Ben's Chili Bowl

A popular place to visit when in D.C. is Ben's Chili Bowl. Bill Cosby helped make this hole-in-the-wall restaurant famous. Mom and Dad enjoy the grub, there's even one at Nat's Park.

Selling Excess

Ashlee and I participated in our annual excess sale on Saturday. We were able to move almost two full parking spaces of our stuff. She made quite a bit of money -- first sale since she moved -- on things we have given her in the past. I think Chuck and I have finally gotten rid of most of our excess, at least what we see on a daily basis. Mom and Dad helped to and laughed as we negotiated with everyone, tried to push stuff on folks, and provided shade in the 100 degree heat. Ashlee was most excited that our parking neighbors had a bobble-head Teddy (see earlier post about the President's Run at Nats games). She traded a cute tray for the bobble-head.

Potomac Whitewater Festival

Ashlee and I got up this morning and went to the Potomac Whitewater Festival. You will see one of our favorite places...this amazing place is just a few miles outside of DC. There are trails, class 5 rapids, flat water, and great views. The first few pics will show the falls, look closely at the rest you may see a kayaker going over the falls. It was amazing!!!

Potomac White Water Festival

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Portland in July

Chuck left for his annual field work on the Sandy River towards the end of June. Andi was able to take a few days off and visit over the long weekend. They spent the weekend exploring the Sandy on inflatable kayaks and visit with Kurt and Rose.

Kurt and Rose live on a great farm with an amazing view of several ridges. It was relaxing and we were entertained by her goats, ate veggies from their amazing garden, and watched 4th of July firework shows from about 15 different cities as we sat in their pasture.

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Mary's Visit in June

Chuck's youngest sister came out to visit for four days in June. It was an action packed. Friday, Ashlee joined them at the Jazz Festival while they waited for Andi to returned from a trip. Saturday they were up moving with a visit to the DC Botanical Gardens, a walk along the mall, and the Natural History Museum. Then a DC United Soccer game with about 12 friends. Our original seats were great but the constant rain forced us to the upper deck of RFK. The game resulted in a 4-0 win for DC.

Sunday was Father's Day. As in previous years, we spent the day with all of the local Texans eating good grub, riding the zip line, watching softball and horseshoes, and enjoying a day on a farm.

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Chuck's Birthday Weekend -- Charlottesville

Chuck's birthday weekend was celebrated a little late this year due. We were trying to find a time we could get away for the entire weekend and not be rushed to get there or return for another trip. I had heard great things about Charlottesville, VA -- home of the University of Virginia and in the middle of Virginia wine country. We had a great time, stayed in a cute B&B just across from the campus and a little walk from the pedestrian mall.

On the way home we stopped by several wineries and brought home a case. I think we will go back and try some more this fall. Just like the wineries in Idaho, they do an open house over Thanksgiving weekend.

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Colorado in May

Andi had a TDY to the Academy for a week prior to Memorial Day weekend. It was a great opportunity for both of us to revisit a few favorite spots and spend the weekend with Chuck's parents in Boulder. On the way to Colorado Springs we visited Jack and Carrie Arendale--it was a great afternoon sitting on the patio catching up, drinking beers, and grilling out.

Unfortunately we didn't take a lot of pictures but were able to spend an afternoon hiking up to Stanley Canyon with our friend Alycia Vrosh (pics). It was a beautiful hike with the standard 10 minutes of rain around 3pm. We spent three nights with Fred and Melissa Cunningham--Old C's, Col K's, and at Melissa Phillips' house. Good times.

For Memorial Day weekend, we spent three days in Boulder doing our favorite things--walking, roaming, and visiting friends/family. On the way to Denver we stopped at a great park with some amazing views of Denver before heading to a Rockies game with Mike and Kendra Russell. Then it was up to Boulder hike some more, visit with the rest of the Colorado family, and see the new things Atticus can do. Just before leaving we met up with Ty Little in Lyons.

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Final Sailing Adventure

We went on our final sailing adventure in early June. Our friends received orders to Germany and there were only a few weeks until the boat went into storage. We headed out on the Chesapeake for an overnight adventure. However before we arrived at our little cove for the evening we ran into a storm which turned out to be the perfect time for lunch. It was awesome to watch the lightening from the water and a little weird to be on a boat with hail coming down.

Chuck was able to go out one more time before the boat was put up. Hopefully we will meet up with these guys in Europe next summer to sail ourselves around some fabulous location.

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Ashlee on the big screen

Ashlee and Chuck arrived at the game a little early one night. She was selected to play Nat's trivia on the big screen. I don't know if she was more excited to get a few answers right or to finally talk to her baseball boyfriend (Nat's PR guy). She successfully answered four questions and received all the treats.

A funny note, she had on her "Let Teddy Win" shirt but they made her put on an official Nat's shirt to play. Luckily they were handing out shirts at the game.

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Update the blog or clean the condo?

Since Chuck isn't here I think the best way to share pictures with him is to update the blog. It's either that or clean the house! You will also benefit. I have been at the computer several times over the last week with the best intentions but the thought of doing more computer work for either of us isn't great after a day at the computer. Hopefully after the next couple of hours work you will be able to catch up with us, see where we've been, what we've been doing, and hopefully see some decent photos.