Happy Halloween

Capitals Game Night

We went to a hockey game tonight at Verizon Center to see the Capitals play the Flyers. The best part may have been the subway cars packed to capacity with rowdy, drunk hockey fans!

Let's go CAPS!

Awww

C-A-P-S

CAPS!  CAPS!  CAPS!

Thanks for the invite Will!

Six Flags America!

While we thought we would have to drive all the way down to Williamsburg to go to Busch Gardens for our roller coaster fix, we discovered that there is a Six Flags just a hop, skip and a jump around the beltway in Bowie, Maryland!

Six Flags America

Here we go!

Octo-fun!

Wow that's high!

Wooden coasting!

Autumn wouldn't ride this! There really wasn't that much doom involved...just a little doom.

Woo hoo!

Eastern Market

Ron & Julie flew off this morning to attend Jared's wedding (Congratulations Jared & Kelly!). We took Ed & Lynn to the Eastern Market to stock up on treats for their trip and for our dinner! We grabbed breakfast at a little Salvadorean deli and dropped them off at the airport.

Thanks to everyone for coming to visit!

Halloween is just around the corner!

So old!

 

 A real live (dead) blow fish! How do they keep them blown up?

Swearing In Day!

Autumn is officially official! It was a very nice ceremony...I may have already said to much!

No comment.

All suited up for the big day!

DC Sights w/ Ed & Lynn and Ron & Julie

Ron and Julie flew in on Wednesday, and they joined my little tour group on Thursday morning for a successful (at last) visit to the monuments. The weather still wasn't great, but we armed ourselves with golf umbrellas and persevered...much like the founding fathers!

Ron & Julie at the Washington Monument.

Ed & Lynn at the Vietnam War Memorial.

Lynn asked if there were any peace memorials on the mall....

...um, no.

 

Everybody at the pool from Forrest Gump. Jenny!!

Is that the back of a penny...?

Kind of ominous with the rest of DC fogged out of the photo.

Our first president must have been quite the ladies man with a monument like that! haha!

 

The Korean War Memorial...

everyone agreed that this got the award for the most unsettling monument of the day.

DC Sights w/ Ed & Lynn

Autumn's parents all came to DC for her official swearing in. As the unemployed husband, I played tour guide while Autumn was at work. It was a bit cold and rainy, but we had a great time in spite of the weather (I hope!).

Ed & Lynn at the Capitol.

The Capitol! Autumn was very jealous that she couldn't go on the tour with us.

Inside the Capitol! That dome is cast iron and literally weighs tons!

Look at the bones! That's no ordinary rabbit!

Just kidding, it's a prehistoric ground sloth at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Autumn met up with us that afternoon to go look at the weird rocks on the second floor...for the fifth time!

The solar decathlon...it was raining and there were tons of kids going through on field trips, so we just looked from the outside.

Day 2:  We attempted the monuments (again) today, but it was even worse weather than the day before. We made it to the White House and the Washington Monument before we had to duck into museums to warm up!

NYC Road Trip: Day 3, Atlantic City

It's Columbus Day and we're not at work!

We made a mad dash out of New York down to Atlantic City to honor and thank Columbus for his discovery of the new world by spending the afternoon gambling and walking the boardwalk before heading back to DC.

Yes it is...! ha!

Dune-arific!

Atlantic City was a blast, even if it was in New Jersey!

(Autumn curses the rickshaws and people feeding birds)

(Eric curses not being able to pump your own gas)

NYC Road Trip: Day 2

We got up bright and early for a cruise around Liberty & Ellis Islands, then spent the afternoon munching around the city. A quick visit to Central Park, the Museum of Natural History and then dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill capped off the night.

Ooh...ahh...

Us at the Statue of Liberty

I always thought that NY was famous for pizza, but I think that the "Col-Pop Chicken" might become the city's new signature dish! I mean hot fried chicken in a soda cup!!! plus a built in straw....ingenious! (Now wait is the soda keeping the chicken cold, or is the chicken heating up the soda?)

A walk through Central Park

Dino-bone battle royale at the Museum of Natural History...rawr!

NYC Road Trip: Day 1

To celebrate the first of many federal holidays that we now have off, we went to New York for the three day weekend! Unfortunately, you have to go through New Jersey to get there...

Ugh!

Maybe driving wasn't the best idea!

At last! Back on foot, and in Times Square!

Nothing says good time like last minute discount tickets for a show! We say "Wishful Drinking" (Carrie Fisher's one woman show)...it was about 20 years over our heads, but there was Star Wars stuff too, so overall, we give it a not bad.

Ah yes, the International Cell Phone, HUMAN HAIR & Italian Shoe Showroom next door to the hotel! If anyone back home needs any human hair, just give me a call, and I'll run up to NYC to get it for you!

Flag Day, SBU (Sensitive, but Unclassified)

Today was Flag Day, when we finally found out where we are going!! Officially, we can't announce online, so give us a call if you haven't heard yet.

The flags! It's hard to see, but this was a nerve racking ceremony!

 

Autumn and her friends....the faces have been blocked to protect the innocent!

We were very happy with the assignment!

Autumn's Birthday!!

For Autumn's birthday, we went out to the Shenandoah National Park and to a BBQ contest which wasn't exactly what we expected...

Follow that truck!

This was pretty much the main activity at the BBQ contest. They just throw bags filled with corn at the targets and try to get it in the hole. The BBQ contestants pretty much kept to themselves in their RVs and trailers...

We did manage to get a taste from one of the BBQ teams. Yum!

Then it was off to the Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive.

Bye-bye Front Royal BBQ.

More views from the "mountain"-tops.

Apparently, in addition to being for lovers, Virginia is also for apples!

Now we're heading out to dinner in DC at Oprah's personal chef's restaurant, Art & Soul.