Cherry Blossoms & Baseball in Washington, DC

April 7, 2011

|In Big Cities, Landmarks & Ruins, Photo Essays, Places I've Lived, Washington, DC

Considering that the United States government is considering going “on strike,” it was only appropriate that my recent trip to Washington, DC, was filled with ominous storm clouds and rain pretty much the whole time I was there visiting my friends.

The clouds lifted, however, for one brief two hour period when my good college buddy Brent and I descended on the National Mall for a two hour power-walk from the United States Capitol Building to the Washington Monument and back.

The United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC — The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of Columbia, the Capitol is the origin by which the quadrants of the District are divided.

The Washington Monument - Cherry Blossoms - Sunburst - Washington, DC — The National Mall and Washington Monument are especially beautiful during Cherry Blossom season.

Major League Baseball Opening Day at Nationals Park

The clouds were also in full-force on March 31, 2011, when I attended the opening day game of baseball’s Washington Nationals.

Despite being a sold out game, I would say that Nationals Park was at most half full and the crowd quickly lost interest when the Atlanta Braves took a first inning lead. The Nationals would never recover.

Washington Nationals Park Home Opener 2011 MLB Baseball — The 2011 Washington Nationals opening day game was played through a steady mist with a full storm lurking on the horizon. The Nats lost the game, which was played on March 31, 2011, to the Braves by the final score of 2-0.

I’ve Wanted to Take This Photo for 16 Years

Well, maybe not from this exact spot, but for whatever reason, the 1994 movie TimeCop put the idea in my head to photograph a city street leading up to the Capitol dome. But despite living in Washington, DC for seven years, I never managed to do it.

So, when I saw the brightly-lit and stormy skies above the Capitol while driving on highway 295 en-route to Virginia, I got off at the next exit. Having packed only my camera, I had to improvise once I found my spot. A beat-up traffic cone doubled as a tripod and the 10-second timer solved the problem of the cone wobbling when I pressed the shutter. Now I finally have my photo.

Tweeting the Washington Nationals Opening Day Game

As all of my college friends from American University were working during the 1:10pm game, I bought myself a ticket and went alone. To entertain myself while not taking photographs, I tweeted random musings from the game.

Half the people throwing out the first pitch could not make it to home plate.
Cherry Blossoms and other brightly colored flowers line a quiet street on South Capitol Street in Washington, DC.

I love running into New York Mets fans at other stadiums.
Why is Chipper “Larry” Jones still playing baseball. Isn’t he 90?
Nothing like taking east coast baseball to kill time on a 2 inning sausage line.
Top of the sixth and I just finally made it to my seats.
View from my seats…amazing! Oh, what $55 gets you on Stubhub for a bad team.
Gotta love opening day! Even if it is cold and rainy.
3G? 4G? More like 0g with all these smart phones at the stadium.
Misting is better than raining. Let’s hope it stays this way. Good seats = no cover.
I’ve never seen a more empty sold out game.
It’s great to get a free scorecard when I enter Nationals stadium, but where is my free mini pencil to write with?
Okay, now it’s raining and cold, I’m at the game alone, its the bottom of the 8th, the Washington Nationals suck and are losing. Time to leave? Perhaps.
Left in the top of the ninth. That’s enough of that. Time to get to my car and blast the heat.