RSS FeedWalking My Baby Back Home
Just over three years ago we wrote about how easy it was to walk home from baseball games out at RFK. Since the Nats moved to the South Capitol location getting to the games has been easier than ever; metro, bus, taxi, driving (when we have a parking pass) were all great options. But we’re ashamed to admit that, although the new stadium was closer than RFK, we never made the walk.
June 8th, Strasburg’s debut, changed all of that. The idea of trying to metro to the game with 40,000 fans was our breaking point; it was time for us to give the walk a chance.
So how was the walk? Well we’ve been to a lot of games since Strasburg’s first start. We’ve seen Strasberg pitch his first loss, Hernandez throw 62 mph fast balls, Zimmerman win two games with walk-offs in the 9th, the Nats decimate the Giants on a Friday night, the Giants brutally defeat the Nats two days later, and more.
And we’ve walked to & from every single one of those games.
Before writing this post we were telling everyone how short the walk was; a mile, mile and a half at the most. Well today Google Maps tells us it’s actually just over 2 miles, but that just goes to show what an easy and safe two miles it is. Whether you are walking to 1:35 pm day games, or headed home at 11 pm after extra innings, it always feels safe. A big part of this is because no matter the attendance, you can always count on at least a few dozen (and often a few hundred) people to be making part of the walk with you. This is because there is a huge, and we’re guessing cheap, parking lot under the overpass on South Capital near the Randall Rec Center.
Of course not everyone stops at the parking lot. Obviously several of our residents already make the walk, as we’ve watched as they followed our same path back to PQ. Others who walk past the overpass detour to the Federal Center SW metro, a great way to avoid transferring if you live off the blue/orange line.
Walking to or from a game won’t be for everyone, but we find it’s a great way to burn off our excitement (and often, our disappointment), as well as our half-smoke and beers.
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Comments
I used to live near the stadium and would often walk to Penn Quarter or the Mall from there. Really not bad at all!
contra – I was at the June 8th game and because of Strassmania and past experiences with our crack Metro system I was dreading the Metro ride home – and I found it to be unexpectedly painless. Yay Metro! Seems like they’re actually getting their acts together this year.
But I will give the walk home a try one of these evenings.
To avoid the metro crowds, I rode my bike to and from the July 9 (friday, Strasburg) game -most excellent. About 15 mins each way. I got to the park about 6:45 and there were plenty of spots for locking up close to the main entrance. They did fill up – the racks and nearby signposts were all occupied when I exited just a couple minutes after the last out. There’s also a valet bike-parking option – free i think.
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I’ve walked it before and its not bad at all, you can even make a stop at the Irish Times for a pint on the way home!