Go Nats?!?

Laurie and I made it to a Nationals game a few weeks ago and we had a blast! It certainly wasn’t as fun as a Twins game, but considering the DC sports scene, the Nationals are pretty fun to watch. We saw the Nats defeat the Milwaukee Brewers in which former Twin Livan Hernandez through a complete game shut out. It would have been nice if he would have done that for us!

Nationals Park is located in DC’s Navy Yard neighborhood and is a just short ride on the Metro from our place. Even on a really nice day, tickets are pretty easy to come by. I guess that is no surprise considering this team lost over 100 games last year and finished with the worst record in baseball. However, this year may be different, as the Nats currently find themselves in second place in the National League East and are playing pretty well.

Laurie and I have been to a number of baseball parks across the US, but this was our first trip to the new Nationals Park, which was built in 2008. We were impressed with the ballpark as there aren’t many bad seats and there was an abundance of good eats! As a ballpark expert, I would rate the Nats home a 4.0 out of 5.

The ballpark has 41,000 seats and features 66 suites, all around the infield. The park has an out-of-town scoreboard, which is 102 feet long, installed in the right field wall. The main scoreboard, at 101 feet long and 47 feet high, is more than five times the size of the one at RFK Stadium. The park also features a grove of cherry blossoms located just beyond the left field bleachers, which provides a look that Americans associate with the nation's capital. You are also able to see the U.S. Capitol from the upper deck.

And last, but certainly not least, what DC event would be complete without a Presidential Race? The Presidents' Race, which takes place in fourth inning, features four former Presidents of the United States, namely those found on Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. As you can see, the Presidents are dressed in period costumes and topped with giant foam caricature heads.

As you can see in the standings, our 26th President has had some troubles getting his first victory.

Overall Standings (Since 2006):

Lincoln: 125

Jefferson: 76

Washington: 80 

Roosevelt: 0

The running joke of the Presidents Race has been Teddy’s inability to win a race. The reasons for Teddy's failures have varied, ranging from tripping, to confusion, to striking up conversations with fans and forgetting to run. He has been disqualified for cheating, including the use of a golf cart, emerging from the visitors' dugout instead of running the length of the first base line, zip-lining into the infield from the top of the stadium and riding in a rickshaw pulled by a bicycle. I wonder what will come first, a Nats division title or win from Teddy!

-Bobby

Running Man

Bobby signed up and has started training for his second marathon. His first one was the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon. He finished in 3 hours and 26 minutes, which at the time was 11 minutes short of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

The 35th annual Marine Corps Marathon is on October 31, 2010. This marathon is the 4th largest in the US, and the 8th largest in the world. Runners get views of all of the main attractions in DC, and the finish is right by the Marine Corp War Memorial.

The runners will be wearing RFID tags so that their location can be tracked throughout the course. As a spectator, I can sign up for text alerts so I can maximize the number of Bobby sightings throughout the race.  Link to the course map.

Bobby has started training by doing weekend runs on the mall, early in the morning before the tourists get in the way. I drink coffee and read a book until he is done.

This year, the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon is 3 hours, 10 minutes. Can he do it???

If anyone is interested, we would love to have you join the cheering squad for this big event!

- Laurie

TPC at Sawgrass

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity recently to play the Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass, home of The Player's Champtionship. It is also famous due to being the location of Tiger Wood's first taped press conference (more like a poorly delivered speech), but hey, that's old news.

The overall experience was wonderful - they really take care of you! Upon arrival I was directed to my locker. The ladies room was so big I got lost.

This year's Players Tournament is being held May 6 - 9, so the crew was busy getting the spectator stands all set up.

The famous Island Green hole, the most photographed hole in golf:

This is what it looks like during the tournament:

Photo credit: Fred Vuich/SI

Our caddie kindly informed us of the odds. 40,000 rounds are played here annually, and 120,000 balls are fished out of this pond in that timeframe. My playing companion stuck one within 6 feet, while I left my mark on the course and contributed my Noodle+Lady into the pond.

Now we reach the 18th hole leading to the clubhouse. This time I was lucky - my drive actually went in the fairway so I got to experience the full effect of walking up the 18th fairway.

The gorgeous clubhouse:

Two of the golf greats in the champions locker room. Once you win here, you get a permanent locker with your name on it -

I guess you only get one locker if you win more than once:

We'll be watching the tournament in a few weeks. Will Tiger grace us with his presence???

- Laurie

Northern Virginia Wineries

Who knew there were tons of wineries within a 2 hour drive of our house? Virginia alone has over 140 wineries and counting. While nothing in North America can compare to Napa and Sonoma, there are some pretty decent wine offerings in the region.

A short history lesson: The Jamestown settlers had high hopes for Virginia as a major source of wine for export to Britain. A law was passed in 1619 that required every male settler to plant and tend as least ten grape vines. The grapes of European origin failed to prosper, and the tobacco industry became the focus of the country. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson tried to grow vines in the area, and failed. Eventually, settlers tried using Native American grapes, which yielded better results for an industry to be born. The Virginia Norton wine was named “best red wine of all nations” at the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873. The industry suffered a hit during the Prohibition era, but has slowly recovered and prospered.

We randomly selected a winery to visit from our guide - Bluemont Vineyard. The short description indicated it was situated 1,000 feet up into the Blue Mountains, with great views and scenery. As we pulled up we realized we made a great choice! The building itself was really beautiful, and they had a great deck and outdoor spaces for enjoying your tasting. Apparently on a clear day, you can see the Washington Monument in the distance.

We felt right at home when we learned all of Blumont's wines are named after farm animals. No highbrow wine snobs here! This was definitely a family run operation, and everyone was so nice. They spent a lot of time with us explaining all of the different wines we tasted. They were all really great, but we ended up purchasing "The Pig" (2007 Norton) and “The Cow” (2008 Vidal Blanc).

They must employ a master marketer, because we also ended up buying a bottle to share, a huge amazing fruit and cheese tray, warm bread, souvenir glasses, and souvenir t-shirts (almost). They also had a cute dog. I think I want to live there.

The next place we went was by recommendation of Bluemont – Sunset Hills Vineyard, which was actually in a historic Amish barn.

Photo credit: http://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com

We were expecting to meet Ezekiel and Rebecca, but no such luck. We enjoyed another tasting as well as a selection of Amish cheeses. We don’t believe in the spittoon method of tasting and were feeling our tastings, so we had to share. The server was busier and couldn't give us as much personal attention when describing the wines, so we preferred Bluemont. We picked up a bottle of 2008 Sunset Red Cabernet Sauvignon.

What a fun day and something different to try! Hopefully more visitors would like to experience Virginia wine, because it is such a fun and easy day trip. There are many more we can visit, and Bobby can drive!

- Laurie

Cherry Blossom Festival

What better time to visit DC than during the National Cherry Blossom Festival? My parents came to visit at the perfect time, just a few days prior to the peak blooming period.

We started out the day at Eastern Market, which is a regular farmers/street market in a cute neighborhood in DC. Many locals come for the fresh produce and other food, while tourists can pick up art, jewelry, and other random things for sale. We stopped for some coffee.

Next we went to check out the cherry blossoms, which are all over the Mall area. Spring was definitely in the air as there tons of people out and there were literally hundreds and hundreds of kites flying all over. No kite fighting though.

By the Smithsonian Institution Building:

The main area by the Tidal Basin and Roosevelt Memorial:

By the White House:

A highlight of the day was when we met our distant relative Kirt for the first time, who lives in the area.  Kirt (pictured below on the right) has done extensive genealogy research and has traveled to Norway to visit the old farms and villages of our mutual ancestors. His research eventually led to our family and therefore, our meeting.

More to come soon about the next day of their visit!

-Laurie

2010 Baseball Preview

Alright, it’s time to chat a little about America’s national pastime. Opening Day is finally upon us, so let’s play ball! If you are a Twins fan, you have plenty reasons for optimism this season. The Twins open the season tonight as favorites in a rather mediocre American League central division. The question this year is not whether they can win the division, but it is whether they can finally make a run deep into the playoffs.

The Twins have had a rather busy offseason, ending the winter with a total payroll of nearly $100 million, compared to $65 million in 2009. Obviously the biggest news this offseason was Bill Smith’s ability to sign our hometown hero Joe Mauer for the next nine seasons. Don’t worry ladies, the sideburns aren’t going anywhere!

The Twins also solidified their infield with the addition of former all-star JJ Hardy (below) and gold glove winner Orlando Hudson (below). In addition, the Twins look to have the deepest bench in recent team history, with the addition of five-time all star Jim Thome. The loss of Joe Nathan will certainly be felt by the club, but if the Jon Rauch experiment fails, look for Bill Smith to add a proven closer like San Diego’s Heath Bell.

Not to mention the Twins will open the 2010 season in beautiful Target Field.

As for the rest of the Majors, it looks like there are a number of wide open divisional races. It will be a great year to cheer on your hometown ballclub, unless of course you live in DC, where the Nationals should be pretty terrible again. But hey, they have a great new ballpark! Go Nats!

Here are my predictions for the 2010 MLB season:

National League:
East – Philadelphia Phillies
Central – St. Louis Cardinals
West – Colorado Rockies
Wild Card – Atlanta Braves

American League:
East – Boston Red Sox
Central – Minnesota Twins
West – Texas Rangers
Wild Card – New York Yankees

World Series Prediction:
Phillies over the Twins

- Bobby

Several Nights in Bangkok

Warning - long, picture intense post coming:

Recently I returned from a work trip in Bangkok, Thailand, and because a few coworkers and I stayed a few extra days, I thought I'd share the sights we saw.

Our hotel, the Hilton Bangkok, was along the main river in the city, the Chao Phraya. The hotel had a shuttle from one side of the river to the other.

One of the first days, our group went on a long-tail boat tour. These boats go really fast and cruise around the canals on Bangkok, which run between the homes supported on stilts over the river. Some are nice and some are not-so-nice.

Our driver took us to 'the market,' which was simply two ladies selling their trinkets to tourists who are brought by. Many years ago the floating markets were used as the primary way to sell fruits, vegetables and other items, but today they are mostly tourist destinations.

Here are some of the long-tail boats in the foreground. The Temple of Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan (Wat Arun for short) is in the background, which is one of the most visited Buddhist temples in the city.

It is decorated very ornately with seashells and porcelain.

My coworker Kimya and I climbed as high as we could using the very tall & narrow stairs!

Our next stop was the Grand Palace, which is the residence of the King of Thailand since the 18th century. I was wearing capri pants which weren't proper enough to enter. Luckily they had a convenient clothing rental station and for 300 baht ($9.30USD) I rented this skirt. After taking off our shoes, we were ready to enter The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. According to legend, the Emerald Buddha was created in 43 BC in India.

The golden buildings are very impressive in person.

Back at the hotel, I had the best chicken pad thai ever! It is actually wrapped in egg. Delicious! This is probably the only meal I finished in Bangkok.

There is an area of Thailand called Patpong, which is known as a destination for both night markets for shopping, and a red light district for another kind of shopping.

Several ladies in our group were hunting down knock-off purses. When the store staff brings you through a secret back closet, up some stairs, through more closets and up more stairs to a secret purse salesroom, you know you've found the best designer imposter goods you can get.

From Patpong we took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel, which is a Bangkok must-do activity!

Thailand is a very inexpensive place to visit, but if you are feeling homesick and want to pay $15 for a drink, there are places for you! This is Sky Bar, the tallest building in the city, with a rooftop bar of course.

Thailand was definitely a unique and fun place to visit, but might not be for everyone. Next time, I want to check out the beaches, the jungle, and everything else the country has to offer.

- Laurie