Nationals Stadium

After West Virginia, we went to see friends in Columbia, MD and then the next night we went to the new Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC. It was the 17th MLB ballpark I've been to. The Stadium is nice, it looks a lot like most of the other newer stadiums being built. It has a beautiful jumbotron TV in the outfield and a nice little play area that Jessica ran around in for an hour. However, there were a lot of things that I didn't like and they all revolve around money. We parked two and a half blocks away and paid $25. That's a ripoff. To park in the lot directly across the street from the stadium, you had to buy passes when you bought tickets and it cost $40 to park there. More ridiculous! Ticket prices were as expected, but the food was overpriced. I know it always is but $8 for a square slice of pizza is insane. Sodas were like $4.50, beers were $8 and so on and so on. I'm sure when the Mets and Yankees open their new ballparks next year, the prices will be just as insane. Baseball teams are going to make it near impossible to allow families to attend games due to the high costs of everything.
The most embarrasing thing of all at the stadium is all the empty seats behind the backstop. The Nationals completely overpriced those seats. They go for like $300-$800 or something like that for the ones directly behind home plate. If you ever watch Sportscenter, you'll probably notice how empty those seats are for most games. Take a look next tiime.

Western Maryland and West Virginia

Our next stop on the road trip was Frostburg, MD. We visited with some of Sue's relatives and went to the cemetery where her grandmother is buried. It's not easy trying to explain to Jessica about Grandma. Jessica knows Grandma is in heaven so didn't fully understand why we were there. She asked a lot of interesting and intelligent questions for a 3 year old. She still remembers that GG likes to drink coffee and I think she even asked a question like, "Do you have to drink coffee to get into heaven?" It was cute.


We then went to drive through West Virgina on our way to our next stop in Columbia, MD. West Virgina was my 41st state that I have been to. We stopped at Harpers Ferry, WV after getting a little lost. Our GPS and I were having some angry moments which caused the worst "hour" of our trip for everyone. After a family hug at Harpers Ferry, we all kissed and made up.

The Willie Randolph Job Watch

Of course Willie Randolph's job is in jeopardy. The Mets have played awful and whether it is his fault or not, it doesn't matter. I hate these sports radio guys saying that when Omar Minaya was asked if Willie would manage the whole season, Omar said Willie is our manager and he has a contract for next year. The radio guys go OOOOHHHHH that doesn't sound good. The fact is that if the Mets continue to lose, Willie will lose his job. It's that simple. You can't tell me that if the team goes on a 10 game losing streak right now that Willie will survive. The Mets are losing right now because of the players. There aren't many on the team playing well. If Willie is to really be the manager next year, then guys like Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran better turn it around, and fast.

Hershey

Our next stop on our road trip was Hershey's Chocolate World. We didn't go to Hershey Park since we were at Dutch Wonderland the day before. We met cousins Frank, Tracy and Melissa there and we had fun going on the chocolate tour, pretending to be chocolate factory workers and eating lots of chocolate. Jess was a little scared at the 3D movie, but other than that we had a great time.

Dutch Wonderland

The first stop on our road trip was to Dutch Wonderland. This is an excellent amusement park for kids ages 3-6. Jessica had a wonderful time, as did we all. She was just about tall enough for all the rides, either by herself or with an adult. They have over 30 rides and several shows and other attractions. Jessica's favorites were the Thomas and Friends show, the roller coaster and the giant fun slide. I highly recommend a trip out to Dutch Wonderland for you and your little ones.

Vacation

We are going on a little road trip to have some family fun time. If I get a chance to post during our trip I will, otherwise, I'll see you when we get back.

E:60

One of my favorite new shows is the ESPN journalism show called E:60. To me it's like Real Sports on HBO except weekly. This week's show is the last until July but when it comes back, you should definitely check it out. One of the main journalists doing stories is Jeremy Schaap, who I believe is just as good as his father Dick Schaap was. They have covered some very interesting topics such as Mike Tyson, football in prison, a blind high school wrestler, etc. If you go to the E:60 page you can view some of the segments they have had.

Happy Mother's Day

I just want to wish all the moms out there a Happy Mother's Day! Especially to my mom, my mother-in-law and to my wonderful wife Sue. Have a great day!

Kid Finally takes off Favre Jersey

This 12 year old kid finally took off his Brett Favre jersey after 4 years. WTF! He wore the jersey every day for 4 years straight. Doesn't he have any adult supervision? I don't think I've ever loved any player that much to do that. Not even the great Darryl Strawberry.

P.S. Did you know that Brett's middle name is Lorenzo and that Darryl's is Eugene. Who would have thunk it!

Softball Sportsmanship

If you haven't already heard about this story, a girl on the Western Oregon University softball team hit her first ever home run and when she realized she missed first base and turned around to go back, she destroyed her knee and crawled back to 1st base. Unfortunately, there was no way she was going to be able to crawl around all the bases. Her teammates weren't allowed to touch her or she would be out. According to the umpire, a pinch runner would make the home run only a single, even though later it was determined that she could have had a pinch runner and it still would have been a home run. Instead, two girls on the opposing team carried her around the bases so the girl could have the home run. You definitely will never see that in Major League Baseball - that's for sure!

TJ and his Jumparoo

People want to see more videos so here is one of TJ and his Jumparoo! Enjoy.

TJ turns 5 months old

It's incredible at how quickly TJ has grown. It seems like just yesterday he was 1 day old and then 1 week old and 1 month old. And now he is 5 months old and Sue and Jess and I are enjoying every minute with him. He provides hours of entertainment. I just wish some of those times weren't at 3am.