Live from the Met and Other Weekend Fun

Yesterday Ben and I saw the Metropolitan Opera's production, Maria Stuardo, performed live and broadcast onto big movie screens all over the world.  For the first few minutes before the opera began they showed the audience at Lincoln Center, and it was an interesting experience to see the audience there doing the exact kinds of things that the audience in the movie theater was doing; reading the programs, talking to each other, adjusting their coats. It was like a mirror universe.  But when the production started the singers were "larger than life," being portrayed on the gigantic movie screen.  It made for a visual as well as auditory treat, since you could see every detail of the set, the costumes, and the faces of the singers.  We really enjoyed it.

We had gone to see the opera with our friends, Sandy and Gina, and after the show we headed to Alexandria to have dinner at the Chart House.  It was so good to be by the water again, and we had a festive and tasty dinner.  It was quite crowded for a January night, which the waitress said was probably due to the extra people in town for the inauguration.

Paul is up in Pennsylvania with his friends this weekend, so Ben and I had today to ourselves.  I dropped Ben off at the rock climbing gym this morning and headed over to the Verizon store to renegotiate our communications contract.  I wanted to get two "mobile hotspots" so Paul's iTouch and my iPad could access the Internet on car rides and other trips, and I wanted this new service without any increase in my already high bill.  The sales rep worked his magic on his tablet and with just a few clicks he decreased my Fios bill so I could handle the increase in my Wireless bill, all the time swearing that my Fios service was increasing, not decreasing, with the changes.  We'll see when my first monthly bill comes!  BTW, did you know that Verizon Wireless gives a 15% discount  to Federal employees?  Oh, the things we learn.  

Here's a photo of the handy little mobile router, officially named the  Jetpack 4gLte.  I was surprised at how small and light it is.   Once the salesman got it set up and working I had a fun time using it to search the Internet on my iPad while I sat in the car in the parking lot.  It worked like a charm.  

Soon it was time to meet Ben for lunch, after which we went on a 3 1/2 mile hike on the C& O Canal.  What a day for a hike!  55+ degrees and nice and sunny.  We had a great time walking along the Great Falls on the Maryland side and checking out the Potomac River, which rushed ferociously down the falls due to the high water from the three days of rain we had earlier this week. 

After the hike we had an early dinner at Clyde's in Rockville and are now happily relaxing in front of our fireplace while most everyone else in the area is watching the Baltimore Ravens in another playoff game.  As much as I don't care much about football, I do care about Baltimore, and it would be a lot of fun for Baltimore if their team won.