Stay-cation Part Two

Tuesday of the Nealon Stay-cation was Timmy's 12th birthday. I had not been feeling well for the past couple days, not really knowing whether it was allergies, a cold, or both. Tuesday morning I didn't wake up until 10:00. I can't remember the last time that happened. But it was Timmy's birthday and I knew that the Red Sox were playing the Nats in an exhibition game.  I didn't buy tickets as I was going to play it by ear since you never know what the weather may be like in April, but Tuesday was an absolutely perfect day to go to the ballpark. But that morning I was sitting on the computer, still in my pj's, my head still feeling like it was in a fog, and trying to figure out how to get to the stadium. I really don't know D.C. that well. New York, I can handle, you either are traveling north and south on the Avenues or east and west on the streets. It's a simple grid. D.C. on the other hand has a number of roundabouts, and streets on the diagonal.  I just don't find it as simple if you don't know where you are going. Chris would have loved to have met us there for this 3:00 game, but unfortunately couldn't get out of work.  I bought a parking pass online for Parking Lot N, told the kids that we are going into the city to go see a baseball game, and that I didn't know how to get there. We were going on an adventure. Between my google map, the GPS, Shannon's GPS on her phone, and a call to Chris, we actually arrived at Lot N.  Sure we circled the stadium a few times before finding it, and of course when we did find it the first time, we were on the wrong side of the lot to enter.  So we circled around again to get to the entrance. We got the second to last spot in the lot, but we made it.

Now, most people who know us, know we are New York Yankee fans. Chris even has tags on his car that show his loyalty to his baseball team. Why would I adventure into a city that I admittedly don't know my way around to watch an exhibition game of the arch rivals of the Yankees?  Well, this picture should explain it.

This is the back of my car. I had people stickers on the back that were starting to come off and when we went to the mall with my mom for Timmy and Shannon's birthdays, we went to the sports memorabilia store where I found these new people stickers. Perfect, except for the fact that a number of years ago Timmy decided that he wasn't going to be a Yankee fan like the rest of us, but he was going to be a Red Sox fan. Really? Of all the teams that he could have liked, he chose the biggest rival of the Yankees. But that's what makes life more interesting. And so just like the back of my car, Timmy is smack in the middle of a family of Yankee fans. He definitely thinks for himself, which is a good quality.

When we finally made it to our seats, after a stop at the bathroom and concession stand, it was the second inning. My three Yankee fans and my one Red Sox fan were happy to be watching a game on a beautiful spring day. But Timmy was not alone at this game. We were definitely in the Red Sox section of the stadium because there were lots of Red Sox fans at the park.  

I thought the stadium was pretty full for a exhibition game.

The sky couldn't have been any more blue, and not a cloud in the sky.

The Nats trying to figure out what to do about the Red Sox since they were up 6-0.

Hmmm, by the 7th inning it was no longer a 6-0 game.

 The Nats had tied it up by the 7th inning.  But the Red Sox were up again by one heading into the bottom of the 9th.   With 2 outs and a runner on second, the Nats hit a single.   The runner on second tried to tie the game by heading home, but a throw to the plate was in time to end the game with the Red Sox on top. Timmy was happy because his team won.  The rest of the Nealons were happy because it's the one time that they were able to cheer on Timmy's team since it was just an exhibition game and it didn't count in the standings.

We have talked about going to different ballparks around the country. We have been to Yankee Stadium, old and new, Camden Yards, and now Nationals Park. Three down and I'm not sure how many more to go.