Nationals World Series Champs Parade

We usually hang out across the street from the archives on constitution avenue. But yesterday we walked to the rally area by the Capitol building and then to the Washington monument where the nats parade would start. It was a lovely fall day, but cold enough to wear winter jackets and hats. I dug out the red nationals cap for my husband. Since we no longer live on Capitol Hill we decided to drive in in from northern Virginia ten miles away, park in the old neighborhood, and go from there. We arrived at 1100 and had three hours to kill. It’s getting harder and harder to walk and stand around for several hours and we felt it when we got home. It ended up being five miles! But we couldn’t let the day go by without showing up for this very exciting day. After all, we went to the hockey team championship parade and had little to do with them. Baseball is in the family and it was with nostalgia that we went - for my dad, my brother, memories, and finally a festive event that everyone was excited about. I took a lot of photos and videos and sent them to my grandson who grew up with the nationals since he was a baby. It’s been an unbelievable last few weeks. I think it all made baseball history books. 

Capitals Parade Stanley Cup Champions

Neither my husband nor I are hockey fans. But we are DC fans and usually try to see most of the events - or people of interest - when they come to our city. So rather than go for our usual morning walk on the Mall, we decided to have breakfast first and then walk to the Mall in time for the Capitals parade. We weren’t planning to see the parade, just stand around the Jumbotron and see what we were missing. We had noticed yesterday that they were setting up for the event. Today everything was a sea of red. We thought about wearing our Washington Nationals baseball hats just to fit in, but didn’t. We arrived at the Smithsonian Castle around 1100 and found a spot under a shady tree. Most of the music playing was from the 80’s. I just kept wondering who was at work!? Finally the team arrived and was introduced after they played snippets of the final hockey games. Then we decided we had enough standing for one day and headed home around 2 PM. I’m sure it would have been easier to see it all on tv, but when you live that close to the action, you just have to experience it - even if you aren’t a hockey fan. 

St. Patrick's Day Parade on the Mall

With daylight savings time upon us, my inner clock didn't change. So I got up the usual time, but it was an hour later. That meant our morning walk would also be an hour later. That's not so bad when it is so cold and every degree counts. But it also means we may run in to things on the mall that we may have missed at an earlier time. Case in point - the St. Patrick's Day parade. All the floats and participants were staged on the mall near the Smithsonian Castle and surrounding spaces. There were a lot of fire trucks and police and military, and dancers, and Irish wolfhounds. There were also some South American native costumed folks that must like being in parades! So we crossed over to Constitution Avenue across from the Archives to see the start of it all. It was by no means very crowded, but the parade goers were enjoying the hoopla. Thank goodness the sun shone bright on the festivities below as it remained a balmy below freezing temp. It was a nice start to the morning in spite of the hour change. I am looking forward to the longer days but it seems it takes me longer to get used to from one year to the next. But it was worth starting out a bit later - who doesn't enjoy a parade?

Capitol Fourth Dress Rehearsal and Parade

Because of the threat of rain today, the Capitol fourth dress rehearsal concert was packed last evening. It turned out to be a beautiful evening, and we had a chance to hear Smokey Robinson and Kenny Loggins, as well as a few other folks. It is amazing to know that these events take place just a couple of blocks from where we live, and it feels weird to walk from a very crowded place to a quiet suburban neighborhood. Then this morning we decided to get our walk in before the expected showers, and passed through the parade route along Constitution Avenue and the Archives. The line to get in was winding around the block, but on the crowded steps out front was a band playing, with George, John, Tom, and Ben acting as hosts to the gathering below. We passed by a few floats, including the Tazmanian Devil, that was being blown up for the big event. These are the times we miss living just down the street from the rest of the family! We are hoping the rain stays away so we can watch the fireworks from our annual spot near the house office buildings. That's where the neighbors gather and we see a lot of familiar faces. This is our tenth year living in DC. It feels like just yesterday that we moved.