Memorial Day in DC

We went to Washington DC for Memorial Day weekend.
The weather was just about perfect, sunny and mid 80s each day. We were a bit scared, imagining the horribly hot and humid weather DC is known for.
We saw lots of monuments and museums. Went to a Nationals and an Orioles game (we drove to Baltimore for the day). Baltimore has a pretty good Aquarium, close to the Camden Yards, fyi.

We learned a couple things:

• There are lots of lines in DC. You gotta get used to lining up & standing for a bit.
  
• The Metro works pretty well there, we went all over on it. It appears to be the same infrastructure (train cars, gates, etc) as San Francisco's BART.
  
• Memorial Day weekend is when the annual biker rally takes place in DC. There are thousands of bikers and Harleys everywhere around the mall. It is not quiet since "loud pipes save lives".

Here I am in front of the Washington Monument.


And here we are at the brand new "Nationals Stadium" to see the Brewers vs the Nationals. They are called the "Nats" for short, which really just sounds wrong.

the decision is final

we bit the bullet and got a new couch last weekend. It was delivered this week. We finally decided on a dark brown one - thanks everyone for the input.

We went with Plummers as the store. They have pretty good stuff, generally in a style that we like, and their prices are pretty good. We did see some nice pieces of furniture from other places for the same price as a nice used car, some day maybe.

It's pretty nice having the room to stretch out, we were kinda cramped on the loveseat before.


the old couch is on craigslist as we speak, act fast if you need one.

a workout toy & weekly ride around Griffith Park

I got a new toy recently, REI was having one of their annual sales and i got a Garmin Forerunner 305. This is a GPS enabled workout computer, used for runners and cyclists. It tracks your route, speed, gps coordinates, heart rate and all sorts of other stuff. Its got all kinds of features and toys. The part i find most interesting i the mapping feature, so you can see where you have been.

Basically since we have lived in LA, I have gone on a weekly ride around Griffith Park with the 'East Side Posse". These are riders loosely affiliated with with the AIDS LifeCycle ride and use this as a weekly training ride for the annual 7 day, 545 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I come along for entertainment, one day I will do the big ride, for now I donate to a few of them, it's a great cause, contribute to someone, it will make you feel good. They start the ride on June 1st.

This new workout thing tracks all sorts of stuff, and when you are done you sync with the computer & you can upload & share your rides. Here is the route I take from home through the park, 23 miles round trip with 1800 feet elevation gain.

View Larger Map

Some stats about the trip. The overall time is a little distorted, we stop to make sure we don't lose anyone, and i ride over to meet up with everyone,and we drink coffee afterward... its a social ride, not a race.

Total Time (h:m:s)	3:01:24	8:11 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	1:37:29	4:23 pace
Distance (mi )	22.16
Moving Speed (mph)	13.6 avg.	39.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+1,932 / -1,897
Avg. Heart Rate	143 bpm	Zone 3.8
Temperature (°F)	57.2°F avg.	57.2°F high