Nationals Park- Washington, DC

We took the subway to Nationals Park while we were in DC!

I actually enjoyed the experience.  I have a friend who ALWAYS takes the subway when he visits an area.  To him, that is part of the experience when he visits a new location.

Personally, I don't feel that way.  I have taken public transportation in most of the major cities, but I generally avoid it if I can.  I like driving my own car, and getting around on my schedule.  That wasn't totally possible in Washington DC.

In fact, while in DC, we used a tourist bus service for a couple of days in town.  I did enjoy that a lot.  See my other blog for more info on that.

Still, the tour bus did not stop anywhere near Nationals Park.  We were told by several people that the subway was extremely user friendly.  They were right!  It is very easy to use.  And it was cheap.  We bought a $5 card to use the system and it got us to the park (from Union Station) and back- and we still had some credit left on the card.  I would use their public transportation system again if I ever find myself back.

Taking the train there is a bit of a contained experience.  You walk out of the tunnel, take a left and you are almost already inside of the park!

On the way to the park, there were several vendors selling peanuts, shirts, hats, etc.  There were deals to be found!  I picked up a hat!

I really enjoyed this park.  It has a nice vibe going for it, and it felt comfortable.  I am not sure exactly where I would put it on my "favorite parks" list, but it is better than many.  I would definitely rank it higher than many major league parks with more of a canned feel.  I feel like this is an underrated park.

The team has done a good job of playing up the areas history- baseball and political.  They show a very cool video before the games of presidents throwing out first pitches, and old Senators footage. 

I love the costumed presidents running around the park (and doing the presidents race!).  The four presidents were all over the park before and after the legendary race, making it pretty easy to get a photo op with at least one of them.

Life sized bobble heads of the presidents are around the park too.

Oh, I wanted to mention the young girl who sang The National Anthem before the game.  If you go to many games during the year, you hear some good versions, and some OK at best versions.  you also know that many "performers" go so over the top singing like they are on a reality karaoke show that they should be embarrassed.
This was not the case with Adalia Jimenez!  She gave just a nice, perfect performance.  She wasn't trying to hit impossible to reach (and unnecessary) high notes.  She hit the notes perfectly and sang it like she cared about the song!  This was easily one of the best renditions I have ever witnessed at a park.

DC is such a great tourist area- it might be easy for even a serious baseball fan to pass on a visit to Nationals Park.  There are so many areas to cover on a trip to Washington DC, but it was very easy to get around, and to get to the park.

See my other blog for more photos of the area!