Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Dodgers in DC (Sept), Philly(June), NY May; Angels in NY (June), Baltimore Sept.)

The Dodgers visit Nationals Park only in September; Monday, Sept 5 through Thurs, Sept. 8.  Monday's and Thursday's games are day games (1:05).  Tuesday and Wednesday are 7:30 p.m. games.

The Blue Crew visits Philadephia on June 6, 7, 8 (Monday-Wednesday), all night games

They play the Mets on May 6, 7, 8 (Friday-Sunday).  Friday and Saturday are night games, Sunday is a day game.

The Angels visit the Mets on June 17, 18, 19 (Friday-Sunday).  Friday and Saturday are night games, Sunday is a day game.

Angels vs. Orioles on Sept. 16-18  (Friday-Sunday).  Friday and Saturday are night games, Sunday is a day game.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Deer

I've lived here for just under 2 months and one thing I've clearly learned is that the only predator for the deer around here is the automobile.  I've driven by 4 roadkill deer in the past 4 days.  And I almost hit one on Monday night.  It is so dark and they are really stupid.  They just stand in the middle of the road and stare at you like deer in the...well, you know.  They are beautiful, but overabundant and dangerous. 

The DMV

When you move to Virginia, there are a number of things you have to do within 30 days to be square with the DMV, and there is a ton of documentation required.  After doing 2 real estate deals and a ton of relocation paperwork, the DMV guantlet was most unwelcome.

The good news--it can be done! We spent about 4 hours in the DMV, including a trip home and back to get passports we didn't know we needed.

So here's the skinny:

To move your car to Virginia, you need to do the following:

--Get your car inspected by a certified state inspection station.  A lot of gas stations also provide this service.  This inspection is required every year.  They put a big yellow sticker in the middle of the bottom of your windshield with the month and date your next inspection is due prominently displayed (see above).

--Get an emissions test by a certified emissions testing station.  This is valid for two years, and most stations that do the regular inspection also do emissions tests.

--Take the two papers you receive from the tests to the DMV.  Word is that the offices in Leesburg or Chantilly are not as bad as the DMV offices in Fairfax and Sterling.  I learned that one while standing outside the Sterling office in 25 degree weather.

Here is what you need when you go to the DMV.  If you don't have these documents, you will wait in line for nothing.

--Your California title paper (pink slip)

--Your California registration paper

--Your California driver's license

--Your passport.  If you don't have your passport, you have to bring your birth certificate.  And if your driver's license name doesn't match your birth certificate, you have to bring your marriage certificate.  Seriously.  We had to go home and retrieve our passports, but when we came back, they let us "fast-pass" to the front of the line.

--A receipt or bill that proves you now have a Virginia address.  Your name has to be on it.  Your spouse's name won't get it done for you.  They prefer utility bills -- we used a bank statement from a local bank and our Verizon bill.

--proof of car insurance in Virginia

--While the paperwork burden is oppressive, the people in the DMV office were suprisingly patient and helpful.

--Once inside the office they take away your California title document and replace it with a Virginia title document.  You need to know the VIN number and mileage of your car.  The good news is that the VIN number is on the title form, and the mileage is noted on the certificate you get from the state inspection station.

--Re-titling your car doesn't cost anything

--They will give you a 2-year registration and it only cost us $93...for both years

--We didn't have to take the driving or written test.  Our new license cost only $32! and it is good for 7 years!

--They punch a hole in your California license but they don't take it (that one hurt--branded)

--They take your photo, test your eyesight.  Then they give you a temporary paper license.

--My permanent license arrived one week later.  And it is HIDEOUS!  a black and white mug shot.  No smiling allowed.  It makes the California license photo look like a professional portrait. 

--Lastly, they hand you your new plates and registration stickers right then and there.  Again, they didn't confiscate our California plates.

I put the new plates on my car...bittersweet...but at least I'm no longer worrying about being profiled as an idiot Californian.

Last note:  supposedly, everything required for the future can be done online.  Annual inspection certification, emissions, license renewal, etc.

Now, I'm going online to get my EZ Pass for the Dulles Tollway...Which costs $2.00 to get from Reston to the I-66.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Sports in DC

If you like sports, you'd better get used to being a Redskins fan.  That's all they talk about here.  And they suck.  I can't imagine how much Redskin talk there would be if they were good.  The Capitals are very good, and people like them pretty much.  The Wizards are just sad and people pretty much leave them alone...And the Nationals are kind of like a host team for everyone's favorite team when they come to town.

College basketball is huge here, however, and Georgetown and Maryland get much coverage.

Being a west coast fan, however is lame.  The games start at 10:30 at night.  Most of the time they don't even get reported in the Post the next morning.  I did get to see a Wizards game against the Celtics.. Wizards won.  Ha ha Celtics fans.  Yeah, I know, the Celtics beat the Lakers the next week.  sigh.

Winter

I was (am) seriously unprepared for Winter.  There are a lot of things you have to know.  For example, there are many kinds of show shovels, and some are much better for the back than others.  And you have to throw salt around your driveway and walkways or the snow will melt, then it will get cold again, and you will have an ice path.  There are, of course, many kinds of salt, with names like Magic Salt and Blizzard Wizard, etc.  I have learned how to shovel snow, and even which kind of shovel to use with which kind of snow.  A couple of tips I learned from experience:
  • Shovel the snow soon after it fell.  If you wait long enough, you're shoveling ice. 
  • If a little snowball falls into your clean driveway and you see it sometime afterward, don't kick it. (see previous bullet about snow becoming ice)
  • Snow is generally welcome before Christmas.  Not so much afterward.
  • Be very nice to the neighbor who has a snow blower.  Or go buy one yourself.
  • Don't try to drive a BMW in the snow

My BMW 325i, which was so fun to drive up and down PCH did not do well in last Wednesday's afternoon rush hour snowstorm.  I slid into the side of the road 4 times before giving up and stopping at a motel.  Apparently, there are tires that you're supposed to put on your car in winter.  And you're supposed to have an all-wheel car to drive in snow.  Who knew?

Also, all this cold weather complicates everything.  Just to go out to the car, you have to find a coat, decide if it is snow or rain (different coat), a scarf, gloves, coffee, a shovel for when your car slides into the ditch next to the road, a scraper, a brush.  It is like having babies again.  It takes ten minutes to put all your stuff in your car.

But, if you're smart enough to stay home, the snowscape is awesome...and you can count snow shoveling as a workout...

Roads

There are no freeways here. Call some road a freeway and you've given yourself away as a Californian.  Instead there are:
  • Interstates (66, 95, 97, etc)  and it's not "the" 66.  It is I-66 or Interstate 66
  • Parkways (like the Pasadena Freeway north of Los Angeles)
  • Tollways. ( Freeways that cost money)
  • The Beltway (an Interstate (495) that goes in a complete circle around DC.  Seriously.  If you drive to Annapolis, you can take the northern half there and the southern half back and have the whole beltway covered.  And there is no 495 N or 495 S.  It is the "inner loop" and the "outer loop." 
  • Surface highways (like La Cienega or Hawthorne Boulevard)
  • Back roads (like Kanan Dune Road in Malibu)
  • The Mixing Bowl (where all the different Interstates collide at the bottom of the Beltway--Kind of like the 4-level in Downtown LA)
  • the Interstate between Washington and Baltimore is called a parkway.  Go figure.

Why I started this blog: I moved from So. Cal. to No. VA

After living my whole life in Southern California, I've been transferred to Washington, D.C.  I've had a number of observations about life here in the Commonwealth and thought they might be of use to those who follow.  So I decided to start a blog.  I have no commitment about how frequently I will post, but when I find something interesting, I'll post something.  So, dude, if you're not moving from LA to DC, you are probably not inerested. Otherwise, welcome to my world.