Nationals Ballgame

The last time I saw a baseball game was on a stop over in Houston, maybe it was the jet-lag, the beer or the fact that it was late at night, but I didn't warm to it, so I figured it was time to give this much beloved American game another try and the free tickets provided by Brian (thanks for the invite!) created the perfect opportunity to do so: Nationals vs. Angels here I come (right to left in the picture - Mike, Brian, Jennifer, Me).

We arrived at National stadium at the bottom of the first and were just entering the gates when fireworks started to explode all round the stadium - a signal that we had missed a home run.

The stadium is awesome opening up towards the ramp that leads out of the metro so that you almost feel like you're inside before you enter the gates. All round the outside are various stands serving food and drink and the stands provide an unobstructed view from every seat. Before finding our seats (which were excellent, maybe 10 rows back from the pitch) we stopped for some liquid refreshment (it had been a long and frustrating day) and as we queued at one of the stands I was horrified by the prices: $7.50 for a beer - that's what I'd expect to pay for a pint in the centre of London!!!

Grumbling about sales practices when a retailer has a captive audience. I sat down to enjoy the game. If I'd been surprised by the number of people arriving late with us on the metro I was further confused by the number of people constantly getting up from their seats and wandering about the stands and watching groups around us holding deep conversations and only occasionally looking towards the pitch when the crack of bat on ball rang out.



I've come to the conclusion that though the games are nothing alike, Baseball resembles Cricket: Lots of time with very little happening and a few moments of excitement and basically an excuse to hang out with friends and have a few beers.

As if to underline these points the game finished 5-4 in favour of the Nationals and was won in the bottom of the ninth - for my English readers, this is as late as you can leave it to win a game - and although there was a big cheer and some excitement there was no real sense that I'd just watched a nail-biting finish.

Don't get me wrong, it helps to have some understanding of the rules (which I now do) for those moments when you are actually watching the game or spot the scoreboard, but in reality you can enjoy a day at a game just as much without it. With that thought in mind I have decided I like Baseball and will happily attend any future games - but next time we'll figure out how we're getting home and where the cab stands are before we leave with several thousand other fans all of whom are looking for one too.

A Day in Baltimore

So completely out of the blue I ended up in Baltimore this weekend and though I've heard mixed things about other parts of it, I do like the inner harbour a lot.

The plan had been for Martha and I to go to the National Aquarium in DC, but plans changed dramatically on the day and we decided to visit the one in Baltimore (of which I had heard several good reports) instead.

As we drove into the inner harbour on a gloriously sunny day I was struck by the weird mix of old, new, glass, brick and concrete buildings, by far the best and most unusual though is the converted factory that now houses a Hard Rock Cafe, Espn Zone and Barnes and Noble.

With tickets purchased for a later visit to the aquarium (it was seriously packed with visitors) we wandered around the harbour enjoying the sound of the sea and the warmth of the sun.

Seeing the USS Constellation and knowing my mother's passion for them I could not avoid taking at least one good shot of this fine old ship.






As you enter the aquarium one of the first sights you see are an enormous set of teeth - big enough to make Jaws look like bait fish and to make you seriously consider never swimming in the ocean again. Fortunately these belong to a long extinct variety of shark.

Rather than bore you with a long list of everything we saw, I thought I'd just provide some of my favourite shots from the visit and say that the rays and sharks are awesome as are the poison tree frogs and that it includes almost every form of sea life you can hope for (though either they did not have a great deal of crustaceans or I missed them). As usual a full selection of my photos can be found here.



















Leaving the tour we wondered along Harbour Place and discovered the small amphitheatre behind which were a series of sand sculptures by local school children. We liked the Camera best and therefore I include it here. The amphitheatre itself was crowded and a band was playing classic songs to the appreciative spectators. Unfortunately I missed the moment when a small child attempted to removed the tips bucket in the middle of the song 'Fever' and the singer emphasised the line '...don't you dare.' On the plus side though you are spared the 'dancing' moments of a few people who had perhaps had one too many.


Props and thanks to Martha for the suggestion of this impromptu trip - it was a great day.

Building a Playground

My employer and Kaboom! teamed up to build a playground at Harvey Hall Apartments. Kaboom! are committed to providing a safe play environment for every child in the US within walking distance of their homes. Its good cause and it sounded like fun so I volunteered along with c.150 colleagues, people who lived and worked at the apartment building and Kaboom!’s employees. We came together to do something for the community and despite being really hard work it was fun; I just hadn’t counted on the heat.

It was hot on Saturday! 98 degrees by midday and 40% humidity - I was feeling all of it. My English body wasn’t ready for those conditions I was sweating from start to finish and even with strong sunscreen I felt like I was being slowly broiled. It’s a weird thing, but I am used (in the UK) to air conditioning being an added extra, it’s nice but you don’t need it. In DC in the summer – you need it.

Back to the playground: I arrived at 7.45am, a crazy time to be awake on a Saturday let alone moving and contemplating physical labour. All of us were warmly received by the residents who had set up breakfast and some welcome shade (it was already really warm), they also provided a tasty lunch later in the day and their presence gave us a real sense of who we were helping. We all signed in and were assigned to groups, at this point I wasn’t sure what each group would be doing, I was in the Pumpkin group I was expecting to be assigned to (the much dreaded) mulch duty - I’d seen the mulch pile was a small hill in one corner and it looked like an all day job to get it moved.

As it turned the Pumpkin team was tasked with path building at the back of the playground and with my team mates Pedro (our team leader), Geoff, Ben, Jess and Peter we set to work. After some initial confusion we got a plan together and started to dig out the mud track we were replacing. Now I don’t want to start an argument with anyone about what task was tougher, but I will say that ours was a seriously physical mission. Compacted mud, lumps of concrete and big rocks, barrowing away piles of mud, pulling out roots and transporting bricks made it tough on the arms and back. The work along with the blazing sun meant we all really appreciated the vast quantities of water and ice the organisers had provided and everyone who brought it up to us.

I wandered round the site a few times during the day to see what else was going on, to collect water and take a break (the last thing anyone needed was the British guy collapsing from heat stroke). I was amazed at the energy and good spirits of everyone involved, I’m sure in part due to the blaring upbeat music. From the people happily moving tarps filled with mulch to those putting together the playground equipment, planters and benches, those stood in the sun holding the poles for the slides, swings and other apparatus everyone seemed to be smiling. My hat off also to the people who painted the hot tarmac – not only were you out in the sun all day but you created a stunning picture of the world map.

By the end of the day we had a full playground in place, one I’m jealous I didn’t have as a kid and my team had created a fine path. If I ever need one built for myself I now know a few people more than capable of the job to ask – should that happen though I promise to pick a cooler day. I got home took a shower cracked open a cool Corona and slept through the rest of the afternoon content in a hard day’s work for a good cause.

All my pictures from the event (and the ones I took on Sunday when I went back to see what it looked like after we had finished) can be found here.