Dean &
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MD
& NY trek--08-2012:
Part
1
Part 2 >>
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For various reasons, it had been a while since we'd been
to Maryland to visit family, but we jumped at the chance to attend Weber's
going-away-to-college party. We traveled northward on a Sunday
and arrived midmorning on Monday.
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Monday afternoon, Dean and I headed out to the barn to watch Olivia's
riding lesson. She looks so professional and has done quite well for
herself. Today she was working on
jumping. After the lesson, Christa showed us how the sweat patterns on
the horse can help you adjust the saddle's fit--dry areas in the sweat
indicate that there gaps where the saddle doesn't fit.
Of course, since this is a Maryland horse barn, there
are black-eyed Susans, the state flower, planted in profusion.
We enjoyed the extended family conversations around the
dinner table that evening and finally Weber returned from a freshman
orientation consisting of two days on the University of Delaware campus
and four days hiking the Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail (46
miles) with 9 other freshmen and a couple of slightly older guides.
Doesn't that sound like a great way to bond with your classmates?
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On Tuesday we decided to "do" Annapolis
as tourists, but of course we didn't really need maps to find our
way around.
Much is the same, but some things have changed in the last eight
years since we moved south.
We parked on the Naval Academy grounds, looked at
our reflection in the gift store window there, and then headed out
to City Dock and Ego Alley, which seemed remarkably empty of boats.
And were surprised to see that Fawcett's (the long-time and high-end
boating supply store) had gone out of business. The flowering baskets all
over town were wonderful, though.
A "pirate" ship heads out into the Bay
and Middleton's looks the same.
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As we head up Main Street, it seems weird to see a Black Dog Store
there. (The Black Dog is a popular restaurant on Martha's Vineyard
that we frequented over the years since 1971 when it opened. They
have a wide array of logo'd merchandise that's been available via
mail order, but now they are mainstream.)
But Chick & Ruth's looks exactly the same with its diner-like
decor and sandwiches named for local politicians.
The view back down Main St. never fails to impress. I love the load
of kayaks--so typical.
At the top of Main Street, the Maryland Inn and Reynolds Tavern are
familiar.
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The previously controversial fountain looks calm at the
Governor's mansion. It was installed by Hilda Mae Snoops, the
companion of Gov. William Schafer, back in the late 80s after she
had many of the large native trees chopped down around the
mansion. I hadn't remembered that she'd planted crape myrtles
to replace the native trees. (See my post I
Don't Love Crape Myrtles, but...)
And a beautiful Annapolis flower-filled porch.
A typical row house in town and Galway Bay Irish Pub on Maryland
Ave.
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There are four houses in Annapolis that were built or owned by
signers of the Declaration of Independence. Here are two: on the
left, the William Paca House with its ancient mulberry tree and
perfectly restored gardens and the Charles Carroll House. Carroll was the only Catholic signer and this house is now
owned by the Catholic Church. Also on this property is a church, a
cemetery, and a school.
At the end of Shipwright St, a couple of chicken neckers with
their crab lines out. A lovely garden on a hilly front yard.
A newly renovated Victorian on a side street would be equally at
home on Martha's Vineyard or Cape May, NJ. A store window
displaying typical Annapolis kitsch.
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Fun to see this community garden next to the community center as we
make our full circle back to City Dock.
The Annapolis Summer Garden Theater is still alive with Xanadu (on
skates) currently playing. Back at the dock, a guitar player has
lost his audience to the ducks.
We go back to the Academy grounds through this new pedestrian gate.
A little SmartCar sports some cute eyelashes parked in front of the
Navy gift shop.
Driving back through the campus, we spot the blue & gold going
through their drills
and the sailors coming in from racing.
From the Academy Bridge over the Severn River, you can see a class race just off the
tip of the academy grounds. Farther out you can see a couple of
ships at anchor waiting for port space farther up the Bay in
Baltimore.
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It was nice to see familiar plants in the area, too. Above left the
cordgrass along the shoreline framed the view. Above right, the
devil's walking stick is in bloom. I love its gigantic leaves--when
they fall off in the fall, only a thorny stalk is left. Below left,
the spicy-smelly spicebush and below right a spicebush swallowtail
butterfly, which uses the spicebush as a larval host.
Later that evening, three deer ran back into the woods as we
approached our campsite.
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The next day we spent in preparation for the
party, including a shopping trip with Weber to BJs for last minute
supplies. And the party was great!
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Weber and me on the left. Weber and Dori with Dana in a
background. This was a pool party, but most people did not jump
in.
Three generations: Weber, Christa, and Mark (the party is at
his house with the pool). Olivia with cousin Reese.
Weber and some of his friends. They gave him a freshman starting
pack: A Cosmo, a six-pack of (root) beer, an i-tunes gift card,
and a bottle of Ibuprofen.
The next morning we left early to get
around the Baltimore Beltway before rush hour and we were on our
way through the middle of Pennsylvania to visit friends on Cayuga
Lake, one of the bigger Finger Lakes in upper New York State.
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