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My birthday weekend was great.  It started with dinner Saturday night with my Dad, Pat, Nancy and Jeremy at Coastal Flats.  I love this place.  It is a part of Great American chain of restaurants and the location at the Fairfax Government Center is perfect.  After dinner you can get some desserts, grab a cup of coffee or see a movie at the theatre.  There is just so much to do there, plus they have an REI!

On Sunday Nancy and I had tickets Skins vs. Broncos game up at FedEx Field.  I was looking forward to getting up there early and doing some tailgating.  I managed to score a green parking pass at a good price on eBay and spent all Saturday afternoon preparing food for the festivities.  Nancy and I got a late start to the field, but made it to the stadium in about an hour.  The green lot we parked in was pretty empty when wee arrived so we took a spot close to the exit.  The weather Sunday afternoon was going to be perfect as well.  The sun was shinning, the skies where blue and the temp didn’t get much above 70.  For a mid-November afternoon you couldn’t beat it.

scoring drive

Minutes after arriving I fired up the grill to get cooking.  We spread out some chairs and cracked open our first beer.  I packed the cooler with four 6-packs and I was not looking forward to lugging that crap back home with me.  We spend the next several hours enjoying the weather and eating a ton of food.  Fortunately we parked near a porto john so trips to the bathroom were painless.  I know it sounds weird, but I love talking to people in line waiting for the bathroom.  Usually at events like this people are drunk and very friendly.  On one of my excursions to the restroom I meet these two ladies from Maryland.  One just moved to the area and the other was a lifer like myself.  Add alcohol and people just start spilling their guts to complete strangers.

We started to loose track of time as the afternoon went on.  We got so engrossed with food, drinking beer and talking we almost forgot about the game.  My sister Tracy and her husband Bobby were at the game and we were suppose to meet them for a little tailgating in the Platinum lot before the game, but that didn’t happen.  He called back saying he and Tracy were going in but he had club level seats if we wanted them, hell yeah hook it up.  We had lower level already, but I would much rather be on the club level.  After Nancy and I quickly cleaned up we headed off to the box office to get our tickets.

packed lounge

After fighting long lines getting into the stadium, by the time we reached our seats it was just in time to watch the Broncos score their first touchdown.  I hadn’t even sat down yet and things were not looking good, a mere 3 minutes into the game and we already were behind.  As the first quarter went on things didn’t look so good, Denver score another touchdown and all we managed to come back with was a single touchdown.  But it was a touchdown and not a field goal at least.  By the end of the first half we closed the gap to only three points.  Things were actually looking good, however we were coming close to our average per game score of 17 and that wouldn’t be enough to win this one.

During halftime we took the time to walk around, hit the head, and for me grab another beer.  We also stopped by the cigar lounge to see who was working, but talked with some random drunk people that were pretty cool.  After the short break it was back to the seats for another half of smash mouth football.

The second half was definitely better than the first.  We managed to score another 13 points in the fourth quarter while the Bronco couldn’t put any more points on the board.  Final score was 27 to 17.  With about 2:30 minutes left in the game Denver tried to make another drive but failed near the goal and suddenly it was our position.  With that Nancy and I headed back to the truck for a little more tailgating.  I had plenty of food and even though we were near an exit, we were in no hurry to head home.  The lot around us emptied rather quickly, but I fired up the grill once again and put on some burgers that were oh so delicious.  Top that off with a victory beer and I was feeling good.

good times

After the game Bobby and Tracy came over to hanged out for a while which was really cool.  We couldn’t believe we won the game, and by such a large margin at that.  As the sun set was snapped a last photo, said goodbye and headed our separate ways.  It took Nancy and I several hours to get home because of traffic across the bridge, but that didn’t matter.  We had good tunes on the radio and the Skins won so we were in high spirits.

I have a set of tickets for the Skins game against the Giants on Monday just before Christmas.  I am sorta looking forward to it.  I think it will be  hard game that we will probably loose, but it should still be a lot of fun.  I can’t wait to tailgate again and freeze my ass off during a crisp winter night.  Lets hope the Skins can give me an early Christmas presents and deliver a victory against one of our division rivals on December 21st.

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I have this Butterfly Bush in my back yard and all summer it grew.  It has probably been growing un-checked for years.  So when I finally moved in this monstrosity of a bush was every where.  I did a quick hack job to keep it from spilling over onto the deck but I knew later I would have to cut more.  By the end of summer I was sick and tired of it and I got my hatched and cut it WAY back.  It was a good 15′ tall at this point.  Eventually I cut it back to a manageable 3′ bush, but have no fear!  Come spring it will grow and grow quickly.  It should be back to almost 10′ by the end of summer, just in time for me to whack it again.

So before I gave it a good trim, I took some photos the morning I took it down.  True to it’s name, butterflies love this bush and were always hanging around.  When I took these pictures there were no less than three types hanging around.  The light was just perfect that morning for shooting and the butterflies were very accommodating to my shooting.  I think I got some great shots, check out my gallery for more.

Since I will be gone over Thanksgiving I have been trying to see my family to celebrate early.  Early in November Nancy and I went down to my mom’s house for a Sunday afternoon turkey feast.  She cooked a turkey breast in the crock pot with all the fixings and it was fantastic!  I was tasked with a cranberry dish and desert which I hit out of the park.  When I showed up with my apple cranberry bake and ultimate pumpkin pie my mother was astonished.  When I cook I go all out.  I didn’t get some frozen pie you stick in the oven, this was completely from scratch all the way down to the crust.  And the cranberry bake was a huge success.  My mother ate that first and immediately got up for seconds.  We spent about 5 hours over there catching up.  I don’t get to see my mom and Norman to often so when I do, I like to talk.  Nancy even mentioned I was Chatty Cathy over there.

first, the serious shot

now comes the crazyness

sucker punch

ouch!

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Hercules

path along the Reflecting Pool

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For most federal holiday they happen on Monday or Friday and often the government shifts around the day off to fit this ideal model.  So having Veterans Day in the middle of the week just felt odd and out of place.  On top of that Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast and decided to sit on top of Virginia ALL day.  I was planning on getting outside to do a little hiking but that got washed out, literally.  So when my dad called saying he was going to DC to visit the Vietnam Memorial, possible Arlington National Cemetery, and the Smithsonian’s American History Museum I decided that was a better day spent than inside my house.

We got some what of an early start, I went to his house around 10am so we could take Metro into the city.  I was not overly concerned with high traffic today, middle of the week and rain would keep most people away.  Plus the more people I talked to it was about a 50/50 split on who had off.  Needless to say there was plenty of parking in the garage and seats on the train.

When we got to the Smithsonian stop and took the long escalator ride up we got our first taste of just how miserable the weather was going to be.  I was hoping that the further north we traveled things would improve, but of course that was wishful thinking.  The wind would howl blowing cold moisture soaked air, layers of warm cloths were the only defense against this onslaught of mother nature.  A good rain jacket or umbrella was a must too.  My dad’s umbrella decided to break down and provide only minimal defense against the rain, but for today it would do the job well enough.  The rain falling was never heavy, just a steady, even, rainfall.  Enough to make it not fun to be outside.

Vietnam Memorial

The walk from the Metro stop to the Vietnam Memorial is about a mile and half, not that far, but no fun in the rain.  We made the most of it and I was able to get a couple nice shots considering the day.  We passed the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial before we reach our destination.  Around the memorial were a ton of veterans mingling and reminiscing about days of old.  The cold and rain were not enough to keep these guys from honoring the memories of their fallen brothers.  It was inspiring really, I imagine many of them dealt with much worse in the jungle to let a little rain bother them today.  We tried to get close and walk along the wall but police had it blocked off to the public.  An officer said they were preparing for a ceremony at 1pm and we should come back around 3pm if we wanted to get closer.

We spent a good amount of time standing around looking at the wall talking about Vietnam and the current war.  The conversation around the memorial was definitely different than the one on the train ride up or the walk over.  My dad was in country for 17 months as a MP at a southern airfield.  He has never talked about it and I never bring it up.  But I know it affected him.  We talked a little about what the American public was like back then and again now.  To me it is eerily similar now as it was back then.  The public is loosing patience with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, just like in the late sixties with Vietnam.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years.  Will history repeat itself?

lobby of the museum

With our sole searching done we trudged along towards the American History Museum.  They recently remolded the museum and opened it back up to the public, plus we wanted to get out of the rain.  Walking along Constitution Avenue we quickly noticed that the roads were blocked off, not even pedestrians were allowed to cross the road.  We knew it was for someone important, and we assumed the President.  A few minutes later we see police motorcycles drive by followed by three heavily armored limousine and 10 or so black SUV’s.  The motorcade even had an ambulance thrown in for good measure.  One of the SUV’s looked like it could have communicated with Spirit and Opportunity on Mars.  That’s just the way he rolls.

Getting to the museum we made a quick stop at the cafe on the first floor for some lunch and much needed hot coffee.  It felt good to be inside and out of the rain.  Next we got a map of the museum and started exploring.  The guide we talked to recommended the Star-Spangled Banner, Julia Child’s Kitchen, and American Presidency.  But before we saw any of these we started with America on the Move since it is on the first floor.  My dad loves trains so it was an obvious first choice.  It is pretty amazing to see how far we have come in this country.  But when you considering how massive it is, it’s no wonder we love to travel.

Next it was up to the third floor and work our way down.  The big attraction here is the Price of Freedom display which shows every war America has been in.  From our countries the little known wars in our early history all the way up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan we are bravely fighting.  We took our time especially walking through the Vietnam section.  I am pretty sure it brought bake memories for my dad.  He pointed out on a giant map the place he was stationed in country which was pretty neat.

a funny statue of Washington

On the second floor is the Star-Spangled Banner, this is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what eventually became the national anthem of our country.  When I was a kid the flag use to be displayed so when you walked in from the Mall entrance it was the first thing you saw.  As time went on they covered it and would only display it for a brief time during the day.  Now, it is entirely encased in a environmentally controlled chamber away from people and light.  Throughout the flags history people have not taken the best care of it.  Large sections were cut out and sold and at one time it was displayed outside on the museum wall.

We had time to check a few other section of the museum in our limited time.  Of course we couldn’t see everything in the few hours we had, but we saw everything we wanted to.  It was great spending the day with my dad in the city.  It reminded me of my youth when he would take my brother and I up regularly to check out the museums.  Even in my thirties going to the museums with my dad is a lot of fun.

The New Mastersounds marquee

I was very excited when I found out the New Mastersounds were coming back to town.  I saw them in early January up at the 8×10 and it was a great show.  A small club nicely packed with people that danced the night away to rhythmic beats.  So when I saw they where playing a slew of shows in the area I jumped at the chance to see them at the State Theatre.  They were playing the 8×10 the following night, but I decided to hedge my beats and catch the show closer to home on a Thursday.

Just like the first show at the 8×10, tickets were only $12 (playbill), a steel for any show, and with that ticket price it didn’t take much arm twisting to get Jeremy interested.  After the show in Baltimore I got a few albums and let him listen, he was hooked.  Then when I found the set posted on the Archive I gave him a copy to enjoy and for me to reminisce.

After a long week I was looking forward to the Thursday night show to let loose and have a little fun.  We arrived at what turned out to be real early.  The website and ticket both said music started at 8:30, but when we walked in the venue it was completely empty.  Obviously others new something we didn’t at the time.  The opening act, Higher Hands, was not even close to taking the stage when we arrived.  So it was already late before the show even began.  I felt bad that we arrived so early and had to sit and wait but there was nothing I could do about it.  There was no one else to talk to and my limited reserve of cash quickly plowed through the $6 Guinness I was drinking.  We did however spent a lot of time joking on the DJ spinning before the show started.  I thought the first guy was pretty good at time, there was a good 20 minutes during his set that was banging.  At times his buddy would jump in and twist a knob, literally that was all he would do.  We joked “Thanks for saving the day, you really had my back with that knob twist.”

The New Mastersounds

When Higher Hands finally took the stage at 9:40, the venue started to fill in, at least now people were on the dance floor and not just milling around the bar.  I have seen them several times before and they are……well, alright.  They need to refine their sound a little more, work on some new songs, and ditch the singer.  If they can do that they would be much better.  But to their credit they got the audience energized for a night full of funk.  After a short intermission and some more music by the DJ’s, this time by DJ JMack’s partner.  Finally the house lights went dead and the band walked on the stage.

There was not to a whole lot of fan fair.  Of course the audience cheered, I for one was all to happy to get the beats rolling and bring me back to life.  There was just no pomp and circumstance.  Each member casually walked over to their instrument, greeted the crowd and it was on after that.  For the first few songs I was sitting at our table on the side, tapping my foot.  By the third song I couldn’t take it any longer and I needed to get up and dance.  Their shows are filled with such energy it just makes you want to get on your feet.  For about the next hour and a half I danced my ass off into the wee hours of the morning.

The band didn’t take the stage till about 10:40 so

I was expecting a late show, just didn’t think it would go as late as it did.  As the night went on they played several of their hits and a few from their new album Ten Years On that is not yet available in the states.  By the end of the night I was ampped and ready for more.  The show didn’t end till 12:40 but I didn’t care, even if it was a school night and I had to be up early the next morning for work.  I could have danced for another hour easy.

This is the second time I have seen New Mastersounds and I will continue to see them because of their high energy levels.  They have this driving beat that makes you want to get up and dance to some funky stuff.  I am hoping they will return early next year for another US tour.

The New Mastersounds
State Theatre – Falls Church, VA
November 5th 2009

show start 10:40pm
show ends at 12:40am