Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

The Legend of Zelda...one of the most classic video games of all time.  And now...it's a symphony!  Touring around the country for the remainder of the year, this show takes a full symphony orchestra, as well as a vocal chorus, to reproduce many of the amazing pieces of music from the history of The Legend of Zelda.  During the music, you get a video presentation of the music from the games they originate from.  The nostalgia this will bring back for any Zelda fans is immense and is highly recommended for anyone that played these games.

For more details, click here.

The following dates are currently on the schedule following the Philly performance we attended...

  • June 26th - Vienna, VA
  • June 27th - Pittsburgh, PA
  • June 28th - Pittsburgh, PA
  • September 15th - Toronto, ON
  • September 22nd - Minneapolis, MN
  • October 18th - Boston, MA
  • October 25th - Chicago, IL
  • November 3rd - San Antonio, TX
  • November 6th - Calgary, AB
  • November 28th - New York City, NY
  • December 8th - West Palm Beach, FL
  • December 9th - Miami, FL
  • December 14th - San Jose, CA

Friday, July 27, 2012

Hotel Review: Residence Inn - Capital View






The Residence Inn - Capital View, in Arlington, VA lies within the Crystal City portion of the city.  This section is full of hotels and restaurants to choose from.  When making a decision, this hotel is an excellent choice and a great place to stay to quickly get into Washington, DC.

The staff is very friendly and helpful.  There is a regular shuttle to the closest metro stop, as well as to the airport.  A full complimentary breakfast is served each morning consisting of eggs, sausage, french toast, chipped beef biscuits and various other choices.

The rooms themselves are very clean and spacious, including a kitchen for anyone looking to cook for themselves.  The shower and toilet were separate from the sink area, allowing two people to get ready at the same time in the morning.

The only negative we found was the parking cost of $22 per day.  Even though the hotel rates are very reasonable, this parking cost I think is pretty ridiculous.  Even hotels inside of the main area of Washington, DC don't ask for this much in parking.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

National Building Museum


The National Building Museum is a hidden treasure in Washington, DC.  This extremely impressive building (which can be rented out for weddings and other affairs) is gorgeous to look at from the inside.  The pillars and structure are an architectural masterpiece.

There are various exhibits in the museum, which do change every now and then.  Photos aren't allowed in most of them though.  The best to us was the Lego one, which showed famous buildings from around the world made out of Legos.  Very impressive!

Other exhibits show visitors examples of architectural masterpieces from around the globe (but mostly America).  A good 90 minutes can be spent here exploring the museum (both the building itself as well as the exhibits) and is well worth it.  They also currently have mini-golf set up in one section of the building for those with little ones.  There was a very long line for this though, so it's something we decided to skip.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Arlington National Cemetery



The Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA are the grounds that honors those who have served our country.  This is still a very active cemetery that holds numerous funerals daily, so when visiting, please be respectful of these hallowed grounds and the other visitors (Silence your cell phones!!!).

The grounds are huge, but you are able to walk through the majority of the cemetery.  A better way to get around and see everything though is to take the tour bus for $8.95/person, which will make 3 stops along the way.  The buses keep coming every 20 minutes, so you can stay at any spot as long as you want and venture around as much as you want.  This is especially helpful on extremely hot days.

The bus will stop at the Kennedy Grave site, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Arlington House.  All are definitely worth your time to visit, however the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is definitely the best to see due to the Changing of the Guard.  Every 30 minutes in the summer (60 minutes in the winter), you can watch the "show", which is an intense display of military training as the soldiers change positions.  Words cannot describe the impressiveness of this and it should definitely be seen and appreciated by all Americans.

When leaving the cemetery, also keep in mind you are very close to the Iwo Jima Memorial Statue, as well as the Air Force Memorial statue, both in Arlington, VA.  They are very impressive and should be visited when in the area.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Art of Video Games Exhibit




Tucked inside the Smithsonian American Art Museum, until Sept. 30, 2012, is the Art of Video Games Exhibit.  For anyone with an appreciation of Video Games, this is a must visit exhibit, so try to get yourself to Washington, DC before it leaves!

In the exhibit, you'll find many different video game "artifacts" from the young history of video games, dating back to the late 1970's.  My favorite (shown above) is the cloth map from Ultima IV... I still remember having this as a child!

You'll also have the opportunity to play some classic games such as Super Mario Bros. and The Secret of Monkey Island (shown above).  After this section, you can see videos of all the major game systems and some of the most historically impacting games of those systems.

While the rest of the museum does have plenty of great art to see, this exhibit is the one you don't want to miss!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Noodles & Company

Wisconsin Mac and Cheese with Meatballs
Tomato Basil Bisque
Penne Rosa


Noodles & Company is one of my favorite quick food restaurants when we're in the DC area. There are restaurants across the country, as well.

Noodles isn't quite fast food the way McDonald's is, I would compare it more to SaladWorks or Zoup, or even Panera.

I'm a big fan of the Penne Rosa, a spicy creamy tomato sauce with spinach and tomatoes (I order it without the mushrooms). We also ordered the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese with meatballs. The mac and cheese was amazing! However, we couldn't figure out how the meatballs fit with the mac and cheese.

On another trip, we ordered the Japanese Pan Noodles, which were delicious, a little spicy, a little sweet, and had fresh bean sprouts on top. We also ordered the chicken noodle soup, which was also very good, and highly recommended.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Zephrus

Sangria
Farfalle
Roasted Statler Chicken Breast

Located inside the Martha's Vineyard Mansion House, Zephrus Restaurant was a great pick on a warm summer evening. With plenty of indoor seating, as well as a few tables on the restaurant's enclosed patio, this was a great place to enjoy the summer evenings while people watching along Main Street in Vineyard Haven.

We ordered the white wine sangria, which was crisp and refreshing, and perfect for the summertime.

For dinner, we ordered the farfalle, which was perfectly light, while still being filling. The garlic sauce was delicious and everything was cooked perfectly.

We also ordered the roasted chicken, and substituted green beans for artichokes. The chicken was succulent and juicy, the risotto was creamy, and the sauce was amazing!

We would highly recommend Zephrus for lunch or dinner in Vineyard Haven.