What a weekend! What a whirlwind! What a WIN!!
We took the kids to their first Army-Navy game, and it was amazing. Everything was perfect -- the weather, the traffic, and most especially the final score.
We arrived mid-day on Friday, just in time to see the Liberty Bell and go to the Museum of the American Revolution. CC was excited to see the names of so many of her favorite characters from Hamilton, and all three kids had fun finishing the museum's scavenger hunt. We also saw an original Declaration of Independence, but I doubt the kids understood the enormity of the document.
Our hotel was in Chinatown, so we got about 8 different types of dumplings for dinner. They were delicious, and MJ and I stuffed ourselves. But the kids didn't have any appreciation. "They aren't as good as the ones you get from Costco!" whined Little Man. Blasphemy!
The next morning we got up early and had breakfast at the Reading Street Terminal, where we picked a selection of goodies from several stalls. We were amused to see a pig sculpture dressed in an Army jersey!
Then we went to see the iconic sculpture in Love Park. The kids were thoroughly unimpressed, but they posed for me anyway. (Fun fact: Sweet Pea was in the midst of a very uncharacteristic meltdown over the coat she had to wear that day, yet she paused her screaming briefly to smile nicely for the picture. Ha!)
Afterwards we crossed the street to the Board Game Art Park, where there are giant reproductions of classic game pieces: chess, dominos, bingo, parcheesi, and monopoly. How fun! The kids blew off some steam by running around and climbing.
Then it was on to the main event! We took the subway down to the stadium, where we met up at a tailgate with MJ's old roommate, Brandon. They lived together when MJ and I first met, when the three of us worked together. MJ and I haven't seen him since, so it was fun to catch up!
The tailgate was perfect -- right in front of the stadium, on a grassy area for the kids to run around, with plenty of other kids to play with. They immediately started horsing around and stuffing themselves with donuts, which allowed MJ and I to chat with the other adults.
Then ... GAME TIME! Our seats were high up and right on the 50 yard line. Perfect. But for most of the game, the Army team wasn't playing well, so I resigned myself to a loss. But then we tied it up with a field goal, which sent the game to overtime for the first time in Army-Navy history! In double overtime Navy was on the verge of scoring a touchdown when Army stripped the ball, then kicked a field goal for the win. Pandemonium! The kids were screaming and jumping up and down like crazy. We sang our hearts out when it was time for the Alma Mater, and had a blissful but crowded ride back on the subway.
Sunday was a long, rainy drive home, but nothing could dampen our spirits. What an experience! We will treasure these memories forever.
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