September 6, 2010

Phillies and Flugtags and Lions, Oh My!

Labor Day Weekend is a great and terrible time. It's a little reminder that summer is ending and fall is coming fast. That extra day off work can be wonderful. Since Pete and Jordyn are living in Philly, I figured this was a good weekend to visit them. And it turns out I was their first houseguest. Score!

Phillies vs Brewers game
Marriott let us out of work a little early (apparently this is fairly standard before holiday weekends) and I headed north, beating most of the traffic and making it to Philly about 6 pm. We had dinner at their place --which is actually quite spacious and well-decorated-- and then took the train to Citizens Bank Park.The game was a defensive battle, with Cole Hamels pitching well and ending in a 1-0 win for the Phillies, much to the hometown crowd's delight. Several of Pete's law school friends were sitting near us, so that made it more fun, too.

Redbull Flugtag
On Saturday, Pete delayed his studying until the afternoon, so we could go down to the waterfront to watch the awesome spectacle that is Redbull Flugtag. If you've never heard of it, read up on it and impress your friends by talking about it and seeming hip and "in the know". We saw several good flights, but nothing that even came close to challenging the record distance of 207 feet. But Pete and I now want to make our own to beat that, so stay tuned...
After Flugtag, we headed back to Pete and Jordyn's place, and Pete studied while I goofed around and worked on fixing their TV to show normal channels (only got the picture going; sound is a work in progress). We picked Jordyn up from work at 9 pm and had dinner at Nodding Head, which was quite tasty.
We had a relaxed Sunday breakfast and then I drove back down to DC. While Jackie and Ryan were taking and passing their motorcycle driving test (congratulations again, guys! now we're all legit!), I helped Rich (Jackie's cousin) do some moving. We had a good time, and it's funny how moving always takes much longer than you think it will, eh? Just an observation...

Jackie and I felt like seeing a movie, so we went to see "Takers". It had its moments and kept us entertained throughout, even if it wasn't the greatest snatch-and-grab movie I've seen. Was pretty clever writing to actually reference "The Italian Job" by called their robbery technique that. So these actual robbers got their idea from a movie? Nicely done.

DC Zoo with Jackie
On Labor Day, you've just gotta spend some time outside. Especially when the weather is gorgeous. No rain, not too hot, not too cold. So Jackie and I decided to go check out the National Zoo.
We've both been before, but never with each other, so it was nice to be out in the sunshine and see some animals. Plus, DC's zoo is free, which helps people as frugal/cheap as us.
Since we went in the afternoon, a lot of the animals were inside and not being very active. We did get to see most of our favorites, though. The lions and tigers were lounging around, but in a very visual spot. The pandas were laying in the most adorable sprawled-out, exhausted-sleeping positions. And the great apes were just monkeying around, as usual. I don't mean that facetiously. The orangutan really was sitting right in front of the window and making faces at everybody. So cool!

All in all, it was a fantastic Labor Day weekend and I had a great time both in Philly and in DC. Sure wish the next holiday weekend were sooner than Thanksgiving!

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