doing DC: cheering on the nationals

Coming from Ohio, I sort of know a thing or two about baseball. I mean, it is only where it all started...under technicalities, but who's going there? 

Anyway, thanks to those ten salaried players of the Cincinnati Red Stockings back in 1869, this girl grew up in a baseball loving family, in a state of baseball loving fans. Sure, we don't get along with the Indians fans up North in Cleveland, but that's a different story.

As a child I vividly remember attending games on the River - I was usually freezing, it always rained, and the Reds always lost. I even missed the big hitter of the time, Ken Griffey Jr.actually hit a ball for once, while getting Dippin' Dots. Let's just say I didn't have great luck at ball fields in Ohio. Even when we would go to the local minor league team, the Dayton Dragons it would literally POUR down rain. Pour. Every single time without fail.

You can see why I would be excited to go to a Nationals game here, but hesitant at the same time. However, my hesitation hasn't kept me from trying to earn redemption on the diamond. Maybe it's the team, maybe it's the players, or maybe my luck has turned around; I don't know what's changed, but going to a Nats game has become a top priority on fun things to do. I mean, just look at those cute presidents doing their run!

Last week I randomly had Wednesday off and decided to head into the city. The humidity had finally abated so the 90 degree weather didn't feel like 105 degrees so it was a perfect day to walk around. Hopping on the Metro, I was met with several people in the full Nats regalia and one Mets fan (loser). Fully expecting a night game, I was surprised to find out that it was starting in 20 minutes. With nothing better to do, I bought a ticket seven rows back from 3rd base and went to the game.

It took us nearly the whole game to get into it, but at the bottom of the 8th, down 3-1, we tied it up and then got the go-ahead score 4-3. It was exciting to say the least!

Getting to the ball park is seriously easy and pretty much hassle free if you're near a metro. Just take the Green line to Navy Yard-Ballpark. It cost me $3.60 to get to the ballpark from my stop all the way on the Silver Line - way less than any parking garage anywhere in the area. It definitely takes the sting off the cost of everything else INSIDE the stadium!



*All photos taken by me with my trusty iPhone

DC day trips: bold rock cidery

When my mom came to visit me for my 27th birthday she had one main request - find anything to do that wasn't in the city. (Just between you and me, she's a little weird about the city ;) So that was my task. We spent my birthday in Georgetown, but I was at a bit of a loss for what to do the following day. Then it hit me - the Bold Rock Hard Cider Cidery in Rockfish. 

When I lived in Rome, I hated pretty much every version of alcohol I tried. In fact, it was so comical, my roommates would remark about how much of a face I would make. They called it my "wine face" no matter if it was wine, rum, vodka or anything else. 

Upon turning 21, there were approximately three drinks I liked - vodka cranberry, bellinis, and mimosas. I realized I disliked beer in any form, and my one foray into cider in a dark London pub ended in possibly the worst "wine face" of them all. But then my college roommate introduced me to a new kind of cider - the gluten free kind. The ones that taste like apple juice. As far as most drinks go, there is no "acquired taste" to these ciders. 

In Ohio, the most popular kind of cider is Angry Orchard. Here in D.C. it's Bold Rock. I may not be able to openly support the local breweries, I love supporting this local cidery! The main drawback is the fact that it's gorgeous views of the mountains outside of Charlottesville is two and a half hours away from the city. However, it was a perfect day trip for a woman who wanted to stay out of the city. 

Not only are the drinks amazing, but the food is exactly what you'd want when testing the ciders. Light and easy sandwiches with apple aioli sauce and apple slaw. It was heaven. I actually don't have pictures of the sandwiches because we devoured them. 

When you're done with your flight and just want to spend some time walking around the grounds, get a pint and enjoy the gorgeous views of the mountains, or play a game of corn hole. 

It was a fantastic little day trip out of the city and I highly recommend it for anyone who is like me, and prefers the gluten free version of cider! 

*All photos taken by me with my trusty iPhone

four ingredient fresh summer salsa

One of my absolute favorite things about living in Ohio is the summer. The sea of green that you drive through, the fairs, longer nights - I love it all. But maybe what I love most about it, is making my mom's fresh salsa. 

Growing up, and still to this day, I don't particularly like raw tomatoes. This has always been a perplexing notion to my family, because not only do they all love to eat tomatoes on everything, or by themselves, but they all grow them. However, my usual dislike for raw tomatoes stops when it comes to this fresh salsa. 

Moving to Virginia last year, I never had a chance to make it, so it was my goal to ramp up my acid reflux this summer and make a batch. Luckily for all of you, since I'm making it a priority to spend more time on my blog and other ventures that I set out to do early on when I moved here - you all get the recipe! And even better than that news, it's only four ingredients! You really can't get much easier than that. 

You need the following ingredients:

• Tomatoes - as many as you want depending on how much salsa you want. I used five.
• Cilantro - one small bunch, pick off the leaves and throw away the stems, you can see how much I used. 
• Onion - one medium onion. I like to use the red onions. I left just about a fourth of it uncut based on the amount of tomatoes I used. 
• Chilies - the only ingredient not pictured, I use a 4 oz can of mild green chilies. 
• Salt to taste. 

Okay, I guess I lied. There's that tiny fifth ingredient of salt. Still, you can't get much simpler than this. Just dice up your tomatoes and onion, finely chop the cilantro and add it all together with the chilies. Top off with salt if you wish. 

Isn't it just gorgeous?? I don't know about you, but I could eat this all day long seven days a week!