Our Home

Now that we've completed most of the work we've been doing on our house, I thought I'd post some photos of the results for family who haven't been able to make it to DC for a while. Our projects have definitely been learning experiences but we've been very happy with how things have turned out. -R

Good 'before' pic for the next shot:

Happy Veteran's Day

This is a simple post for the purpose of thanking four men I know and love who have spent time in their life away from their wives, children, parents, siblings, and friends in order to serve this country I am so glad to call home. They serve(d) to reserve for myself, and those they left behind, all of the rights we enjoy and even some that we don't.

So here is to you, Grandpa Praetzel, Grandpa Bennett, P.A. , and most currently my awesome brother Jeff Richer. I dedicate my heart to remember at least once a year what great men you are, and what a wonderful country I live in because of your sacrifice.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Queens, NY

This is one of the rails inside of Shae Stadium. It was a really cool experience being there the second to last game. Directly beyond outfield you can see the new stadium being built.











Emily tookt his picture of the seat directionals - I thought it was cool.












Robert and I - infront of the feild - thrilling I know.







You can see there is the new stadium.

















We took this trip with two of our friends. It was such a wonderful time. Rich grew up in NJ. This lead to his family being serious Mets fans. It was very special for us to share this memory with Rich and Emily. Emily's parents live in Mass. and drove all the way down to NY in order to watch Rich and Emily's 15 month old son for 4 hours while we watched the game. So Amazing! They are so sweet.

So, I dedicate this wonderful trip to Missy and Jeff O'Dell the Weekend Warriors!

Thank you for your kindness to us and radical love of your grandson.

STOP 6: Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland Indians. Not as packed out as other stadiums, but in all very nice.


Robert and I posed for a photo that a very nice usher offered to take for us. It was great. He was this incredibly freindly man who you could tell loved his job and worked hard at it earning every ounce of respect the season ticket holders gave him. That is one thing I have learned on this trip. I LOVE MIDDLE AMERICA. The people who make up these city's are some of the most hard working genuine people you could ever hope to meet. They love what they do and they do it well.
The architect of this stadium was a brilliant man. The glass windows you see here are actually part of the club restaurant that is open to all people, but a discount is given to season ticket holders. When you enter the field at left field these are the first thing you see. It is actually very impressive in person.
They had the most impressive score board of all the stadiums we went to (not including Wrigley's, which is in a whole other league). It was very important to both Dave and I to be able to see plenty of statistics, and the Indians' has statistics to spare. Also, you will see that below the score board there are bleacher seats. I believe these are in imitation of the bleachers in Chicago's Wrigley Field. It was heart breaking though to see how empty they were.


This is the view from our seats. I would like to take this moment to praise the awesome ticket buying work done by my amazing husband. At Each and EVERY game we went to we had awesome seats. Not only were they in a great location in the park, at every game we were at the end of a row. You may wonder, what does that matter? It matters a ton, especially if you are hoping to get up during the middle of the game to go get something to eat or drink. Which, we did plenty of.

To Come: A ranking of our over-all experience at each stadium broken down by 8 categories, each weighted by how much they play into the overall scoring. AND, Video taken at each park during the singing of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game"

Next Stop: HOME!

STOP 5: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Miller Park is the Brewers' new(ish) home located just beyond downtown Milwaukee off the freeway. It's surrounded by lovely freeway, and that's about it. Oh, and parking lots too.

The parking lots are more than just concrete slabs for Brewers fans, however - they're party zones! Tailgating is allowed and even encouraged, alcohol and all, and we felt like the odd men out because we parked and immediately walked to the stadium instead of setting up lawn chairs portable awnings and grilling up some burgers.



The park has one of those new-fangled retractable roofs - this one opens and closes like a fan - it was open on Monday. The ballpark feels larger than some and is rather industrial in appearance. It seems to fit the city though.















The view from our seats. The Brewers were playing our Washington Nationals andbeat our team 6-1.











Even though we were cheering for the Nats, the Brewers fans gave us a friendly hard time and even took a pic of us by the field.










Next Stop: Cleveland, OH

STOP 4: Chicago, Illinois

This is the famous Wrigley Field Entrance.



As we approached the stadium there was this huge throng of people lined up. And when I say huge, I mean about 60 people wide and 500 people deep. This we soon realized was the bleacher ticket holders. Wow. Those seats are first come first served.







Robert and I at the edge of the over hang.















When we walked up the ramp into the stadium area, we were littlerally breathless. The field is such an amazing place. I will try to describe to you what seems so difficult to portray with simple words. The feel of this stadium is what I have always imagined the stadiums that the original Baseball legends played in. When I used to watch "In A League of Their Own" I always got this nostalgic feeling, and this was that same feeling. Wrigley, being the second oldest stadium in both the National and American leagues, I knew I was feeling that way for a reason. The greatest baseball players of all time had played in this park at one time or another.






This was the view from our seats. Really cool.
























Robert caught this photo, we both think it is a great shot, so we added it.










The Cubs won their game. The Cubs fans were on their feet more in this game than I have seen people on their feet at a concert. I have never experienced such a dynamic crowed. At the end of the they sang this great song. EVERYONE stayed and sang.








Wrigley field is an experience all its own. You can not manufacture in your mind what it is like to actually watch a game in this stadium. Even if you are not a lover of baseball, I highly reccommend that you make it to a game in Wrigley field before it is too late for you, or the field itself.



Next Stop: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

STOP 3: Detroit, Michigan

We arrived at Comerica Park. As we approached the gate this is what we saw. Pretty amazing.
















In the outfield there were these fountains that would go off every once in a while. I couldn't really figure out the rhyme or reason to it. However, it was still pretty cool.
















As we entered the stadium we it began to downpour. It rained, drizzled and everything in between up and until game time. They did delay the game about an hour, but once it started the sky cleared and gave us a beautiful sunset.





















Not only did be get a beautiful sunset, but a rainbow strategically placed above the outfield scoreboard. Look carefully, it is there.














Here are the four of us. Yeah Us! You may ask why we are wearing the team hats for a team we don't follow. Well, we collect hats from all of the stadiums we've been to - 1. to keep track for our selves, and 2. as a memento.


AND - Here is a little piece of joy for our niece Hannah....


P.S cock your head toward your left shoulder for best viewing.




Best fireworks I have ever seen.

Next Stop: Chicago, IL

STOP 2: Toronto, Ontario

Woke Up in Niagara Falls, Ontario:
















Dave and Diane had the opportunity to see their grandchildren this morning in Niagara Falls. It was so much fun to finally meet Amanda (their mother) and the kids. All four of them are so sweet. What a treat it was to meet them.

Toronto, ON:
















Robert did a lot of research before we went on this trip about each of the teams and the stadiums. Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays play is both a ball park and a football stadium. He found in his research that Rogers Stadium has the highest seats in both the National and America Leagues. So, naturally, we had to go up to those seats and try them out. Just so we can say we had. (Man, there were a lot of stairs)

















However, this is where we actually got to sit to watch the game. Robert got us some spectacular seats. Behind us is the official Toronto Blue Jays' Tractor.






















Twenty Years ago the Blue Jays were the first baseball team to build their ball park with a retractable roof. When we went into the stadium the roof was closed due to a threat of rain. I was delighted when they started to open the roof just before game time.
















As they started to open the roof we discovered that we had not only awesome seats for the game, but the best view in the house. This is the CN Tower from our seats. At night it lights up from top to bottom with the colors consistently changing (eerily similar to Niagara Falls at night time).


Next Stop: Detroit, MI

STOP 1: Niagara Falls, Ontario

This is my first time at the Falls andI have to say I'm more impressed than I thought I'd be - they're incredible.

Little did we know until we opened the door to our hotel room how fantastic our view would be:



Mom Hagerty, sister Erin, and nephew Ben joined us for Niagara, as did niece Hannah:


Double Rainbow:


Next stop - Toronto.

An Engaging Weekend

I shot engagement photos for my coworker this weekend and am pretty proud of the results. Thought I'd share. Be sure to click on the photos to make them full screen.

-Robert

This one is best full-screen: