C+O and Family Weekend

Descendants of the June/Harry Grubschmidt clan and their families made their way to DC this weekend for a celebration of the twins (Carla and Bayla) b-day, my parents (John and Carla) anniversary, I believe my Uncle David's b-day, and general family togetherness. It was a long approach, starting in Paw Paw West Virginia on Tuesday and ending in Georgetown on Saturday - 150 miles on the C and O canal. Nikki, Christian, Mike and I participated in the last leg of the journey from Leesburg (at White's Ferry), heading up Friday night. Chris actually came in on Thursday, so we got a chance to hang out. We ate at perhaps the dive-y-est restaurant around that evening, enjoying both chicken-fried steak and chicken-fried chicken (yum!), had a few drinks watching Brazil/Portugal on Friday morning, and burned off most of those calories with some frisbee golf on Friday afternoon.

The bike ride was great!! The canal towpath parallels the Potomac river and is shady and beautiful throughout. We kept up a pretty good (10 mph) pace, though it was generally pretty leisurely and we took a lot of "butt breaks." Nikki got to use her new bike ("Trixy") and I pulled our trailer with Hina in the back. I only crashed the trailer once! Hina was ok and made up for it by jumping in the Potomac and covering herself with mud. We booked it home and caught the second half of the USA/Ghana game in Georgetown (so sad). After prettying ourselves up, we had a wonderful dinner at the Source in DC - food and drinks were great (though I'm not sure up to all the hype) and we had a private patio table in the balmy DC evening. We continued the good food/drinks theme on to the next morning, when we ate brunch at Chadwicks in Alexandria. There was just enough time to visit the torpedo factory for some last minute crafts-shopping before everyone dispersed (back to Pittsburgh, Philly, NYC, and San Diego). Nikki and I squeezed in a bit more fun that day - watching the exciting Argentina/Mexico game at Fados bar downtown, grabbing a bite at Zaytinya's (another restaurant that's been on our list), and a good ole brainless summer blockbuster (Knight and Day) to finish things out.

Next weekend we're driving to Savannah to meet up with Amy, Ant, and Gordita - so excited!!

DC Weekend

For the first time in a few weeks, we were actually in DC for the weekend. It was great to have some fun around town and cross a few things off our list. We started the weekend right with frisbee golf in Bluemont Park. The fireflies are starting to come out and it was just magical to see them sparkling under the trees; Hina was very confused as to what they were as she bounded around chasing squirrels. Darcy finished her big post 2-year med school text (we assume she aced it), so to celebrate, Nikki, Darcy, Mike, Brian and I went to the "H Street Country Club" - great mexican food and drinks + shuffleboard/skeeball + mini golf! Who could ask for more? The golf course is all DC-themed and super funny (see the dead presidents revival with my sister in the above pic). I was still recovering from a late Thursday night watching the Celtics lose with our friend JP, but had to rally for the occasion.

Saturday we rented a row boat on the Potomac and enjoyed the warm weather floating around on the river with Hina. We hiked up to a waterfall where Hina was instantly a hit with some canoers taking a break. Hina has a new life-jacket, and so is very confident in the water (well, kinda - I still have to toss her in from time to time). We picnicked next to the river and tossed the frisbee for a bit before hitting up a movie (get him to the greek - hilarious).

We started Sunday with a french-style brunch outside in Arlington, metroed in to watch the Nats get hammered by the White Sox (turns out Carlos Quentin is on the team - go SD!), and BBQed that evening while making some fresh lemonade. Oooh and we had champagne with blood orange sorbet for dessert. I know it sounds super-bourgeois, but it was pretty great (and hey, it's NoVa anyway). The Nationals Stadium is fun, by the way. We had great seats and got the biggest chilli nachos I've ever seen.

Now the Fox/Grubschmidt clan is in town for a week-long bike ride. It's really great to see everybody and Nikki and I are going to ride in to DC with them on Saturday (with Hina "in tow," of course!). And then of course, there's the big twin b-day dinner on Saturday and my parents' 39 wedding anniversary - woot! Should be another fun weekend. 

NYC - Puppy Cousins

The much-anticipated meeting of the puppy cousins finally happened in New York this weekend. To everyone's relief, Hina and Lazlo are best buddies and nobody got beat up (much). We had a fantastic time hanging out with Stan, Val, and Chris and got to meet lots of their friends. Turns out Brooklyn is a pretty fun spot not too different from NoVa or the Bay Area - accessible-locally-sourced produce? check - highly exclusive hippie co-op? check. specialty beer store with myriad beverage options? check. dog-crazy residents? check. And best of all - rooftop BBQ space on a beautiful afternoon - CHECK! We got to check out a favorite local bar and brunch spot too, of course well-lubricated with hefeweizen and mimosas. We also got to see Chris' pad which is very hip (sorry Chris!). High ceilings, exposed industrial interior, 1950's appliances, and a kickin rooftop (does everyone but us have one of these?).

Nikki and I stayed in Manhattan at the New York Hilton, which we could never afford, except we did one of those time-share previews (gasp! repeat offenders!). Luckily, it was only an hour presentation and we contained ourselves enough to not sign on the dotted line (yet). We had a view of Central Park, which we explored briefly with Hina, and were close to the theater district where we saw avenue Q on Saturday (fun!). I was exhausted during the show - we got in late the night before because I took a (minor) wrong turn on the drive up and ended up in Atlantic City (I know, I know...it's a long story). The good news is we got in just in time to try out the Halal Carts outside the hotel - chicken and lamb in a tin for $5 - so awesome. The line had probably 50+ people at 2AM.

All in all, it was a great (however quick) trip up and we loved seeing everybody. Next weekend we haven't decided what to do yet, but probably will be in DC. After that we hope to see the Fox/Grubschmidt clan in DC for a celebration of the twins' b-day!!

Rocky Gap Triathlon and B-more

I completed my first triathlon this weekend - woo! Good news is that I finished despite being totally out of shape. Bad news is that I crashed my bike right at the end of the ride. I was super-confident going up this hill and was flying down the other side in the rain and didn't quite think ahead enough to slow down on a 90 degree right turn. I skidded on my hip across the intersection and was thankfully not too hurt, though my hip was jacked and spasming after that (and the bike ain't too pretty either). The race was near Cumberland, MD, which is absolutely beautiful - mountains, farms, horses, lakes, etc. Nikki was my coach/#1 fan/medic and made sure I didn't die. It was tons of fun and I'm hoping to do another one before we leave for Vietnam (might even get Nikki in one too!). I put my splits below if anyone is interested (plenty of room to improve).

Nikki has a big test on Wednesday, so had to catch up on work Sunday. While she hit to books, I recovered by going to the Orioles/Sox game in Baltimore with our friends, JP and Christy. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday, even though it rained a bit and the Sox lost. I'm always amazed how extensive Red Sox Nation is - there were definitely more Boston fans in the stadium than home team supporters. We finished up the trip with an awesome crab dinner near Fells Point and some Natty Bo's before jumping in the car to drive home.

One more weekend down and 12 to go. We're heading up to NYC next weekend to see my cousins Stan, Val, and Chris - yay!

Here's my race times for those interested:

Total Time - 2:25:06
Swim (1.5k) - 29:41 = 1:59/100m
Bike (35.5k) - 1:09:39 = 19 mph
Run (10k) - 43:03 = 6:57/mile
Swim/Bike Transition = 1:44
Bike/Run Transition = 1:01
Full results are here (scroll down to June 5):
http://www.wmtiming.com/2010race.html

Puerto Rico

We took advantage of memorial day and jumped over to Puerto Rico for the weekend with our friends Amy and Anthony. San Juan is a beautiful city with colonial architecture, great food, and lots of nightlife. Was fun to practice a little bit of Spanish. Despite some rainy weather, we had a ton of fun - diving the first day, an ecotour (kayak and zipline) the second day, and a quick tour of "El Morro," the fantastic fort built in 1539 that guards the harbor, on day three. Of course, we fit some time in for great meals and a fair amount of boozing - it's memorial day weekend, right? For example, did we go to bed after arriving in PR at 11:30 on Friday night? No! We met everyone at the Old Harbor Brewery for several towers of delicious beer until 3, and then rallied for a 6:00 AM dive pickup. Talk about squeezing the most out of a vacation. Amy/Anthony's friend Jose is from PR, and showed us a great time - thanks Jose!!

13 weekends left and counting. Next weekend I'm doing a triathlon here in DC and the following one we're in NYC to see my cousins. So much to do and so little time-