Happy New Year!

For the second time in five years, I had the great good fortune to kick off a new year at the Winter Classic — the NHL’s big, annual outdoor hockey extravaganza. In 2011, my cousin Kate and I went to see the Caps play on the road in Pittsburgh, but this year’s game was much closer to home. About a mile and a half, in fact.

I went to the game with my brother Brian and sister-in-law Jen — and without our planned fourth, our little sister Eileen, whose sick nine-month-old kept her family home in Texas for the week. We started off the day at my place with cheesy ham & potato breakfast casserole and mimosas, followed by a lot of layering. (When all was said and done, I had on five shirts and a jacket, and two pairs of pants, socks, and gloves, along with a blanket and hand/foot warmers for backup.) That said, though, the weather was just about perfect — cold, but very sunny. Our seats were in the shade, so all of the extra warm things came in handy.

I can’t possibly cover everything that happened (it’s gotten late, and I am very, very tired) so I’ll just share some highlights and a bunch of photos: Continue reading →