Maryland Trip and 2 yr Anniversary!

We have a TON of picts so be forewarned (and they are out of order-sorry!)




THURSDAY NIGHT and FRIDAY

We had a great time with Jordan and Lindsey! Arriving Thursday Night at Baltimore Airport, we spent all day with him dropping off his Audi in Alexandria and taking the metro to the "Mall" where we went to the Natural History Museum, the Art Museum (lunch), the National Archives (Declaration of Independence) and finished strong at the Air & Space Museum (my fav).

There was so much to see but didn't have the time so we have an excuse for another trip to see the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Holocaust Museum, etc.

We met up with Lindsey on Friday night (she has to drive so far to work she sometimes stays at a coworkers house to alleviate the commute!) and had an awesome Italian dinner at Carrababa's (sp?).

SATURDAY

We "chilled" all day on Saturday - the girls went shopping and so Jordan and I were FORCED to play Halo 3 for 5 hrs... it was rough. I even took Charlie for a little walk at night in the neighborhood - yeah, it was cold and Charlie liked to sniff everything every 5 feet - good times.

SUNDAY

Sunday we went to Bay Area Community Church in Annapolis and met up with Jordan and Lindsey's friends. We grabbed a bite at "Pusser's" - our waitress was so sweet and she even asked for prayer as she saw us pray before our myriad of seafood platters. Turns out she needed some encouragement and so we connected her with Bay Area Community - it was very cool.

Finally, Jordan and Lindsey gave us a drive through tour of Annapolis (beautiful naval town due to the academy) and brought us to our bed and breakfast spot at Fell's Point in a historic district of Baltimore near the Inner Habor. Praise God, for once, the internet investigation of a location to go to a bed&breakfast worked out! I had no prior reference - just picked it after some research online. Celie's Waterfront Inn - it was a great little charming place. Simple but with personality and it is located in a cobblestone laden, colonial feel street right near the water.

It wasn't Maui or anything but it was cool. There are a lot of taverns and random eateries all over that area. We even got to see a Naval ship docked in the harbor, playing music on Monday morning - we thought it was a US vessel though I believe the flag was South Korean - not sure.

But with Jordan and Lindsey still with us on Sunday afternoon, we walked around and landed on Bonaparte's Cafe which was a french boulagerie - we played speed uno's and drank coffee - Jordan finally vindicated himself as he was on a hefty losing streak until then.

We said our good byes and later grabbed dinner at a GREAT Mediterranean restaurant called Mezze. Food was awesome and the ambience was warm/fun and contemporary. We loved it.
We asked the waitress if there was a movie theater around so we walked over to the Inner Harbor area and saw the movie "Lions for Lambs" with Cruise, Streep and Redford.

We both enjoyed the movie, recognizing that it was designed to motivate people to vote or simply get off their passive seats and be involved in finding your stance on present matters in the world. It seemed to give arguments for and against both sides of the war in Afghanistan but it had some other interesting character interactions - with Redford as a college professor talking with a disillusioned but apparently gifted political science student, two ethnic minorities deciding to "be a part of the solution" and signing up for the military and Cruise as a young congressman or senator articulating his vision to Streep (a reporter) for modifications in waging a successful military strategy overseas. It was interesting.

MONDAY

We wrapped up our weekend, took a taxi to the BWI airport that was driven by a great guy named Isaiah who had only been in America for five years from Ethiopia. He was such a good hearted and positive spirited person - he shared about his newfound love for American football, his bouts with considering being a nurse and realizing he hates hospitals. Now he is trying to finish his degree in dental hygiene - hilarious.