Game 2: Nationals Park, Washington D. C.
Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals – Sunday, April 14, 2013
We took the late evening train out of New York on Saturday night and by the time we checked into our hotel near D. C., it was a little after 1 am on Sunday. After some much needed sleep, we headed to the Nationals Park just after noon and got there about a half-hour before game time.
The Nationals Park is absolutely gorgeous (it prides itself on being America’s first major league “green” ballpark) and we had really nice seats just 5 rows back from the left field wall. By the time the game began, however, we realized that putting on sweatshirts and jackets to the game was not a particularly bright move. We were slowly getting roasted in our clothes. Even after the layers were off, it was sweltering. So much so that we retreated back into the stands to cooler confines during the middle innings. There’s got to be a way of air conditioning an entire city, right? So the title of this blog is really a plea.
As it turned out, it was not just the weather in D. C. that was hot. The Atlanta Braves were absolutely sizzling. The very first pitch of the game from Gio Gonzalez was roped into left field for a double by B. J. Upton and it was a portender of how the afternoon was going to turn out i.e. not so well for the home team. By the time fans were still getting to their seats around the top of the third inning, the Braves were already up 7-0. The final score was 9-0. The game included a solo shot by B. J.’s brother Justin. It’s really cool that the two brothers get to play in the outfield for the same big league club. The one-upping Upton show continued with B. J. getting two more hits in the game. The crushing blow, however, came from the bat of Andrelton Simmons who launched a majestic three-run homer. Chris Johnson, too, had a fabulous afternoon with four hits. We also got to see some spectacular defensive plays by both sides. The Braves are clearly on a roll though. This was their ninth win in a row and they now have a major league best 11-1 record. Wow!
After the game, we went out for dinner with two former members of the Thamattoor Lab, Jess Levasseur ’10 and Martin Schnermann ’02. Martin was also joined by his wife Pinky. It was fun to catch up although we had to literally yell at one another to converse. Yup, you guessed it. We were at the D.C. edition of the Hard Rock Cafe. They had many really cool rock memorabilia and the place was very loud.
The next morning, we went on a tour of the Capitol. It was wonderful and we got to see the recently unveiled statue of Rosa Parks. After the tour, we headed to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. When we were in D.C. a few years ago the MLK, Jr. Memorial was still being built so it was nice to see the finished work. It’s hard not to get goosebumps reading the quotes on the wall. Our plan for this Washington trip was to see some of the attractions that we had missed the last time we were out here. So we spent the afternoon visiting the D.C. version of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, which had a large collection of wax US Presidents, and the Spy Museum where the main draw was the celebration of 50 years of James Bond. Makes you wonder. Why wouldn’t a major league team take a chance on Bond? Bet Cleveland could use him.
Later in the evening, we went back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and headed to the airport. Can you guess where we are going next? Come back soon and find out. Cheers!
