DC Adventure Part 2

Our adventure on Day 2 in DC didn't begin until about 4:30pm. We had spent most of the day sleeping/recuperating from the previous night's shenanigan's, but then our new friend Bern texted Chrissy saying that he was going rock climbing and was wondering if we were interested in accompanying him. We eagerly agreed and determined all of the logistics and before long, we were on our way to Sportrock Climbing Gym in Alexandria, VA. Once we arrived, Bern greeted us and helped us rent our gear and then got climbing. We began on the ropes on the shorter wall and Chrissy and I easily maneuvered our way to the top. Next was the gigantic wall that Chrissy successfully climbed, while I stopped a little past halfway and decided I was tired and didn't much enjoy being up that high. After monkeying around on another short wall briefly, we moved on to bouldering. Bouldering is a bit more technical and requires a lot of determination to overcome the frustrations of some of the routes. Bern was giving some great advice on how to traverse some of the technical spots. It was also fun just watching him leap around like a spider-monkey.
Once we grew too exhausted to climb anywhere, we parted ways and went back to the apartment to order food. We decided to order sandwiches from the Lost Dog Cafe and eat in so we could get ready to go out dancing. We each had some Boga, which is Tunisia's version of Sprite, and some Jim Beam before going out to Rumors near Dupont in DC. We met some interesting people there who had just gotten back from Afghanistan. We all had a few drinks and danced up a storm most of the evening before catching a cab and crashing for the night. All in all, another great adventure to be had and I'm super excited to have many more in the future. Too bad it's back to reality tomorrow.
Sidenote, the Women's World Cup started today in Germany. France beat Nigeria 1-0 and Germany ousted Canada 2-1. The goal scored by Canada was the first World Cup goal Germany conceded since the 2003 World Cup.

Another Adventure in our Nation's Capital

Since our previous trip to Washnigton D.C. was centered around tourist sites, Chrissy and I thought it would be fun to get a taste of D.C. nightlife this time around. We left yesterday morning from East Stroudsburg around 8:45am after a stop at Hot Bagels and Starbucks so that we had food and caffeine for the ride down. The drive went smoothly minus one idiot driver almost running us off the road on I-80 since her failed to check his mirrors before merging. Other than that, completely smooth drive.

We got to Chrissy's sister's apartment around 1:30pm in Arlington, VA. Since we had no real plans for the afternoon, I pretended to study for my comprehensive exam while laying out in the sun. We then went and visited a friend of Chrissy's that she grew up with. It was interesting having his girlfriend answer the door especially because she happened to be on the phone and thought we were the people who were handing out Bibles in the area. After sitting around for a little while and discovering that we all love nachos and Nutella (not together...that would be disgusting) and that all there was to eat in the apartment was meat and Nutella, we decided to venture to Rock Bottom for dinner. The food was delicious! I had a Hickory Bacon Chicken Sandwich with fries and a red ale. I really hit it off with the people we were visiting. I finally found a girl as excited about soccer as I am and someone who loves traveling to Germany. She also apparently visited the same salt mine I did in Salzburg....small world.

Following dinner, we all went back to the apartment to get ready to go out. We took a cab to U Street and went to Tabaq to start off our night. It was a really relaxed atmosphere on the rooftop balcony and went met some pretty cool people that were willing to help get a group picture of us on the condition that some of them got to jump in the picture as well. Following Tabaq, we walked with our new found friends to a hookah establishment before wandering off to another bar that I can't remember the name of. We met some fun people there as well, including some folks from Staten Island who enjoy rock climbing. We finished off the night at Jumbo Slice, but I chose to sit in the alley outside in order to avoid having to look at the colorful revolving lights. Overall, it was a fun night and a great experience. Depending on everybody's mood, we might enjoy some more exploits tonight with any luck.

Relaxing Night of Jazz

My friend Matt is a jazz vibrophonist. He informed me that he would be in the Delaware Water Gap having a meal with a professor from ESU before playing in a jam session, so I decided to stop by. The jam session was at a place called the Deer Head Inn, which is apparently the jazz haven of eastern Pennsylvania. Upon my arrival, I made my way around the bar to say hi to Matt's parents and take a seat at a table right in front of the small stage. Matt was playing with Bill Goodwin and a bunch of other guys. I was excited because I knew the song, which happened to be "Night and Day" by Cole Porter. Once Matt completed the set, Bob Dorough came up to play "Happy Birthday" on the piano because it was the piano player's 40th birthday. For those of you who don't know, Bob Dorough happens to be the man who wrote the music for School House Rock. Professor Dorian then came over to say hi and I was surprised that he happened to remember me from when I had him for a class my sophomore year of college. In his words, I had a 106 average and probably took 125 credits with hardly a B (yes I had some don't worry). I was greatly amused by all of this. Professor Dorian took Matt around to meet a few of the jazz greats who happened to be in the room, including Bob Dorough, Phil Woods, and Dave Liebman. I actually got to hear Dave Liebman play, which was pretty cool. Professor Dorian was then kind enough to offer to buy me a drink, so I ordered a Coca Cola. Overall, it was a great evening full of great jazz and some really cool, laid back people. I would definitely like my future Thursday nights to be this entertaining and relaxing.

USA vs. Mexico Women's Soccer Game

Back on Sunday, June 5th, Chrissy and I ventured to Harrison, NJ, to witness our first ever professional soccer game.  Chrissy isn't exactly a soccer fan, but she can get excited over just about anything, making her a fantastic traveling companion.
I was super excited to finally get to see the US women's team play, especially in their final game before the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany. A banner was setup for fans to sign as a good luck present to the team. Also, before the game, legendary goalkeeper, Brianna Scurry, was signing autographs. Not only did we get autographs, but we also had our picture taken with her.

Following the autograph session, we found our way to our seats in Red Bull Arena. And let me tell you, they were some pretty fantastic seats. We were 7 rows back off of the field just to the left of midfield. As Chrissy described it, we could have gotten hit by a ball if it was kicked our way. It was cool getting to watch the teams warm-up and then witness the national anthems. Following the anthems, Kristine Lilly, the Queen of Caps (international appearances) was honored because she retired in January after a 23 year career.

Mexico kicked off to start the game, which began pretty slow. Passing wasn't great on either side, and very few shots were actually taken. I was just enjoying the atmosphere and taking lots of pictures. The score was 0-0 at the half. Team USA came to life in the second half, finally. Abby Wambach had some good attempts on goal, though nothing hit net. Numerous shots were taken, but the Mexican goal keeper, who was all of 16 years old, made some outstanding saves. It wasn't until the 91st minute that Cheyney scored a goal for the United States. It came just in time, considering there were only 4 minutes of stoppage time.
Following the game, the US team was presented with the signed banner and Rampone and Wambach were interviewed. The team's coach was also interviewed and also happened to sing a few lines of "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen (how fitting considering he is a Jersey native). All in all, it was a great experience and I can't wait until I'm in Germany for the Women's World Cup final in July.