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High 78 degrees…Low 65 degrees…Not a cloud in the sky… Saturday was the perfect day…that can only mean one thing…the start of summer softball season!

This summer I’ve been called up from the minor leagues to play for Cato’s team in the DC Think Tank League (you can follow the action here).  Our season (technically the pre-season) started on beautiful Saturday, as it’s now being called, with a clash of the titans tournament.  Featuring four heavy think tanks in DC (us, left-leaning Brookings Institute, far-left-leaning Center for American Progress and right-leaning Heritage Foundation), the tourney provided the pre-season exhibition games for Cato to really show its muscle – we won 17-3 in the first game and 11-5 in the second.  This may be my time in 4 years of being on a winning softball team (sorry Brad and Rubenstein).

You’ll be pleased to know that in true Rick Ankiel style, I earned a spot in the regular line-up on the team.  I do not know if it was the HGH or the stress from finals, but my bat came out blazing.  I hit a monster to the tree line (which was unfortunately caught in a great display of fielding), a few hard singles and a “triple.”  Yup, a “triple” and not a triple.  I should clarify that it would have been a standup triple if had not have been waved me home; nevertheless, I was sent home and there was a collision plate (see photo below – great camera work by the Cato staff).  It was okay though, no one was hurt, I drove in three runs on the play and we still won the game.

Our next game is Tuesday, but it conflicts with a final…so you’ll just have to wait another week to get the next update.

It is nearly time for the 3rd Annual MH Memorial Day Budweiser Pro-Am Wiffle Ball Match and FunFest.  Can you feel the excitement radiating from the blog?  As in years past, this year’s game is still not officially sponsored by Budweiser; however, it will feature two trained and ball-field hardened teams going head-to-head in an all out, no-holds-bar, winner-takes-all wiffle ball match.  While the two prior years were played at Shaw Park in the STL, this year’s contest will take place at Quincy Park in Arlington, VA at 1pm on Memorial Day – all are welcome to attend and play (byob & byof).  Winner takes home the coveted trophy:

 In preparation for this grueling year’s match, I took C to the far corners of our apartment building’s parking lot to practice last night.  We worked on her batting and throwing skills – she’ll be on my team this year, I need her to be good.  C’s showing significant improvement this year and should be ready to win it all.

Game ending plays from the prior MH MDBP-AWBM&FF:

2006 (the inaugural match): A close game was decided in the bottom of the 7th inning.  Runners were on second and third and there were 2 outs.  Coach Abel was pitching a tight game, only giving up 14 runs, when opposing Coach Easter, the “Big Canadian,” stepped up to bat.  With the score 15-14, Coach Abel was rightfully sweating bullets – Easter had 3 RBI’s and was batting 1.000 for the day.  After a few foul balls, the Big Canadian got a hold of a slow curve and drove it waaaaaaaaay down the line for a base clearing triple, giving his Rebel Rousers the victory over the EnAbelers.

2007: Mad after our stunning defeat the prior year, Coach Abel and I stacked the teams – trading away C for a couple of good players.  As you would guess, everything was going our way though the 3rd inning stretch (the EnAbelers were up by over 10 runs), when our luck changed.  While taking a break, our star catcher (known as Eric “The Great”), suffered a tongue laceration from coarse salt.  Then while attending to his medical needs, the rain began falling – not only dousing the field, but our victory.  The game was cancelled & there were no winners.

It may have been windy and rainy in the StL today, but here in the greater Washington metro area, it was beautiful, sunny and 75 degrees (and a weekend day).  Without a doubt it was the most perfect day of year.  But, with this beauty brings problems.  The dilemma with days this beautiful is that they are so awesome that you really have to do something so great to justify your full use of such awesomeness – a normal day at the park just won’t cut it on days this stupendous.  Without a doubt, today’s activities more then met the challenge of the day.

 As you may know, nearly every Saturday C & I start our weekend at the farmer’s market near our house.  As the weather turned nicer a couple of weeks ago, additional vendors started to appear at the market (and with them new crops).  One of these new vendors, Westmoreland Berry Farm started selling the biggest, reddest and juiciest strawberries we had ever seen.  Reminiscent of the last time we went berry picking (way back in Spring 2005), we decided that this weeks purchase of strawberries would come straight from the vines – so to the berry farm we went!

After an hour and a half drive through rolling Virginia countryside, we arrived.

As we walked down to the berry fields with the Rappahannock River just over the tree line to our right, we passed rows of growing blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cherries.  While most of this fruit will not be ready for picking for a few weeks (we know, I tried most of them – they were tart), it was cool to see – it was also my first time seeing a blueberry bush.  When we got to the strawberry patch, it was crowded and we feared that with this crowd and it being late in the season, most of the good berries would picked already.  WE WERE WRONG.  There were tons of awesome berries and they tasted even better and fresher then the ones from the farmers market (I think we each ate at least two pound of berries, right off the vine).

Between all the berry eating, we ended up picking nearly nine pounds (that’s a lot of berries).

So, the natural question to ask is: what do you do with 9 pounds of strawberries?

Answer: strawberry daiquiris (once you get home).  We also plan on sharing a bunch too.

The next question to ask is: what do you do to top off a wonderful afternoon of berry picking?

Answer: treat yourself to the nearby winery!  

Home to over 100 wineries, Virginians have been growing grapes and commercially producing wines since 1608.  In fact Thomas Jefferson is considered the father of modern VA wine and VA is the 10^th largest state in terms of commercial grape production.

Berries and wine, a truly awesome combination for an awesome day.  Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone.  Check out the rest of our photos from Sunday’s adventure.