Almost ready to head home!

Someone commented on the last post that the blog is losing steam...yeah, it really is. Sorry for not being able to keep up with it over the past few days, been quite hectic with tennis consuming most of the day and night, plus that Don Q Rum Punch hasn't helped with the blogging ability.

Anyway, this blog is coming to you from a hotel near Baltimore-Washington International Airport as we have started our drive home. Only spending 1 night here before getting up early to head home (I promise there will be road blogging). This particular hotel is great, but there was an issue with the in-room dining. The following is a rough transcript of the ordering process

Person: Service Express this is _ _ _ _ _ _

Matty: Hi I would like to place a room service order

Person: Oh, umm, hi yes I can take that

Matty: Ok i would like grilled chicken sandwich

Person: Wait, is this for 1 person or 2?

Matty: This would be for 2

Person: Ok continue

Matty: So a grilled chicken sandwich, and chicken linguine please. Also a Mountain Dew and a Diet Pepsi

Person: Do you have a back-up soda incase we are out of Mountain Dew?

Matty: Sure, regular Pepsi

Person: Ok, it will be about 30 minutes!

Now 50 minutes later, the order had not yet arrived. I called to inquire and was promised a call back, when that came I was told the order was on its way. While I was eating I got a call asking if the food arrived, I said yes but hey guess what...they only provided 1 place setting! So i had no napkin or utensils. Moments later I received a call from Rodney, the restaurant manager. While I was speaking with him I told him about how irritated I was because my "expectations were not set correctly" and because of that free meal!

So thats the story there, heading home in the morning, back to work in Tuesday.

Semi-Final Saturday

Good day everyone!
Well the trip is really starting to wrap up now, as we have hit Semi-Final Saturday with two matches today. The first match will be at 1:00 PM with Xavier Malisse taking on Marcos Bagdahtis. Then tonight at 7 it will be David Nalbandian against Marin Cilic. Not sure if we will be attending both matches, as there will probably be a 3-4 hour break between them, and with not much to do at the tennis center itself, and because it is located in the middle of Rock Creek Park with nothing around it, it will probably mean jumping into the car and heading out to do other things, maybe tourist type of stuff.

Quarter Final Friday

About ready to head of the hotel for the day, have day and night sessions of tennis today with the quarter finals starting. Last night was dissapointing as Andy Roddick lost, and with loses from fellow American's John Isner and Mardy Fish, this leaves no American's left in the singles.

Will still be a fun weekend of tennis, and the humidity is going away and it should be a comfortable weekend :)

Waiting out the weather

Have arrive at tennis, rain is done with court drying activities underway. Not sure if anything will TV tonight. This is the first time in the 6 years being here that rain has played a significant role in delaying tennis.

Weather Hold

Still at the hotel, as we have watched 1 severe thunderstorm pass over us, and still more to come. The update from tennis is that it is raining there, and they do not know when play is going to begin.

Stay tuned...

The Heat is On

Incredibly hot and humid today, which means we need to be drinking plenty of fluids before, during, and after tennis. Now if any of our readers have access to The Tennis Channel, their live coverage starts tonight at 4:00 PM EST, and they will have coverage throughout the weekend supplementing the coverage that ESPN2 will have starting tomorrow at noon. The highlight of tonights action will be Andy Roddick who takes on Frenchman Gilles Simon. We will see if the severe thunderstorm watch for the area effects the schedule at all

The weekend is going to be pretty busy with tennis, on Friday and Saturday we have day and night sessions happening which means the bulk of the trip is now going to be spent there, and not at anything touristy.

Hazy Hot and Humid

The weather today was just downright gross. Didn't make sitting in a tennis stadium much fun, the air was very humid...and Thursday will be even worse! High should be around 98 fahrenheit (about 37 Celcius if you are in Canada), and then factor in the humidity and you are just talking oppressive.

With the extreme heat it might mean drinking Evian instead of that great Don Q stuff, but hey we'll see :)

Night everyone

Great Friends...Great times!!

Don't mind Nancy...she doesn't photograph well!

Tricia's Post Part Two

Had a good time at tennis last night-- got to see Andy Roddick make quick work of Gregor Something or other. Best part of the evening was meeting up with old friends again...oh and those couple of rum drinks that I just had to test out. You would think it was my first time at a night tennis match because right after this shot was taken...Andy asked the Chair Umpire to remind people not to use flash photography... Oops!

Tricia's post part one

Well today is very hot and humid...bad news is that it will be worse tomorrow! Went to Five Guys and Georgetown Cupcakes today, now chilling in the hotel before tennis tonight.

Cupcakes

Woke up a bit later then yesterday, and headed out and crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown, after parking and grabbing lunch we headed to Georgetown Cupcakes at the corner of M and 33rd Streets. This location actually used to be a Starbucks, and following a flood back in 2008 or 2009 it was closed. Georgetown Cupcakes was documented on a show on TLC called "DC Cupcakes" and they are suppose to be some of the best cupcakes around, the store was quite busy and we had to wait outside for about 10min before we went inside.

Now I just ate a "Cookies & Creme" cupcake, i was nervous about the place living up to the hype that the TV show has created (in fairness i've been about 15min of the show, but i've been told there is hype) and I must say, the cupcake is amazing! And I do think it is better then the cupcakes found at Flour in Boston

Tennis tonight should be fun, hopefully they haven't run out of Don Q

Fun Day

Just arrived back at the hotel in Arlington, VA after a fun filled day. Tennis was great, saw some great action including a nice win for Andy Roddick.

Now since last year a sponsor of the tournament has been "Rums of Puerto Rico" now this means that they have some pretty tasty rum based beverages, including several which I sampled tonight. Lets put it this way, its a good thing i wasn't blogging from tennis.

Anyways, had a fun night and tomorrow has even more tennis! During the day it will probably be spent in Georgetown at the place where "DC Cupcakes" the hit show on some network called TLC is filmed at.

More tomorrow

Its a plane!

If you know me well enough you know that I love airplanes, and have ever since I was really young. Here in the DC area, just next to National Airport (DCA) there is a park known as Gravely Point, which is a great spot to hang out at if you are interesting in seeing airplanes land, well, right over your head. I have shot some video with my iPhone 4, which hopefully uploaded correctly. If you are watching with sound don't mind the wind noise.

That was really the highlight of the day for Tuesday, tennis starts at 16:00 (4:00pm) and will probably make it back to the hotel late tonight.

What a long day

Believe it or not after waking at 3:55am I am still awake! Just about time for bed though, not sure what we are going to do during the day tomorrow as tennis starts at 4pm, takes about 25min to get there from the hotel. The tennis stadium is located in beautiful Rock Creek Park, you really have no idea that you are actually in Washington, DC while you are there.

Hope everyone has enjoyed day 1 of the blogging. Great to read some of the comments that have been made by someone who has a great blog of their own!

More updates tomorrow

Some pics

I know many of you are concerned over my newest finger injury...well never you fear, here is a shot of my wonderful medical care I provided to myself...


and a couple of pics from the Delaware Memorial Bridge...

Relaxing...

Well, we arrived at the Crystal Gateway Marriot~ wasn't a bad ride at all. We decided to not go to tennis tonight-- so our adventures begin tomorrow and the good news is....Andy starts tomorrow too!!

So, in DC only one day, and I have already had to complain to Marriott! They have wi-fi in this hotel and apparently charge you PER computer-- needless to say, I filed my complaint to the front desk supervisor, Rachel, and she has assured me that we will only have to pay once per day! We shall see

Oh...and did I mention that Matt had to walk to Maryland just to get ice for our water! The only ice machine in this multi-tower hotel is on the 2nd floor of the tower next to us...so he had to go down 12 floors and over one tower! Not at all inconvenient!

Made it!

Well Tricia and I have made it safely to Washington, DC. Now resting comfortably in our hotel room before we find something to do tonight. Need to rest up after the long day of traveling and be ready for a fun filled DC day tomorrow!

Less then an hour to go!

Hello again,
After a quick stop in Deleware at a nice rest area we are in Maryland on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and now have less then an hour left until we arrive in Arlington, VA at our hotel.
Been an uneventful drive other then the GPS going into a coma on the GW Bridge. The Acura is doing great and is getting about 35mpg

More updates later on!

Delaware

Just crossed into Delaware where the debate is "what's the capitol"? Is it Wilmington or Dover? I guess only the shadow knows...my dad will like that! Weather update...slight drizzle

Currently in...

New Jersey! Did I mention I'm not a fan of it? The current weather here in the Garden State is mostly cloudy with a semi-balmy temp of 82- only got lost once, not my fault...GPS almost died on the GW Bridge...she came out of her coma just in time for me to take the wrong highway!

Delaware here we come!

Connecticut USA

Good morning! Well Tricia is now driving and this blog is coming to you live from I-95 in the great state of Connecticut (where I was born actually). We are making great time and are already past New Haven. The GPS currently has our ETA as 1:00, but we are heading into the traffic zones of CT and NYC so that will change. Now my GPS does receive traffic info and its "red" up ahead with a 14min delay. Weather so far is good, clouds giving way to sun.

Anyway, will update later

Almost in Connecticut...6:43 a.m.

Starbucks update...Exit 6 bucks in Nashua might just be off the list for next years trip! Last year the supervisor didn't show up for work...this year our drinks aren't good! If I has wanted a Black Iced Tea Lemonade with a coconut sweetner, I would've asked for it that way!

On the road

Ok..we're on the road...I've unsuccessfully tried to post three times, so I'm already upset over this whole blogging thing..One Starbucks stop already, listening to Mike and Mike..cut my finger so now I only have use of 8 digits!

All Packed

If you have ever been to Washington DC in the summer you probably have experienced the heat and humidity which is the daily norm in that region. As a result, packing can be rather tricky as one needs to pack for the possibility that you need to change your clothes during the day due to the sweat factor. So as you can see both of my suitcases are as full as can be, and I need to still squeeze in some shoes and toiletries. Who knows, I may even buy more while I am in DC! Fast fact for you all, that smaller suitcase was purchased in San Diego back in 2006, because too much shopping had occurred while there.

Departing at 5am tomorrow morning, will provide updates from the road and keep everyone up to date on how many Starbucks stops

Kicking Off Year Six

Happy Sunday Everyone!! Work is finally done for the week:) Matt and I are heading out on the road tomorrow~~ this year has a little twist as we are going to be blogging from the road. Should be quite exciting as everyone knows, funny things have a habit of happening to me whereever I go! Shout out to game night girls...{insert jazz hands} Phyllis!!! and what was that I was going to draw...a "Racetrack"! Till we hit the road!

Transportation Method

This car is Tricia's, it doesn't have any type of fancy name or anything, but it is comfortable and a great ride. Last year it was our transportation to DC and again it will be this year. That picture was taken outside the Acura dealership following an oil and air filter change...this will help us maximize our gas mileage. After that we did some shopping to make sure we were all stocked up.

Sunday comes the final day of prep work for the trip, I basically have my sleep schedule adjusted, and now just have a few miles of laundry to get through. Temps should be hot and humid all week, which will mean I may have to change clothes during each day I'm there. its a 2 suitcase trip.

More tomorrow

A little Travel History

It all started in 2003 when Tricia and I still worked together. She knew had an extra ticket for the US Open mens final that year, and asked me to tag along. That day trip started our traveling adventures together which has taken us to see tennis in 8 different states in all 4 corners of the US. We have met countless people along the way and could make probably thousands of posting on a blog.
DC itself started in 2005 (hence the take six in the title) and we traveled down there just to take a quick weekend trip during the summer. My friend Josh who lives in DC had been to the tournament in previous years and enjoyed it, and based on the location, and overall cost it seemed like the perfect place. Off we went on Southwest Airlines one morning, then picked up our rental car and made the drive to DC....little did we know that we were starting something that would turn into an annual event.
Friends is what has kept us going back as during that first weekend we made friends with the people around us, most notably the Semo family of Virginia. Mike, Nancy, and their daughter Caitlin (who we have watched grow up and will be starting college this year) became instant friends of ours, and people we kept in touch with between trips to DC. Starting in 2007 we bought our tickets with them, and attended the tournament for an entire week, not just the final weekend.
During the previous 5 years we have seen countless hours of tennis, have seen the likes of Andy Roddick, James Blake, Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Tomas Berdych (who looks a little like Leonardo DiCaprio), and we saw the professional debut of John Isner who has since gone on to play the longest match in tennis history a few months ago in Wimbledon.
We have also been to various Smithsonian museums, been to the White House (the tour is self guided a waste of time), dealt with the hottest and most humid weather ever, and have been to countless numbers of Starbucks. Starting in 2009 the automobile was our transportation method (thanks to Acura that Tricia bought).
We are going to blog from the road, blog from the hotel, blog from tennis, and other spots around DC. We will keep you, the reader, updated on our travels and what is happening. More posts will be coming this week as we get ready for DC Take Number Six!