WASHINGTON -- Beth Strausser put down her blanket, looked out from her seat behind the left-field fence, let out a quick squeal and high-fived her friend, Ellen Kays.

Strausser was getting her first look at what some are dubbing Washington's newest monument, the $611 million Nationals Park. Unlike others who spent time milling around the Washington Nationals' 41,888-seat stadium, Strausser went straight to her seat.

The stadium -- and the festive atmosphere -- earned her approval a couple of hours before it was unveiled by the Nationals and Atlanta Braves in the National League season opener.

"Everybody seems pumped up," she said, as fans cheered a Nationals player who caught a batting-practice ball and tossed it to a fan.

"This town can be kind of stand-offish. Everybody seems to be very neighborly and having a good time. It's very un-D.C. like."

Strausser, who made the 20-minute drive down from Cheverly, Md., said she's not a big baseball fan. She does like to watch sporting events live, even in 40-degree temperatures.

She came armed with blankets, a hat and gloves.

"I just wanted to be here to see the new stadium in all its glory," she said, looking out at what would become a sea of red Nationals jackets. "I just wanted to participate in a little slice of D.C. history."

Regina Barnes' persistence paid off in three coveted tickets to the opener.

Barnes, from Yorktown, went online five minutes before tickets went on sale in March. She was put in a holding room. Thirty-two minutes after the appointed hour, a message was posted saying all the tickets had been sold.

"I wasn't satisfied," she said.

She stayed on for another half-hour -- and finally was able to get tickets.

She and her husband, Dennis, are Braves fans. They wanted to double up by seeing the new park and their favorite team. They spent time checking out the many attractions on the center-field concourse, accompanied by Blair Wood, a former Virginia Commonwealth University baseball player who lives in Hampton.

"It's very nice," Regina said. "But it doesn't compare with Turner Field."

"Yes it does," Wood said.

Richmonder Wyatt Stewart took advantage of the opener to visit his parents, who live in Washington and just happen to have six season tickets.

Stewart, a former pitcher at the University of Richmond, attended Saturday's exhibition game against Baltimore, the team he grew up watching.

"It's been rough not having anybody to cheer for in D.C.," he said. "It's nice to be back home."

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