May Daze: Day 3
FREDERICK MD -- The day started off on an unfortunate note. As of 4:41 am, the smoke-alarm battery started chirping. Every 47 seconds. Ultimately, Chad tuned it out, but I had no such luck, and instead partook of the various media options on my laptop until such time as the breakfast bar would open. (The front-desk clerk could only help to the extent that my bill was reduced; because of the Navy graduation, the hotel was otherwise booked.)
As is custom on vacation Sundays, we hit two church services, the first of which was St Matthew's. The minister had a good sermon, noting that, while God is love, not all love is God. As visitors, Chad and I received snack packs on the way out -- chips and cookies -- as well as promotional materials for the church.
It was then back to Annapolis for a brief tour of the Academy campus and then service at the Naval Chapel. By comparison with West Point and Colorado Springs, Navy's campus is quite compact (340 acres), but still filled with history. The chapel, for example, sits atop the sarcophagus of naval hero John Paul Jones. (His actual birth name was John Paul; rumor was, he killed a mutinous crewmember -- perhaps in self-defense -- but didn't get the law-of-the-sea hearing he wanted, so he bolted and added "Jones" to avoid detection.)
I had considered getting tickets to the Nationals' game in DC, but wasn't comfortable with the amount of time between the end of service in Annapolis and the 6:00 start of the Frederick game. Ultimately, the chapel tour made us late for the game; instead, we had a late lunch at Justin's Café nearby, where several TVs had the Nats game on. While we did get caught up in departing game traffic at the Metro station, we were still able to get to Frederick in plenty of time to check in to the hotel and get to the game. (And the Nationals won.)
The Frederick Keys are named for Francis Scott Key, who is buried nearby. And let those who love bad-pun mascot names rejoice: Frank Key joins a coyote named "Keyote". Frederick handled Salem easily, 8-1.
As is custom on vacation Sundays, we hit two church services, the first of which was St Matthew's. The minister had a good sermon, noting that, while God is love, not all love is God. As visitors, Chad and I received snack packs on the way out -- chips and cookies -- as well as promotional materials for the church.
It was then back to Annapolis for a brief tour of the Academy campus and then service at the Naval Chapel. By comparison with West Point and Colorado Springs, Navy's campus is quite compact (340 acres), but still filled with history. The chapel, for example, sits atop the sarcophagus of naval hero John Paul Jones. (His actual birth name was John Paul; rumor was, he killed a mutinous crewmember -- perhaps in self-defense -- but didn't get the law-of-the-sea hearing he wanted, so he bolted and added "Jones" to avoid detection.)
I had considered getting tickets to the Nationals' game in DC, but wasn't comfortable with the amount of time between the end of service in Annapolis and the 6:00 start of the Frederick game. Ultimately, the chapel tour made us late for the game; instead, we had a late lunch at Justin's Café nearby, where several TVs had the Nats game on. While we did get caught up in departing game traffic at the Metro station, we were still able to get to Frederick in plenty of time to check in to the hotel and get to the game. (And the Nationals won.)
The Frederick Keys are named for Francis Scott Key, who is buried nearby. And let those who love bad-pun mascot names rejoice: Frank Key joins a coyote named "Keyote". Frederick handled Salem easily, 8-1.