* "Capitol Riverfront neighborhood day at Nationals Park will be Wednesday, April 21st with ticket discounts available to residents, employees, and friends of the BID." The on-street supervisor of the BID's Clean and Safe Team will be singing the National Anthem. [I think, though, that Southwest is going to be part of this "neighborhood day" as well, even though it's not in the BID. This was mentioned at an ANC 6D meeting a few weeks ago.]

* There will be a "Fitness in the Front" event at Canal Park on May 1, with free classes offered by local instructors and information tables (and freebies!). See the link for the lineup and additional info.

* Residential update: "The residential population in the Front is estimated to have reached 3,030 as of the first quarter of 2010. Rental properties including the Onyx, Axiom, Jefferson and 909 are 95% leased. For sale units including Capitol Quarter, Capitol Hill Tower and Velocity are 71% sold. The residential population is predicted to reach 3,500 by the end of 2010."

* And Justin's opens on April 16, but you knew that already. :-)

Best not to speak of what happened on the field, or about the ratio of Phillies fans to Nats fans (at least the shared red-and-white team colors makes it a little less obvious), but despite all of that, it was a warm and sunny start to the Nationals' 2010 season, and I wandered and took some photos of the scene at and around the ballpark as the day got underway.

The big part of the pregame ceremonies, of course, was the throwing out of the first pitch by President Obama. I gave my camera's high-speed-shutter quite a workout to catch the action (though not the ball's trajectory to the plate--ahem), and so here's my Presidential First Pitch photo gallery as well.
And now we'll wait to hear how the arrivals and departures of 41,000 people went. Things didn't look too bad, with the stadium being mostly full at gametime, but there were no doubt problems with full parking lots, lengthy magnetometer lines, and the game letting out just as rush hour starts. Though I'm guessing that the stadium didn't exactly *stay* crowded, given the scoreline, allowing for a more evenly spaced departure crowd, rather than the entire throng being dumped onto Half Street at the end of a 3-2 thriller. But I'll update this entry with links to any media pieces on transportation nightmares.

It'll be an eventful day Monday as the Nats' 2010 season opens, both for folks skipping out on work to head to the ballpark and for neighborhood dwellers and workers who will have 41,000 guests popping in around late morning.

If you're going to the game, check my pages on parking options, taking Metro (including the JDLand Approved Walking Route from Capitol South), and general traffic restrictions. (Dr. Gridlock did a roundup today as well, if for some reason you might trust him more than me for this sort of info.)

If you're a resident/worker, remember that the west entrance of the Navy Yard station becomes one-way inbound after the game. (The New Jersey Avenue entrance remains two-way.)

As you've been warned repeatedly for the past few days, security will be heavy, so give yourself plenty of time to get into the stadium (gates open at 10 am for the 1:05 pm start). But that'll give you a chance to try out the new food options and see all the changes from last year, and there will also be all sorts of entertainment going on to help you pass the time.

The weather forecast looks good--certainly better than 2008, and warmer than last year. If you really want to stroll down memory lane, here's all my ballpark photo galleries, going back to the groundbreaking in May 2006.

I'll be roaming around with camera in hand (and perhaps also a serving of chicken and waffles), so feel free to say hello.