A Bland Writeup of a Fun Weekend

Jen & I spent last weekend in the D.C. area to visit my bud Scott K & his man Jamison. Plans were to hit up a local steakery that Scott's been raving about for years, but nasty weekend traffic in New York & New Jersey delayed our arrival in Arlington, VA until after 9:00 Friday night (next time we're flying!). We settled for the always-solid Cheesecake Factory and called it a night rather early...the 7-plus hour drive wore me out.

We were up pretty early on Saturday, since a trip to this greasy spoon was on the agenda. We always hit this place up for breakfast when we visit Scott K...it's crowded, cramped, and loud, but they have good grub. I opted for my usual diner breakfast: bacon & American cheese omelet, home fries, toast, and coffee. Jen went with hash & eggs, and Scott K feasted on waffles with blueberry topping. It's the simple things like breakfast with "my crew" that make me happy.

The afternoon was low-key, highlighted by a trip to the local Harris Teeter supermarket for snacks and a couple bottles of cheap Australian cabernet. Scott K & I (well, mostly Scott K) polished off the wine while we kept tabs on our fantasy baseball teams. Jen worked on her knitting...yes, it's August and my 30-year-old wife is knitting herself a scarf!

I had a nice wino buzz by late-afternoon, which is needed if one is to endure an evening of Washington Nationals baseball. To make sure we were thoroughly primed, we first stopped at an Irish pub for a couple pints of Killian's. Then it was a quick train ride to their new, generically-named Nationals Park. As expected, it's a beautiful stadium, and boasts the largest HD jumbotron in the country...all the better to see replays of the Colorado Rockies beating up on the Nats. Twenty bucks each got us seats in the very top row of the upper deck behind home plate. I gorged on a chili cheeseburger, fries, and helmet sundae while the home team stumbled their way to a 13-6 loss. At least I got to see Troy Tulowitski rack up some points for my fantasy team. Scott K had beered himself into "Sloppy Scott" mode, so I drove us back to his place & we called it a night after watching Michael Phelps win his record eighth gold medal.

Jamison had spent the week in Oregon & Cali, and flew back just in time to join us for Sunday brunch at another Irish pub. They didn't have much variety, but they did have the best Shepherd's Pie I've ever tasted...along with some perfectly medium rare roast beef and standard brunch fare, I thought it was a good value for $15.

Scott K had 4 free tickets to the Nats/Rockies series finale (complete with free food & booze vouchers), but I didn't feel like getting home past midnight and have to drag ass into work on Monday, so Jen & I hit the road around noon. We hit more traffic on the way home...I HATE gridlock! Made it home 7 long hours later.

Hated the drive. Loved the food, drink, and baseball-fueled weekend.