Day 45: Washington

Today we watched the Chicago Cubs dismantle the Washington Nationals, 7-0 at the brand new Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Carlos Zambrano pitched 7 shutout innings, and Derek Lee led the way with 3 RBI's as the Cubs cruised to an easy victory. I chose the Cubs (-1.5), so I regain the series lead, taking a 16-15 edge with tonight's victory.

We left Hilton Head, SC (where Ben lives now) at about 5:05am this morning, and arrived at his aunt and uncle's house shortly after 2:30pm. It was a relatively easy drive up I-95 without any stops from the highway patrol. Upon arrival, we had a wonderful steak meal waiting for us, which was quite delicious.

Having 4 tickets to the game tonight, Ben's Uncle Dirk joined us, along with our old Furman tennis buddy, and former Day 23 companion, Brian Crook. The new stadium was very nice, with some excellent views of the Capitol Building from the upper deck. In the media guide given to us as we entered the park, one of the page's called it, "The House that Zim Built" referring to Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman. Somehow it just doesn't have the same ring to it as the hallowed stadium in the Bronx.

During the game we managed to spot political commentator and baseball enthusaist George Will. Unfortunately, he did not bring out too many other Nationals' supporters, as the crowd was largely composed of Cubs fans. Even at the end of the game a majority of the fans stood up and cheered as if the home team was closing out the win.

Tomorrow, Ben and I head back home, as this will be our only trip this season. Look for the blog to pick back up in 2009 when the Yankees, Mets, and Twins open new stadiums. Until then, here are your statistical updates for the trip.

(Pictures will be added in the next day or two.)

1-end of day odometer: 55,013
2-miles traveled today: 616
3-miles traveled total: 18,935
4-states traveled in today: South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
bonus stat: Cubs catcher Geovany Soto was 0-5 with 5 strikes, 4 of which were the 2nd out of the inning.