Day 12: Spy Games

I'm not going to lie, the day started off rough.  We had done so well the night before preparing ourselves for the big day in the city that lay ahead.  However, I could NOT for the life of me fall asleep.  For four hours, I lied awake.  I tried reading, I tried surfing, and I felt so tired.  I felt like I could sleep for an eternity.  But, I just couldn't drift off to the ol' shut-eye theatre.  Around 3 am, I tried to sleep in another room of the house.  There, I wafted in and out of sleep for three hours.  At this point, I was so anxious about how I was going to get through the day on so very little sleep that it was impeding my sleep even further.  I could not believe this was happening.  I mean, I sleep everywhere...and always.  Why, tonight?  Why could I not just rest?  Why couldn't my brain stop whirling?  I just wanted quiet, peaceful, restful sleep and I was in tears that I couldn't achieve that.

Before going to bed Friday evening, I had told Tom to wake me at 8:30 because we needed to get the 9:30 train.  Well, while I was still awake at 6 am I pretty much threw that plan out the window, unbeknownst to Tom.  Sure enough, he woke me at 8:30 like I had asked, and I told him I had only slept for about five hours, so I'd like to sleep for at least thirty more minutes.  He was more than happy to let me sleep longer, but we had to catch the 10 o'clock metro to Chinatown because our first task was scheduled for 11.  At 9 o'clock I dragged myself out of bed, and tried to shower and get ready the best I could.  I was so fearful that I would not make it through the day on such little sleep.  I can't remember the last time I did anything on that little sleep!  I was emotional that morning because I wanted this to be the very best day we had together!  I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I knew it.  Tom definitely knew it and reassured me several times that it was all going to be fine.  We were still going to have fun and it was going to be a great day.  After a shower, I felt a bit better and was more willing to believe in these crazy ideas of his.  We made the 10 am metro and exited the Chinatown metro station around 10:30.  Then, we walked up the block to The International Spy Museum.  Okay, now I got really excited!   Once the museum was in view, I was sure that we were going to have a fun day.  But, first we needed food.  We had completely skipped eating in the morning due to rushing out to catch the train.  I thought we should go pick up our tickets so we headed to the museum (after taking pictures of course).

Metro Ride to Chinatown - An extremely sleepy Judy but damn if my makeup doesn't look good!  

First sight of the SPY MUSEUM!  

A very happy Tom.  Happy birthday, babe!  

An extremely nice woman helped us as we walked in the door.  We obtained our tickets at the will call box and she informed us that our first mission would be starting at 10:55, instead of 11:05.  She went on to tell us that this mission would require us to jump, run, dodge, and duck.  We were eyeing each other like, "Uh oh. We have no fuel."  I looked at him and said, well....do you think we can make it?  He was instantly like, "Absolutely not...." and asks the lady, "Where's that Starbucks?"  She gave him a face that said you're not going to have enough time.  Next thing I knew he was out the door jogging across the street.  He had less than 15 minutes to get there, get us something to eat, and head back.  I was probably more nervous than he was.  I didn't want to end up having to go on the mission alone!  I meandered around in nervousness and texted him panicked messages which I'm sure were super helpful to him.  :o)  He got back right at 10:55 and we scared down our fruit and cheese plates.  I was very pleased with the selections he brought back for us but I'm certain neither of us really tasted the food because we literally ate in five minutes.  Then, we went to the waiting area for our mission.  There were a few other families that were on this particular mission with us.  I don't want to give too much away because I want people to go do the mission for themselves!  But, there was one family with two younger children who were probably eight or ten years old, another family was comprised of a mom and her son and they looked exactly the same right down to the haircut and the eyeglasses.  Then there were a few other couples.  Our group represented a diversity of ages.  At the beginning of the mission, they give you some information of the place that you're going and what you're going to be required to do.  They make it sound really intense.  Once inside the secret location they give you more information about the problem and they take you through a series of guided activities.  The kids were absolutely hilarious to watch during this!  Of course, Tom and I were participating but I was cracking up because I truly believe the kids thought we were on a real mission, solving a real case.  It was awesome!  The whole mission lasted about an hour and it flew by.  It was really, really fun.  The whole time I was wishing my nephews were there.  They would have gotten into it, I think.  After the mission, it was right about lunch time, so Tom and I went next door to the Shake Shack.  Neither of us had ever been to this place, but how can you go wrong with a burger?  We grabbed a couple burgers and then tried to find somewhere to sit.  The place was packed.  People everywhere.  I practically had to throw down with another man to steal us a seat.  Maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but it felt like it.  We rushed through lunch just because of how crowded it was, and because we wanted to get back to the museum.

Sometimes Tom likes to sneak attach pictures on me.  

Back to the museum we went.  I had to find The Americans exhibit!  We actually found it at the very end of the museum tour, but it was still awesome.  

This show is so, so, so good!

The museum is LOADED with information and cool artifacts.  There was a ton of James Bond stuff, there was a bunch of information about spies through history, and tools and gadgets spies use/have used.  The place is just stacked with awesome.  The very first thing you come upon though is a room full of identities plastered all around the walls.  The tour guides tell you to find one that appeals to you and to memorize all the information on the card.  This is your new alias.  I was Gretta Schmidt from somewhere in Germany and was going to London for 4 days on a business trip.  Tom was Vasili someone or other (I think? I'm honestly drawing a blank) who was a fisherman and he was going to Boston to visit his cousin. Later in the museum, there are computer kiosks that ask you to remember the information about your alias.  Once you answer all of the questions, you get more information about your alias.  By the time you get to the end of all of the exhibits (which is a long time!) there is another guide posing as some sort of border patrol.  She sits behind a desk and has people come sit in the chairs in front of her as she tries to grill them to make them lose their composure. She decides if you get to continue on and cross the border, or not.  Of course, Tom stepped right up.  She started by asking him questions, starting with his name, and Tom totally got into character.  He busted out his superb Russian accent and soon a crowd began gathering behind us.  The woman continued to ask him questions, some repetitively, because I think he rattled her a little bit!  She asked him several times about his job as a fisherman and went so far as to ask where he sold his fish.  Without missing a beat, Tom says, "Sell zee fish? I do not have time to catch zee fish and sell zee fish!?"  Finally, she said she would allow him to continue on with his trip.  Everyone behind us was completely awed by his performance.  Then, someone heard Tom talk to me and they were aghast, "OH!  He's not really Russian?!!"  It was hilarious.  I wish I could have had it all on video.  

Lastly, we had one more mission.  I had signed us up for the Spy in the City mission.  During this mission, you receive a tablet which transmits clues, videos, directions and tasks to complete so that you can solve the case.  I liked this part the best.  I felt like we were on the Amazing Race!  We didn't go through it super fast because we wanted to be accurate and thorough.  The mission leads you around different parts of the city around the museum but it takes you on a pretty good walkabout.  In the end, we did successfully complete the mission.  However, at the end of the mission you are asked if you'd cut a deal and make a little money off the top, and I said we'd consider it.  This was the wrong answer, of course.  The mission leads informed us that while we did complete the mission successfully, they were not convinced they'd work with us in the future because our ethics seemed a little shifty.  :o)  It was all in good fun.  I can't think of two more ethical people!  

Getting ready to hit the streets on our mission!

Totally loving on this.  A real life puzzle!  

Under Mr. Franklin, the place of one of the clues. 

This is what the clues/tasks looked like.  

E

He is the navigation man.  If only I could read a map....

Well, we ended up near St. Patrick's church which was extremely beautiful.  

Can't stop this Catholic girl from checking out the confession times! 

YESSSS!  SPY MASTERS!!!!  BOOOYAH!

I may have ended up enjoying the museum more than Tom did. :o)

And, we have an epic experience to remember!  

Day 10: Keepin' it Low Key

Friday was not a super eventful day.  I got up and got in a good workout, visited CVS pharmacy (again!), and then scoped out the "uncommon café."  So, the café received very interesting reviews on Yelp.com.  I'm not going to say I was really pumped to go there after reading some reviews, but I wanted to see, and decide, for myself, so off I went.  I stepped inside and saw two, or three, long buffet areas.  There were tons of people already sitting down but the buffet areas were not super crowded.  That, in and of itself, was enough to please me.  There are just too many damn people in Virginia, DC and other metropolitan areas back East.  I was thrilled to be able to take my time and figure out how this café place worked.  I perused the salad bar and it looked okay.  There were other items like fried chicken and "homestyle" type foods.  There was a whole array of Asian types of food and then there was a counter where it looked like you could order sandwiches or something like that.  The salad bar seemed simplest and I was dying for some veggies.  I put together my salad and then decided I would walk back across the street and eat at the apartment.  It was cheaper than SweetGreens, though perhaps not as healthy. :o) I chilled out the rest of the afternoon and just took it easy.


By the time Tom got home, I was ready to go do something, but naturally he was tired.  I mean, he's been working all day, afterall!  This has been the interesting dynamic of this trip.  I want to go out and experience so many things with him, but I also have to understand that he is going to be much more wiped out than I am everyday because he's out hustlin'.  By hustlin', I mean being productive at a renown security company.  Rest assured, his job is on the up and up.  On this particular night, he wanted some downtime and I think I did a fairly good job of providing that for him.  I spent some time reading and we went out for pizza slices around 7.


Down the block from the apartment is some pizza place called Autentica!  We thought we'd give that a try since we hadn't been there yet.  For some reason, I was confused about how to order our slices and how it coincided with their "combo" options.  Tom ordered first, and of course, made it seem so simple.  Then, I ordered, and of course, the worker starts questioning which combo I'm trying to get and what things I can have, and can't have, and I can barely understand what this man is saying, so I just look at Tom.  He is so much more patient with these things.  I just start panicking and probably end up paying way too much for things I don't even actually want because I can't communicate with the people that work at the establishment.  Tom, of course, made friends with these guy by asking where he is from.  Turns out the guy, and all the workers at the restaurant, are from Nepal.  He assured us, though, that the owner is Italian.  That is literally all I gleaned from the conversation he had with Tom.  The pizza was okay, but the gelato was excellent!  We took the gelato home to munch on while we were watching The Americans.


Tomorrow, we would be off to the International Spy Museum.  We spent the rest of our evening cozy, and schnuggly, watching our favorite (loathed) Russians.  It was a quaint, quiet night in and just exactly what we wanted. 

Day 9: Creative Juices Flowin'

I could not wake up today.  All I wanted to do was sleep, but my body was hurting so bad.  I finally pulled myself out from under the covers around noon, or so, and decided to walk around the block and find somewhere to eat for lunch.  I had already partially settled on checking out this Sweet Green place, so I ducked in there for a bite.  My summer obsession has been salads at Mucho Gusto, in Eugene.  I love this salad so much because the price is right, for one thing, and the toppings are fresh and delicious, and the pepita-citrus vinaigrette is to die for.  I can also go for the fajita salad at El Torito, in Eugene, because the grape seed vinaigrette is equally delightful.  Sweet Green appeared to offer a similar salad to what I'm accustomed to back home, save for it was called Guacamole Greens and came with a lime-cilantro vinaigrette.  It was decent, but it certainly made me long for my salad at Mucho!  Soon, I'm going to try another salad bar place.  I don't know the name of it, but the tagline is "An Uncommon Cafe."  I'm sure I'll have much to report tomorrow.

My afternoon consisted of mostly rest and reading the book When the Game Stands Tall.  The movie is due out this fall, and the book is tremendous.  The movie is going to be good.  I can already tell.  I highly recommend it if you're into motivational, inspirational stories told through the lens of sports, specifically football.

When Tom got home, he got some much needed down time and we eventually headed out to do some souvenir shopping for my nephews before we headed back to Maryland for trivia night.  As we headed out towards Maryland, it really began raining.  Yes, I'm from Oregon and I know we get a lot of rain, but the rain here is a little different.  It's much heavier rain than we usually get in Eugene, but it doesn't usually last quite as long.  So, it began pouring, then lightning started.  We could see flashes all over from the safe seats of the car.  Then, the thunder came.  It was quite a show.  We got a good look at it because these conditions had people nearly slamming on their breaks.  Traffic was pretty slow there for awhile.  Luckily, it did not take us nearly as long to get into Maryland as it did last Thursday. Regardless, Tom was heard saying, "The Lord does not want us in Maryland." Maybe we should start building an ark.  :o)

We arrived at the Hideaway around 8, which gave us a good couple hours to play trivia.  We met up with Tom's friend Caleb again, and another 'usual' named Kat.  Our name for this evening was Creative Juices Flowin' but there were some real classic trivia names last night.  I can't, for the life of me, remember our name last week.  Tom?  Can you remember?  Anyway, we played a pretty good game and ended up in second place.  Apparently, the first place team gets a $30 credit, and second gets a $24 credit.  So, we still ended up with 8 dollars off our tab.  That's definitely incentive for winning at this particular trivia place!  We all had our usual drinks; Tom with a craft beer, me with my 7 & 7's, and Caleb...I don't know what Caleb was drinking.  Before he goes home for the night, he gets a Long Island to-go to take home to his wife.  It's remarkable that this place does that.  That's definitely a perk for being a regular at a small town bar located a quarter mile from your house.  Cheers!

The Hideaway.

Bonus Post! Sounds of Hawai'i in Arlington

My boyfriend loves to surprise me.  Incidentally, I love surprises.  We work out really well that way.  I don't know how long he planned it, but since I arrived he's obsessively been checking the mail for "my surprise."  I use the term obsessively pretty loosely seeing as how I only check the mail about once a month.  Anyone that is checking their mail more frequently can be considered to be obsessive in my book.  So, as I was rushing out on Tuesday to get to the game, I noticed that we had a UPS slip on our door.  I thought that seemed odd because I had been here literally all day and had not heard any knocking on the door.  I put the slip inside the house and texted Tom about it.  When he texted me to tell me he was on his way to the game, he said he was able to secure the package.  I didn't think too much of it, but thought it might be my surprise.  When we got home later that evening, I saw remnants of the said package.  There was an empty box in the living room, but I saw nothing else until I went to bed.  Then, I saw, propped up against my side of the bed, a very special little gem.

Yes, he got me a little pink uke for the East coast so I don't have to be bothered with packing mine back and forth.  I don't know how long he planned this surprise but I loved it!  Despite my horrific mood after the rained out game, I couldn't believe he did this for me.  Of course, of course, I cried!  Happy little tears!  What a guy, eh!?

In other news about the game, I just got confirmation for Ericha that we can switch our tickets to August 7th when I will be in town next!  YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!  I'm going to get my baseball game come hell or high water!  

Day 8: Heaven is an Italian Deli

Let's face it, we didn't have much going on on Wednesday.  The minute Tom got home he was thrilled to learn we had very little on the agenda for the evening.  As much as we both like getting out to see our friends, and going out to do super fun things, we also enjoy our quiet evenings, too.  Tom was mostly thankful that he didn't have to walk anywhere.  Being without wheels back here, I've become more accustomed to walking and it actually feels better for my hips and flexors to be walking around.  Regardless, I had done some walking during the day.

Lunch time seems to be a good time to explore the neighborhood. Yesterday, I deliberated between walking over to the mall for lunch, since I had to go to CVS Pharmacy anyway (located at the mall), or eating at a place called Sweet Green.  I walked by Sweet Green and it appears that it's a restaurant devoted to salads.  That pretty much assures that I'll be attending Sweet Green on my own since Tom probably can't eat anything there.  He will want to make it known that's it's not that he doesn't like salads, it's that he can't have salads.  So, there it is.  I decided it would be more time efficient to just grab something at the mall.  Yes, I'm trying to save time....because I have SO much to do. (Insert heavy dose of sarcasm here.)  I noticed they had a Chick Fil A and decided I'd give that a go.  Turns out that was a terrible mistake.  The food wasn't nearly as good as the first time I experienced it.  My fruit was basically brown and gross looking, and I'm still slightly skeptical about whether the chicken was fully cooked or not.  I ended up throwing most of it away.  Then, I decided I would search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  I think it's important to know where the sweet treats are in the neighborhood!  First, I considered grabbing a chocolate chipper cookie from Panera bread.  While I think the name for their version of the chocolate chip cookie is delightful, I never enjoy eating these cookies.  8 out of 10 times the cookie is hard as a rock.  In fact, I remember on of our first dates, Tom took me to Panera bread and ordered me a cookie.  I was flattered, of course, and it's not like I wasn't going to eat it, but the minute I took a bite of the rock hard cookie, I looked up at him and said, "You know, there are two types of people in this world; there are people that like hard chocolate chip cookies and there are people that like soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies.  I like the soft, chewy kind."  From that day forth, we have scoured the greater Eugene, Albany, and Corvallis areas for the divine chocolate chip cookie.  Sweet Life and Laughing Planet are the two best so far.  So, I wandered the neighborhood, past Sweet Green again and was instantly convinced I had made the wrong choice about not eating there.  I vowed to eat lunch there sometime this week.  Soon after passing the Sweet Green, I saw a place called Buzz.  I guessed it was probably a coffee shop and what I know about coffee shops is that they usually have sweet treats.  So, in I went, and sitting there on an elevated pedestal, like they should be, were the chocolate chip cookies.  I bought one and waited until I got home to enjoy it with a glass of milk and I can safely say Buzz has some excellent cookies.  This, however, is not the only place to get sweet treats.  Near Buzz, is a place called Frozen Yo or something to that effect.  I don't remember, I just know it's a self serve froyo place.  We ventured there a couple of nights ago.  Tom and I are accustomed to a franchise in Eugene, Corvallis and Albany known as Yogurt Extreme.  They have TONS of froyo flavors and I think they boast something about having 100 toppings?  This place we tried out back here was no Yogurt Extreme, however, they did have one major perk.  Free Hot Fudge.  Are you kidding me!?  I was so confused at first because the hot fudge pumps were placed near the cash register and I watched a woman pay for her yogurt and then she doused it in hot fudge.  I was like, "Uhhhhhhh, that lady is cheating and no one even called her out!"  When Tom and I sat down, I mentioned to him that that was really strange.  Of course, he hadn't really noticed anything so I relayed the entire story to him, and pondered, "The hot fudge is what makes it heavy...and expensive?"  Then, I glanced at the counter again just in time to see a kid's mother pay for his treat and then he walks over to the hot fudge and slathers it on.  I was like, "WHAT IS GOING ON!?!"  In that moment, I saw a sign bolted to the wall that read, "Free hot fudge."  Whoa.  Mind blown!   While it may not be yogurt extreme, it has benefits all of it's own.

Once Tom got home, I expressed my desire to check out this place that I'd read about on the internet.  Again, if you know anything about me, my sister, or my father, you know that when we go to a new place we love to scope out the Italian markets/delis in the area.  We were famous for doing this in Seattle and I figured that they would have to have some good ones back East.  I did some preliminary Googling and Yelping and found The Italian Store.  People were raving about it.  I couldn't believe how good of reviews it was getting.  I had considered walking there earlier in the day because it's only about a mile and a half away but then I realized that my forecast was calling for thunderstorms again.  I have been caught out in thunderstorms twice since being here and I was not up for the risk a third time.  Tom said he'd take me and we'd go for dinner.  So, when you arrive at The Italian Store you see a gaggle of people waiting around the front counter.  That's a sure sign that this place is legit!  Then, you take a number, and wait for your number to be called.  When you get called, you better know what you want!  Tom got a couple of slices of pizza and I got a chicken parm sandwich.  Then, I just wandered the store and looked at all the pastas, the mushrooms, the wine and cheeses.  I know Dad will want to know...."No there was no teleme cheese and no copa."  Still, I was home.  I could probably have easily spent an hour in there looking at everything.  But, alas, I resigned to come back at a later time (maybe I'll walk!) and we left with our foodstuffs to head back to the apartment.  We had a lovely meal sitting at our lovely table in our lovely breakfast nook, except we use it for dinner.  It was quite enjoyable to just get to talk about our days (not that I have a whole lot to talk about) but it was calming nonetheless.

I am constantly amazed at how much these mushrooms cost.  We were raised to "hunt" this type of mushroom, basically.  This 1 lb. bag could be yours for only $59.99 +tax!

"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." ~Sophia Loren  

Ohhhhhhhhh, this is amazing!  That jar is about as big as my head!

After dinner, we decided that we would start watching The Americans.  We watched the pilot episode and I was pretty hooked.  Some parts of the pilot dragged on, and I thought okay, move on already, but I think things like that often improve over the course of a series.  I don't want to give too much more away because I really want my mom and sister to start watching it!  Hopefully, we'll have more time to watch it before we hit the spy museum on Saturday.  I know they have an exhibit devoted to The Americans so I'm excited to see that!

By the time I get done writing I always think I'm leaving something out...and I probably am.

Day 7: Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

I had eagerly been awaiting today.  Tuesday.  The day that Tom and Judy would venture into the city to meet up with Judy's childhood friend Ericha, and her husband, Mark.  Not only was I super excited to see an old friend from back home, but this would be the first time Tom had met one of my friends from Klamath.  Of course, he's met most of my Eugene friends, though not all.  But, my friends from back home are different.  There's a real history there that goes way, way back and it's important that he pass their tests!  :o) Mark and Ericha hooked us up with tickets and did all the leg work for the evening's festivities.  It was really nice to have someone else leading the charge!  So, Tom and I had made arrangements for me to take the metro down a bit earlier so that I could meet up with Ericha and we could have some girl/gossip time before the guys got there.  This was no problem since I had done the trial run to the ballpark the previous day.  I arrived at the stadium around 4:30 and texted Ericha.  She told me the restaurant to go to and to try to get a booth in the bar.  I'm thinking...try?  Would it really be this packed already?  The game isn't even until 7!  However, by the time I walked the few blocks to the restaurant it was indeed too late.  The booths in the bar were all taken and, of course, I had forgotten about that bloody Fifa World Cup.  Naturally, everyone was in there to watch the game.  By "the game," I mean the Germany vs. Brazil game in which Germany absolutely dominated Brazil.  One would think that a 5 nothing lead at the half would clear some people out, but I guess they were holding on to hope that Brazil would make a comeback?  Please.  It's hard enough to make a comeback when the score is 1-0.  Don't get me started on this sport.  Just don't do it.  Anyway, there were all these other rules about seating in the actual restaurant section, so we decided to go next door to Nando's: a Portuguese chicken place.  This turned out to be a pretty good move.  We were able to be seated quickly and we got our food relatively quickly, as well.  Tom and Mark met up with us here and we all had a lovely meal together.

After we ate, it was time to get started towards the game.  Mark and Ericha grabbed their bikes (their car was stolen at some point last year, and they decided not to replace it...and they'll soon be moving back to the West coast ;o) and we headed up the road towards the stadium.  We took obligatory tourist pictures out front, scanned our tickets and headed in.  Up to this point, both Mark and Ericha had expressed fears about it raining that night.  They had apparently been checking the weather all day and the chances of rain continued to increase as the day wore on.  I hadn't even thought about checking the weather because my phone said it was partly cloudy and 96 degrees outside.  What could go wrong?  Well, a lot, as it turns out.

Inside the gates. 

Look, Roo!  Not only did you make it onto the blog, but you got a picture too!!

Just as we enter the stadium, I see a big banner sign that says, "Attention Fans: Delayed game start time, severe weather warning in effect."  Mark instantly began checking his phone.  Sure enough, a severe weather storm had been issued.  So, we decided to drink some beer.  We got our five dollar Coors lights and headed to find our seats.  I could tell Mark and Ericha were way more anxious about the rain than I was.  I guess I was still in disbelief that it would actually rain.  I reassured them by saying it would just make for a better story, and Mark was in disbelief that this was my attitude!  We ended up walking the entire perimeter of the concourse in trying to get to our seats.  However, once we got to our seats....WOW!  They were awesome.  We were seated just about dead center field three or four rows up from the wall.  It was pretty good home run territory if you ask me!  I was so stoked!

We sat down and literally at that moment an announcement on the loud speaker came on:  "Attention fans, please clear the stadium and head toward the main concourse."  I looked around the stadium and you could see a mass exodus of people up the aisles toward where we had just come from.  We sat in our seats for literally 2 seconds.  The security guy came and swept everyone out of their seats as we headed for the coverage of the concourse.  Luckily, as we were standing around wondering what on earth we were going to do, Ericha eyed some free table space and totally swooped in on this elderly gentleman and his son.  They were quite kind to let us take up three-fourths of their table.  We sat and visited and waited for it to rain.

That is apparently Tom's "sad" face.  I'd say more disgruntled than anything! 

We may have been sitting there close to an hour when finally the rain began.  And, it rained.  Like, really rained.  We heard the thunder, and we saw the lightning.  It seemed relentless.  We had no idea when they were going to actually make the decision to postpone the game so Mark busted out his phone that had a really cool game called Heads Up.  We played this game for probably another hour.  It is summer fun.  I recommend it to anyone who might be see themselves getting stuck somewhere with a group of friends.  It really helped us to pass the time. I think it helped pass the time for those that were around us, also.  People all around us were watching and laughing right along with us.  At one point, a guy that was standing nearby asked us what the app was called because he wanted to download it so he and his friends could pass the time playing it, too.  That was pretty cool.  During the game, Tom whispered to me, "This is probably just as fun as watching the game!"  Certainly, it was more interactive than watching a baseball game.

See the guy looking on in amusement?  Yeah, he's jealous. 

At this point, we've probably been sitting for a couple of hours.  I began to get a little stir crazy and got up to take some pictures.  I just couldn't believe that it was STILL raining...and raining hard.  When were they going to call it?  We sat back down and waited some more.  Finally, it was nearing 10 pm and Tom was getting antsy to get home due to having to get up early the next day.  We deliberated about what to do.  I didn't want them to start the game up after we had left because then we really wouldn't get our money back.  But, I also didn't want to wait much longer as we were all getting tired.  As we were hemming and hawing, the announcement came over the loud speaker that the game was to be postponed until a later date.  As relieved as I was to hear this announcement, I was also very saddened because I knew I would not be here for the postponed game time.  So, regardless, I didn't get my monies worth ;o(.

It just kept raining. 

Unbelievable. Enjoy the game without me!  

A very sad Judy indeed. 

 I was lucky that I had a great group of friends to play games with to pass the time, however.  And, that, was priceless!

Day 6: A Solitary Metro Adventure

I really didn't plan much for Monday.  I had some housekeeping tasks that I've putting off for way too long that needed to be shored up.  I needed to finally make use of some of these apartment amenities and hit the gym.  I needed to make various reservations at various places for upcoming events this week and later this summer.  I needed to do laundry, etc.  It wasn't looking up to be a real fun day.  I also needed to get some gear for that Washington Nationals game we'd be going to the next day.  Once I had finished all of the odds and ends for the day, I decided to bust out the ol' metro card and see if I could successfully navigate myself to the Nats stadium.  I knew I had to switch "lines" at some point so I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.  So, off I went to Ballston Metro, successfully boarded the Orange train to New Carollton and off I went.  I was pretty anxious and tried to listen intently to the woman announcing the next stops.  The problem being that the woman had a very heavy accent and I couldn't really understand a thing she said.  Instead, I decided to just look out the windows intently as we were pulling into the next station to be sure I was getting off the train at the correct stop.  I had to switch at L'Enfant plaza and after hearing this woman's heavy accent I knew I didn't stand a chance at understanding her pronunciation of that one!  I tried to keep count of the stops but I get so distracted with watching people, and wondering what other people are thinking, that that quickly became an unviable option.  Truthfully, I managed to switch trains with very little effort.  I got momentarily turned around and almost panicked but I eventually figured it out.  Once I got to the Navy Yard metro - where the stadium is, I quickly found my way out of the metro station and navigated myself to the Clubhouse store.  There were so many options I quickly became overwhelmed! I basically grabbed the first tank top I saw and bought it.  Then, I hopped on the train to head back to Ballston.  The metro ride is about thirty minutes long which doesn't seem like much but it can get rather dull.  I can see why so many people fall asleep on the metro, but how do they know when to wake up?  This has been perplexing to me.  I'm way too anxious to fall asleep on that thing, although it does have a nice lull to it.  To me, it seems like a good time to get caught up on texts and Words with Friends but since my battery only lasts about five minutes before needing to be recharged I try to keep that to a minimum.  I have a deep fear that I will get stuck in this city without any GPS or text capabilities.  Can you imagine?  I'd have to...like...ask some stranger for directions or something?  NO THANK YOU! :o)

There's not a whole lot of noteworthy stuff that happened.  The fitness center was crawling with dudes which quickly reminded me why I love my gym so much back home.  Gender separate workout spaces, baby!  And, other than that, there's not much.  Oh, stay to the right on the escalators, the left is for people to walk by you.  You might need to know that someday.

Looking forward to the Nationals game tomorrow!

Day 5: Adventures in Decorating

Sunday arrived and it was the day I had long been waiting for!  Today was the day that we were going to devote our entire day to finding decor items for the apartment.  Tom did a great job in getting the basics down before I arrived, but now this place needed a little woman's touch.  I had decided I wanted orange things in the kitchen, and teal and white in the bathroom.  I couldn't even think about the bedroom just yet, but I wanted to keep my eyes open in case something grabbed me.  So, off we went to HomeGoods, one of my favorite decorating places.  Tom grabbed a cart as we arrived, and I quickly reached for a beautiful white ceramic vase, thinking surely I could find some use for this in the bathroom.  I hold the piece up to Tom as if to ask him what he thinks.  He responds, "So, what is the use for that?"  Oh my.....this was going to be a long day.

I perused the store for much longer than I probably needed to without really finding anything that I loved, at least for the right price.  I had easily forgotten how expensive it is to set up a room!  After HomeGoods we went next door to World Market.  There weren't many good sales in there, either, so we decided we should probably head to Wal-Mart and Target and start there.  Tom was uber-patient and assured me that we could always come back.  We had better luck at Wal Mart and Target.  We were able to secure simple night stands, towels, etc at these places.  Still, I could not find any dishes that I liked.  As we were leaving Wal Mart, we passed a display of plastic cups.  Wouldn't you know it?  Orange cups!  Tom thought we had just hit the jackpot.  "See?  Orange!  These will be perfect!"  Oy......

Somehow we decided to start looking for lamps at Target.  There is no light in the bedroom so a lamp would be very beneficial.  Tom did a lovely job on picking out the lamp for the bedroom.  I loved it, he loved it, so we bought it.  Win-win!  However, before we left, Tom thought he'd be funny by bringing out a Captain America lamp and asking if that would work for the bedroom.  I just stared at him.  "Are you serious?" I asked.  He chuckled, and said, "Well, if I don't ask then the answer is an automatic no.  It was worth a shot.  May as well try....why not??"  "Well, because you're not five," I plainly responded.  He laughed and put it back in the aisle.  But, first....a picture.

Then, we went back to HomeGoods.  Yes, this day seemed to be going on and on forever.  It takes forever to get anywhere here in a car, it seems.  It's not as simple as it is in Oregon.  Obviously, there is much more traffic and things are spread out way more.  By the time we returned to HomeGoods they no longer had the piece I had wanted previously, and this started the royal meltdown of July 2014.  At this point, those of you who have been shopping with me will just laugh.  For those of you who haven't been shopping with me, be thankful. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of shopping I'm doing, by the end of it, I will be in tears.  I have traumatized many with my methods, and many no longer will shop with me because of it.  This may have been Tom's first exposure to such a disastrous fit.  I'll be the first to admit it is not a pleasant state.  He handled it like a champ, as always.  He tried to fix it the best he could.  But, the thing is, when I get in that state of mind there is no fixing it.  Nothing can be done.  The game is over.  In his attempt to appease me, he hustled me over to Bed Bath and Beyond, only to realize it had just closed.  This sent me into a rapid downward spiral.  My worries became overwhelming.  We weren't going to be able to get the apartment completed, we hadn't gotten enough accomplished during the day, we were never going to be able to get everything done, and on and on and on.  Tom listened patiently, then put me in the car, and whisked us away to get something to eat.  Of course, I insisted I didn't want anything to eat.  And, I didn't really.  I just wanted to go to bed and not deal with any of this anymore.  However, I knew he would probably get me something and expect me to eat it later.  He stopped at our favorite Middle Eastern place and got a couple of sandwiches and brought me home.  We hauled everything upstairs and then I laid down on the bed.  Tom came in to talk to me because I was worrying him so.  I expressed my strong dislike of being back here, and that after today, I knew I could never live here and that I had hoped I'd come out here and see that it wasn't so bad and that I could live out here, but today made me think that I couldn't.  In only the way Tom can do, he reassured me he didn't want me to move out here because he knows I would hate it, and he explained that finding the perfect things for this apartment wasn't a priority because this wasn't our forever home.  He commiserated with me until I felt better.  Then, I was ready to eat.  We sat and had our sandwiches and then got to work on putting the house together.  It felt so much better to actually be doing it.  This allowed me to see what more needs to be done and what had been accomplished.  In the end, I think things came together pretty nicely.

Bathroom Before:

Bathroom After....

 Bedroom Before:

Bedroom After...

The kitchen and living area spaces are still being beautified and constructed.  Stay tuned!

Day 4: Tom's Day of Birth

On Saturday, we had official plans with Tom's friends in Maryland.  First, we would stop by and see his friend Caleb, his wife Vassi, and their three littles.  Our day ended up getting a much later start than either of us had hoped.  It turned out I barely slept a wink on Friday night, after the fireworks, and Tom let me sleep in REALLY late on Saturday.  We finally got on the road around 1.  Of course, by this time, I was a disaster because I was so hungry from sleeping late and not getting anything to eat when I awoke.  Tom saved the day, once again!  I tell ya....the man knows what to do for me.  He could tell by my ridiculously awful mood that we needed to eat prior to getting to Caleb and Vassi's.  My concern was that I knew there would be food at Caleb and Vassi's and shortly after going to their house we were to go to dinner with his other friends Joanne and Boyd.  I was not particularly pleased with eating all of my meals in a 4 hour time period, even though my father has spent a great portion of his life trying to get me to eat this way!  One would think I'd be programmed to eat that much in such a short period.  So, Tom quickly pulled into a Chic Fil A (sp?) and introduced me to the beauty of this fast food chain.  Now, I don't want to get into any weird political conversation about what Chic Fil A believes and what they don't believe.  From what I understand, they don't support gay marriage.  Here's the catch though...none of their sandwiches, and I mean, NONE, come with mayonnaise.  Have you any idea how happy this makes me?  This was a big deal, and I took advantage of it!

And, as much as my father dislikes chicken, I think he could even tolerate this place...

Now, with full bellies we were ready to head to Caleb's house.  Caleb and Vassi live in this beautiful home that's somehow nestled up in these beautiful trees.  The view from their back deck is pretty awesome.  It's quiet and peaceful, save for the three little they have running around.  The eldest Airis, who is maybe a first grader, is quite the comedian.  He was very friendly towards me and introduced himself right away.  This wasn't too surprising seeing as how his parents are quite possibly the kindest, warmest, most inviting people you'll ever meet.  From the minute we arrived, they were offering up drinks, food, and conversation like it was nobody's business.  I capitalized on the interesting version of an Old Fashioned that Caleb fixed up for me.  It was quite tasty!  But, it was also very strong for that time of day!  We munched on some snacks with them, and soon the younger two were up from their afternoon naps.  The middle child, Teddy, is pretty much cute as a button.  She loves her some Tom!  Then, there is Xander who just wanted to snuggle up with his daddy after he woke up.  At some point, in the afternoon, the conversation turned to various foods, and being in Maryland we began discussing crab.  Vassi, who is from Maryland, from what I understand, was talking about her love for crab, as well as Caleb's.  Vassi comes from a very large Greek family and apparently they all love crab, as well.  Airis, however, was quite clear that he is NOT a fan of crab.  Tom teasingly reminded him, though, that he is from a long line of crab-lovers, not to mention being from Maryland!  Without missing a beat, Airis says back to Tom, "Well....I was born in Hawaii, don't get too crazy!"  I was dying.  Thus, "don't get too crazy," has since become a bit of an inside joke with me and Tom.  

After we were done eating, and drinking, Caleb and Vassi out of their home, we ventured up the hill about a quarter mile to his friend Joanne's house.  Joanne and Tom have a very close relationship and I knew it would be important to Tom for Joanne to approve of me.  Though, I'm not quite sure what he would do if she did not approve!  :o)  Joanne, and her husband Boyd, have one son, Zach.  He is quite the cutie and he loves his Thomas.  That's what he gets to call Tom.  And, Tom is HIS Thomas!  Naturally, when I arrived with Tom, I wasn't super popular with Zach.  But, by the end of the day, I'd say he was pretty fond of me.  I tend to have that effect on children.  We played for a while in the basement, which is essentially a place for all of Zach's toys.  Thomas was quite entertaining.  I could easily see why the kid would love him!  

After we played, and worked up an appetite...just kidding, I was still SO full from lunch...we left for dinner.  Boyd, who is apparently from the south, had found this BBQ place that they really wanted us to try.  Who doesn't love BBQ?  I was excited for this dinner!  The place is called Mission BBQ and it was awesome.  First of all, it's decorated with a bunch of military and service personnel memorabilia.  The restaurant is devoted to reminding us of America's heroes.  They opened ten years after 9/11 and continually put on charity events for the Wounded Warrior Project, etc.  I was certainly impressed with this idea, and the food was darn good, too!  

One of the sayings I particularly liked...

After dinner, we joined Joanne, Boyd and Zach for an evening swim at the pool club they belong to.  It was cooling down, but the water wasn't too cold.  We played mostly in the kiddie pool with Zachie, but Tom did manage to get into the deep end when Zach demanded, "Thomas go on diving board!"  

After the swimming session, Joanne and Boyd invited us along for ice cream at a place called Friendly's.  I should have taken a picture of Friendly's because I don't really know how to explain it.  I can tell you it was the biggest ice cream treat I have ever seen.  I was so incredibly full by this time of the night, I was sure a food coma was coming on.  I could not believe how much we had eaten in the past few hours.  It was basically ridiculous.  

All in all, I think Sir Thomas had a very good birthday, with good friends, good good, and good times!  Another year older, wiser, and better looking, I say!