on our TV shows and spent the rest of Sunday night being all around lazy - we watched a show all about hunting for houses at the beach; it had me longing for tropical sands and sunshine - while outside it was pouring and getting colder.

The weekend seemed like it passed much too fast - when I crawled into bed on Sunday night, I was torn between getting to sleep and trying to stay awake to stretch the weekend out just a little bit longer! The good thing about weekends is that they come every five days (or so) and so another one will be here soon enough - until then, it's back to the daily grind!