Dad Camp 2023

I wrote about Dad Camp last year, so I wanted to share what we did this year along with some pictures.

Monday: Costco, Library, Swimming Pool

Not the most exciting start to Dad Camp, but there was a purpose to these activities. A local library has a summer reading program where you can earn Washington Nationals tickets. We visited the library specifically to pick up the voucher and then went to Costco where the kids were super excited that I bought a case of Prime, a new hydration drink. 

I had big plans to take the kids to a Nats game on Tuesday or Wednesday, but the tickets were only available for September games.

Tuesday: Renwick Gallery, White House

I wrote last year that I try to expose my kids to art and culture when I can, so we visited the Renwick Gallery, part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Unlike most Smithsonian museums, this one isn't on the Mall and is smaller and more intimate than its contemporaries. The kids' favorite was Janet Echelman's 1.8 Renwick, and they also really enjoyed Alicia Eggert's This Present Moment, and Bisa Butler's Don't Tread on Me, God Damn, Let's Go! - The Harlem Hellfighters among others.

When we finished at the Renwick, we walked by the White House

Wednesday: Visited My Brother's Family

We got the cousins together and went to a very cool park with a ninja course and baseball fields where we played a heated game of kickball

Thursday: Frisbee Golf, Meet The Teacher Day

On the 5th or 6th hole of the frisbee golf course, Luigi had a meltdown over not going first or not getting to use the new disc or something. Who knows? These tantrums happen sometimes but not generally in public. Fortunately, I don't think anyone else noticed. 

The Moose is starting middle school, so this was the first time he met his teachers. We walked from classroom to classroom trying to replicate his schedule which changes every other day. Big adjustment for him, but every other 7th grader is in the exact same position.

Friday: Luray Caverns, Route 11 Potato Chips

This was the big trip of the week. Luray Caverns is just cool. So many stalactites and stalagmites. Nature at its best.

(I don't think the ladder is natural.)

And after lunch, we visited the Route 11 Potato Chips factory. It's not that big, but they gave very generous samples and watching them make the chips was fun. 

Of course, my kids talked much more about the chip factory than the natural wonder millions of years in the making. 

Saturday: Loudoun United Soccer Game

They still haven't offered me the job of being the official team blogger, so I'm not going to expand on the game or anything else associated with the game.

It's going to take some work next year to top Dad Camp 2023!

Mr. 3000 (State of the Ramblings)

This is my 3,000th blog post almost exactly 15 years to the day that I started Sean’s Ramblings. 15 years ago, I was still a newlywed and in my 20s, before kids and before even Ziggy. We had recently bought a small and comfortable condo, and I started a new job. Basically, within about six months, I got married, moved, changed careers and professions, and started a blog. All four ended up being major life events! I’m kidding a little about the blog being a major life event, but I can’t imagine the number of hours I've spent thinking of and writing 3,000 separate posts.

Let me go back to late 2004. I was in a job that I liked but the organization completely changed. All of a sudden, I went from being the new guy to having more tenure than the rest of the small staff combined, and I wasn’t even there two years. It was at this time that I first learned about blogs thanks to several friends starting their own. I would check their blogs multiple times a day to see if they posted something new. Eventually, and after talking (or at least emailing) with all of them, I decided to start my own blog thanks to their encouragement. My friends stopped writing their blogs years ago, though one of them started a successful website and continues to write regularly. The difference is that the personal blog is gone, and the new website is subject specific.

And that gets me back to my blog. Sure, I write about sports and entertainment, but it's a personal blog, and most people don’t write personal blogs anymore. Life gets in the way, or it’s easier to type out a few tweets instead of coming up with a thoughtful blog post. While it’s one thing to share your status on Facebook or pictures on Instagram, writing a blog post is potentially there forever and can be seen by anyone. I’m not going to suggest that we go back to 2010 and begin a Make Blogs Great Again campaign. That’s just the way it is. Right, Bruce Hornsby?



Even though I’ve written a lot here over the last 15 years, I’m still guarded. I don’t use my kids' real names or include pictures of them. Sure, I’ve written about emergency room visits, but I don’t write about how the kids are doing in school or some personal things about myself. Maybe I would if this was completely anonymous (about me, not the kids), but it’s not. With that written, I’ve found Sean’s Ramblings to be a wonderful outlet. It's an amazing hobby. I often find it much easier to share my thoughts and feelings in a blog post rather than through talking with friends or family. I'm sure that says something about me. When someone creates a biography about me writing the (possibly) world's oldest continuously operating personal blog, I'm sure this will come up!

Someone that I follow on Instagram posted recently that they deleted many old blog posts "in the hopes of improving overall SEO on my blog." I don't understand this. I know that plenty of my old blog posts have links to other sites that no longer work or include videos that were removed. I don't have the time or interest to go through all 3,000 posts. Apparently, I also don't have an interest in improving my SEO or CEO or IBM either. At this point, I view Sean's Ramblings as a bit of a time capsule in that I can look back at old posts at any time to see various stages of my life or to look at events from a certain time period. 

While this is starting to sound like a retirement speech. Sean's Ramblings isn't going anywhere. I don't know if I'll still be writing this blog for another 15 years. At my current pace, I'm certainly not going to write 3,000 more blog posts. So what's next? I have a few ideas for blog posts including a fun look at the next 10 years likely coming out on Thursday, but who knows what I'll write about next month (for example). Although my idea of becoming Loudoun United's official team blogger failed, I still hope to get invited to various events or openings or receive a press pass to cover something. I've shared in the past my admiration for the different opportunities for the Pittsburgh blogging community. There just doesn't seem to be the same community in DC or Northern Virginia, or if there is, I'm not part of it. Maybe it will happen in 2020!

I'm ending this post by including one of my favorite songs from the last few months. 



Dave Grohl starts the video by saying that "there are friends everywhere, even those you don't know." I'm grateful for all of the interaction I've had with so many people over the years. I've never met most of these folks in person, but I do feel like I have friends everywhere. Thanks to all of you for reading this post and for checking out Sean's Ramblings. Maybe this is the first time you've read my blog. Maybe you've read all 3,000 posts. I hope that I've given you some entertainment or maybe even something to think about. Although that last part seems doubtful, I really appreciate all of your support! To 3,000!

Trip To Loudoun United's New Stadium

Back in December, I wrote a blog post about Loudoun United, a new soccer team in the United Soccer League. For those of you not familiar with Loudoun United but may know baseball, Loudoun United is somewhat like a AAA team for the MLS team DC United with common ownership and some players playing on both teams. The point of the December post was to share Loudoun United's 2019 schedule and also as a sort of application to become the team's official blogger. My idea was to write about the team on my blog as well as on my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages and share things that people wouldn't normally see or at least with a different viewpoint from the team's perspective. For example, I proposed writing several posts where I would get to take pictures of the stadium as it was being built and completed and possibly get to interview a few players.

I hoped that the team would appreciate the extra (free!) exposure, and in exchange, give me some tickets to take my family to a few games. Despite some correspondence with the team, nothing ever came of this. I would see pictures from Loudoun United's social media account from various events like the debut of the team's jerseys and the stadium ribbon-cutting ceremony only after the events occurred. I was never invited to any of these functions. While I understand the team not wanting to partner up with a blogger who they don't know, I feel like my social media helped (and could have helped more) promote the team at no cost at all to them.

Last Friday, Loudoun United hosted its first home game at the just-built Segra Field. Continuing my amazing lucky streak this summer, I won two tickets to the game against the Charlotte Independence. I have now won tickets to see Dave Matthews Band, DC United, Loudoun United, George Mason men's basketball, and entry for 10 to an area piano bar all in the last few months. And yes, I played the lottery once recently but lost $1 on a scratch-off ticket. Anyway, since The Moose didn't do a good job listening last week and was talking back more than an eight year-old should, I took 5 year-old Pedro Tulo with me. He promptly fell asleep about five minutes into our 35 minute ride to the stadium, not including the time it took to park.

Speaking of parking, according to WTOP, "two of three parking lots within a few hundred feet of the stadium [were] ready for Friday's game, with the capacity of holding approximately 500 cars." I think those lots filled up quickly. I was directed to park by the youth fields down the hill from the stadium, where I passed at least one sign that said "No Segra Field Parking." I don't want to say that they weren't prepared for the amount of cars for the first game, but there's plenty of room for improvement in getting people in and out of the venue.

I took a few pictures of the stadium on the way in. It's nice. I would probably compare it to a good high school football stadium. I don't know if that's a compliment or not. The field looks great, though it's a turf field, so I hope Loudoun United plans on converting it to a grass field next season. The seats also look nice, though we sat in the "Supporters Section" which are your standard bleacher seats with no backs. Everything else is somewhat piecemeal. There are no permanent structures with the merchandise in a tent, the box office in what appeared to be a trailer, and food and drinks available in tents or at food trucks. I didn't buy food during the game, but it didn't look like you could get food quickly.

A beer man (or woman) going through the stands selling beer and/or water may have alleviated this. My biggest complaint is that you weren't allowed to bring in an unopened bottle of water despite it being August in Northern Virginia meaning temperatures in the 80s even as the sun started going down. In case you’re wondering, DC United, the Washington Nationals, and the Jiffy Lube Live concert venue all permit unopened water bottles. And these were the bathrooms:

Oh, the team also has a horse.

If you want to feel old and feel like maybe you haven’t accomplished much in your life as a teenager and into you’re 20s, Loudoun United games are the place for you. These are the ages of some of the Loudoun United players who played in Friday night’s game.

Moses Nyeman - 15
Jacob Greene - 16
Griffin Yow - 16 (He signed a contract at 15 and played a few games for DC United)
Nelson Martinez - 18
Christain Sorto - 19
Connor Presley & Orlando Sinclair - 21

These kids, and yes they are kids, are getting paid to play soccer before some of them can even vote!

Going to games with Pedro Tulo is always an adventure. While The Moose never wants to miss anything and will sit for hours watching a game, Pedro Tulo gets restless. He bounced back and forth between sitting (or standing) on the bleachers and sitting on my lap in the first half. Then, as the second half was about to start, two kids sat next to us holding beach balls. Despite the second half starting, Pedro Tulo wanted his own beach ball immediately. So we walked from our seats at one end, past the food trucks (and the still long lines at the food trucks) to the other side of the stadium to the Visit Loudoun table where they gave any beach balls, stickers, and more, including a Loudoun County wine map which Pedro Tulo insisted on getting even though the Visit Loudoun staff member said it was adults. (Pedro Tulo liked the map in it, and he can be very charming.) The Visit Loudoun person also told me about the Dulles Summer of Love Music Festival on August 17th featuring Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root and his new band, Uprooted and tried to explain who Rusted Root was. I graduated from a Pittsburgh-area high school in the mid-90s. I know Rusted Root. The father of one of the band members officiated my wedding. I know Rusted Root. (I didn’t say any of this out loud.)



On our way back to the bleachers, I thought that maybe we could sit in one of the regular seats for a better view and better for my back. There were no ushers, so we easily could have done this, but Pedro Tulo wanted to go back to the bleachers. Ugh. One of my favorite things to do when I was younger was get cheap seats for Pittsburgh Pirates games at Three Rivers Stadium and then move down to the nice seats on the third or first base lines in the 5th or 6th inning. I need to teach this to Pedro Tulo.

Back in the bleachers, we sat closer to the Screaming Eagles group. Pedro Tulo enjoyed the drumming and especially the cheers of “Loudoun United.” He constantly screamed this phrase, and for once, his screaming at a public venue was completely appropriate!

After the game, several players came over to the Supporters Section and slapped hands with the fans. At that point, we moved from the bleachers toward the exit but were able to stand by the edge of the field. Then, much to the security guard's dismay, Pedro Tulo ran on to the field and gave high-fives to Elvis Amoh and Griffin Yow. The security guard decided not to stop him because Pedro Tulo ran right back and was being charming again.

It again took longer than it should have to get out of the venue, but we made it, and I expect that this process will improve for future games. My final verdict is that I enjoyed going to the game. It was good, entertaining soccer with a lot of goals scored in a back-and-forth game. The game ended 3-3 with Charlotte taking 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 leads before Loudoun United responded. Definitely a great environment to take your kids. As for Segra Field, the scoreboard went out several times in the second half, and from the Supporters Section, you couldn't hear the announcer share who scored or received a yellow card. The parking situation needs improvement, though I expect that there won't be 5,000 people at the next game as was the announced attendance for this game.

It also appears that my hope of being Loudoun United's official blogger is over. With that written, I can easily be bribed with tickets to write future posts about the team! :)

Please check out this Washington Post article and post-match facts from Loudoun United for more information about the game. This video has all of the highlights too.



The first picture is from Loudoun United. The rest are by me.

Loudoun United Update

The United States women's national team won its fourth World Cup title on Sunday thanks to an impressive 2-0 victory over The Netherlands. So I'm sure that you're thinking, Sean, why are you writing a blog post about Loudoun United, a team in the USL Championship league, only a day after we should be celebrating Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz, Crystal Dunn, and soon-to-be superstar Rose Lavelle? That's a good question, proving again how smart you are. I guess the best reason is that soccer is the top story in the United States today, and I'm here to reaffirm my commitment as Loudoun United's (still not) official team blogger.

In mid-May, Richie Williams, the first head coach in Loudoun United's history, left to join the New England Revolution staff after coaching only 9 games. This was only several months after "Dane Murphy, D.C. technical director who was hired in the fall and oversaw Loudoun’s roster, departed before the season started to pursue a high-ranking job in England." Ryan Martin, who became the director of D.C. United's academy in January 2017, was hired as Loudoun United's second coach in team history.

So even though the team only started playing a few months ago, Loudoun United is already on its second head coach and second technical director. I would hope that the team doesn't already have a second (still not) official team blogger too. I'm not here to make any demands or anything. All I'm asking for is a tour of the stadium, which is scheduled to open in August, prior to its opening where I can take pictures of the field, stands and concession areas and share this with all of you. Then, just a few tickets to the first ever home game. I've already written several blog posts about the team and promoted them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. That's the least I can do as the (still not) official team blogger. Let's make the (still not) official blogger title, official, Loudoun United. Let's build on the success of the women's national team to help grow the game. Help me, help you!

Photos by Alex Grimm/Getty Images and Loudoun United.

2019 Loudoun United Roster

As the (still pending) official blogger of Loudoun United, Loudoun County's first professional soccer team, I’ve been remiss in not sharing the roster for the team’s inaugural season. Therefore, I’m proud to present your 2019 Loudoun United, um, Uniteders! (Yes, I know the team is simply called Loudoun United. I just thought it might be fun imagining the introduction of these players like they do before basketball games.)

The team's first ever signings were goalie Calle Brown and midfielder Omar Milton Campos. Brown is a Loudoun County native from Leesburg who played at UVA and on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. (More on the Riverhounds momentarily.) Brown also has some MLS experience being with the Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders organizations. If you’re going for a 50/50 ball against Brown, you’re going to lose. He is basically a linebacker at 6'4" and 235 pounds. Along with defenders Peabo Doue from Takoma Park, MD who attended West Virginia University (born December 28, 1991) and Harri Hawkins from Cambridge, England (not Massachusetts) who attended Hofstra University (February 28, 1993) and forward Kyle Murphy (December 11, 1992) from Red Hook, NY and Clemson, Brown (July 1, 1992) is one of the old guys, I mean veterans on the team.

The team's other goalkeeper is Colin Miller from Belair, Maryland. I'll let The Fresh Prince take this one.



Want to feel old? Midfielder Omar Milton Campos from El Salvador was born on August 28, 2000 and is only 18 years old! Fellow midfielders Jack Jean Baptiste (December 20, 1999), Sandor Bustamante (September 30, 1999) and Ariel Fantoni (January 25, 1999) are only 19, 19, and 20. However, these guys are ancient compared to 16 year-old Griffin Yow, who is technically a member of DC United after recently signing with the team but plays for Loudoun United. Yow also has the distinction of scoring the first goal in Loudoun United history.



I'm sure that Yow will tell his kids that his first goal was a rocket into the top right corner from 30 yards out!

Being from Pittsburgh, I'm always going to be partial to anyone with ties to Western Pennsylvania. Midfielder Andrew Lubahn from Erie played for the Riverhounds last season. I wonder if he has the October 1st game against the Riverhounds (also known as the Sean's Ramblings Derby) circled on his calendar.

Fun fact: Jon Batiste is a musician who also works as the bandleader and musical director of CBS' The Colbert Show. Jack Jean Baptiste is a midfielder for Loudoun United from Honduras.

Midfielder Connor Presley from Austin, Texas, born on July 4, 1998, was the inspiration behind the Tom Cruise movie, Born on the Fourth of July. You know. Because of his birthday. (Checks internet to learn that the movie was made in 1989. This entire blog post is just showing that I'm old.)

Midfielder Noah Pilato, who is from Oak Hill, VA and attended Penn State, received the first yellow card in Loudoun United history. Congrats Noah!

Collin Verfurth is another local product from Ashburn and Virginia Tech. Well, Virginia Tech isn't local, but Ashburn is. Anyway, Collin is 6'4" but weighs only 185 pounds. He might have the height, but he's no match for Calle Brown!

While forward Shinya Kadono was DC United's 3rd round pick in the 2019 MLS draft, I'm more amazed by his college stats. At the University of California, Kadono scored 20 goals with only had 3 assists in 66 games during his college career. He could be the Alex Ovechkin of Loudoun United!



Finally, forward Orlando Sinclair hails from San Jose, Costa Rica meaning that Central America is well represented on Loudoun United. (Except for Belize. And Guatemala. And Panama. Okay, this just turned into a geography quiz on naming all of the Central American countries.)

Through the first three games of the season, Loudoun United is holding its own. After losing the first game against Nashville, the team tied Memphis and Tampa Bay.

For more information on the roster and team, check out the Loudoun United website. I'm really looking forward to seeing the team play live. Go Uniteders!

(Photos by Loudoun United and Late Show with Stephen Colbert.)

2019 State Of The Ramblings

Sean’s Ramblings turned 14 yesterday making this the oldest, continuous non-subject specific blog on the planet.* What I mean by this is that there are probably other blogs that have been operational longer, but they are about one particular subject (sports teams, a genre of books, etc.). This is just a personal blog about whatever I feel like writing about on a given day where I make little to no money. Whether this is the first time you’ve visited my blog or, like Kevin Pittsnogle’s mom (no one is going to get this reference), you've read this for years, thanks for checking out Sean’s Ramblings!

A quick update about the last year. I started 2018 with the intention of writing more posts than in 2017. Then, I promptly dislocated my wrist and had a cast for 5-6 weeks making typing (and everything else) much more difficult. A sincere thank you to Christine for writing a guest post about her experiences living in South Korea right before the beginning of the Pyeongchang Olympics and to Shannon, Josh, and John and Rachael for agreeing to interviews in early 2018. They provided fantastic content while I was on the disabled list.

Overall, I accomplished my goal of writing more posts in 2018 than 2017. Hooray for me and for you in that you got to read more of my posts! With that written, I find it more and more difficult to write as often as I’d like with three kids. While I’d love to make a goal this year to write more than last year, I’m not sure that’s possible. Instead, I may try to write longer, more meaningful posts. This sounds good in theory, so we’ll see if this actually happens.

I also want this year to be the year that I become an “official” blogger. Whether this means I’m successful in my quest to be a blogger for the new Loudoun United soccer team or that I get to cover some type of event such as a grand opening, an awards ceremony, or a press pass for a sporting event, 2019 is the year this will finally happen!

Thanks again for all of your support, and I hope to continue to provide you with some fun and thought provoking (well, probably not thought provoking) content in 2019.


You can click here to see my previous State of the Ramblings posts. In addition, please like/follow me on Instagram and Facebook too!



* This statement may or may not be true, but if you can find an older, continuous non-subject specific blog on Earth, please let me know.

2019 Loudoun United Schedule From An Official Team Blogger (That's Me)

Although Loudoun United hasn't accepted my request yet, I'm considering myself an official team blogger. Maybe I'm the only team blogger or there could be others out there. Either way, here are my qualifications:

- I started playing organized soccer at age 6.
- With the exception of a few years after college, I have been a certified soccer referee since 1990.
- I coached my oldest son's soccer team.
- I had a Pittsburgh Spirit logo as my Twitter profile picture for several years.
- I've written a blog for nearly 14 years.
- I think it's neat to see a professional soccer team in Northern Virginia, and I want to help it succeed.
- See this picture: The kid in the middle just looks like a future official team soccer blogger!

You may not be familiar with Loudoun United since the team hasn't played any games yet and the stadium is under construction. 2019 is the team's inaugural season in the United Soccer League, the second division of soccer in the US and Canada. Loudoun will compete against teams like the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Nashville SC, New York Red Bulls II, and Atlanta United II. While I'm not sure if there is shared ownership, there is certainly a partnership between Loudoun United and the Major League Soccer team in the region, DC United, and it seems like some DC United players (not named Wayne Rooney) will play for Loudoun. Think of Loudoun as being a AAA team for DC United.

The USL announced its 2019 schedule on Wednesday, so in my capacity (hopefully) as an official team blogger, I'm happy to share your Loudoun United schedule:

Saturday, March 9 - @ Nashville SC
Saturday, March 16 - @ Memphis 901 FC
Saturday, March 30 - @ Tampa Bay Rowdies

Saturday, April 13 - @ Ottawa Fury FC
Saturday, April 20 - @ New York Red Bulls II
Saturday, April 27 - @ Birmingham Legion FC

Friday, May 3 - vs Bethlehem Steel FC
Saturday, May 11 - @ Charlotte Independence
Saturday, May 19 - vs Hartford Athletic
Saturday, May 25 - vs Saint Louis FC

Wednesday, June 5 - @ Swope Park Rangers
Saturday, June 8 - Louisville City FC
Saturday, June 15 - vs Indy Eleven
Saturday, June 29 - vs Atlanta United 2

Saturday, July 6 - @ Saint Louis FC
Wednesday, July 17 - @ North Carolina FC
Saturday, July 20 - @ Indy Eleven
Saturday, July 28 - vs Louisville City FC

Friday, August 2 - @ Atlanta United 2
Friday, August 9 - vs Charlotte Independence*
Wednesday, August 14 - vs Charleston Battery
Saturday, August 17 - vs Ottawa Fury FC
Saturday, August 24 - @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Wednesday, August 28 - vs Birmingham Legion FC
Saturday, August 31 - vs North Carolina FC

Saturday, September 7 - @ Hartford Athletic
Friday, September 13 - vs Memphis 901 FC
Wednesday, September 18 - @ Bethlehem Steel FC
Wednesday, September 25 - vs Swope Park Rangers
Saturday, September 28 - vs Nashville SC

Tuesday, October 1 - vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Friday, October 4 - vs Tampa Bay Rowdies
Sunday, October 13 - @ Charleston Battery
Saturday, October 19 - vs New York Red Bulls II

* The schedule shows August 9th as the first game at Loudoun United Stadium. The home games prior to that game are listed as TBD. I would offer my "front yard" as an option, but there isn't enough room for 22 people on it and there's a tree in the middle.

We'll call the October 1st game against the Riverhounds the Sean’s Ramblings Derby since I never root against a Pittsburgh team, yet I want Loudoun to do well.

More information about Loudoun United including how to get tickets is available at www.loudoununitedfc.com.

As a (hopefully) Loudoun United team blogger, you can (again hopefully) see fun posts about the team here in 2019. I plan on (hope) to do some player profiles and share posts about the progress on the construction of the new stadium. Perhaps I’ll even get a press pass and can watch a game from there. Maybe the team will let me bring my kids on to the field sometime to kick the ball around.

So many cool possibilities that could happen when (if) I actually become a team blogger!