Nov
29
watching my teams, at long last
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This weekend was apparently the time to export some Detroit sports to this side of the country. For the first time this NBA and NHL season I was able to see my beloved Pistons and Red Wings.
On Saturday, Brad and I went to watch the Pistons light up the
scoreboard with the Washington Wizards. The Good Guys were victorious, beating the home team 115 to 111. Nothing quite like scoring 34 points in the first quarter, and 62 in the first half. Quite a change from the Pistons of a couple years ago where they had a streak of games holding teams to less than 70 points the entire game. Our seats were in the very top row, but we were able to see just fine.
As for the Red Wings, I’ve been scouring my TiVo schedule for months, and Monday
night was the first time they were on a station we get. It was good to see the red sweaters flying up and down the ice again. This was the first game I’ve seen in the post-Yzerman era (perhaps the first game ever where he wasn’t on the team, unless I was watching games before I was 8?). The announcers seemed to be struggling with the adjustment, talking more about #19 (including a brief interview with him) than anyone who was actually playing. Speaking of announcers, I missed not having Mickey Redmond adding his color commentary to the game. Anyhoo, the Wings came from behind to beat the Stars 2 to 1 by scoring two short-handed goals. A bit unorthadox, but extremely exciting.
Finally, a little bit of trivia for you. The only Red Wings game I’ve seen in person at the Joe was also against the Dallas Stars 4 or 5 years ago. The Wings came from behind to win that one, too.
Nov
28
Thanksgiving recap
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Thanksgiving hit my spot this year. It was just the kind of break I needed, including some time to relax and get a list of things done around the “house.” (That last bit will surprise none of you that know my Kolbe index. 
)
By most accounts it was a traditional Thanksgiving, what with the turkey 
and stuffing, time with family, and the Lions losing. At the same time, it certainly had some new aspects being in Virginia. For starters, the weather was sunny and in the 60’s for most of the weekend, and we were able to venture into D.C. on Saturday, once again being touristy.
We are very grateful that Brad and Lori continue to be gracious hosts while we look for a (more permanent) place to live, and that Neil and Lydia were willing to spend their vacation time by driving out to visit Micah us. All in all, a great holiday.
Oct
9
in honor of Columbus
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Today is Columbus Day, an official federal holiday. That means I had the day off from work. It’s one aspect of working with the government to which I should be able to quickly become accustomed. We decided to be touristy and head into D.C.
We took the Metro into town. We weren’t sure how it would go with Micah and his stroller, but things couldn’t have gone better. (Micah’s first ride on the Metro!) We walked down the
National Mall, saw the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and this really peaceful park just off of the Mall that Rachel and I had never seen before. All in all, a good day.
In retrospect, I’m not sure what else one should do to honor Columbus. 