Celebrating the 4th Inner Harbor Style!

Eric and I hit up Baltimore for the 4th this year. Our first stop when we got into town was http://chapspitbeef.com/ which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The food was so good and totally worth getting "lost" over. We headed towards the Harbor to check into our hotel and just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. We ordered in dinner and then headed out to enjoy a beautiful yet rainy fireworks display on the Inner Harbor. The hotel we stayed at had a 5th floor observation deck which gave us a very nice view of the fireworks.

Here we are waiting for the fireworks to begin with the Harbor behind us (don't mind the blur....a really nice and HAPPY stranger offered to take our picture).

From 4th of July

Fireworks are definitely one of the hardest things to photograph when you don't have a tripod to keep the camera still....but I ended up with a few nice shots.

From 4th of July

From 4th of July

Saturday we met up with our friends Adrian and Christie for breakfast and then some shopping as they were just getting back from the cruise to Bermuda. We had a great day together and were disappointed to see it come to an end.

** Backdated to July on 9/30/2008 **

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you and yours a very safe and happy 4th.

Happy Father's Day!

First off, I wanted to wish my dad and all the dad's out there a very happy Father's Day. I wish I could be in Michigan today to give my dad a hug and tell him how much I love him, though I know he knows. :)

On my way home from church today I decided to swing by the grocery store and get the goods for a nice relaxing picnic. I swung home, told Eric to get dressed and we were on our way. He had no idea where we were going or what we were doing which was my plan. :)

We took the ferry over to White's Ferry and found a nice shaded spot under a tree.

The view of the Potomac and a bunch of geese as we cross over to Maryland.



Welcome to White's Ferry, MD.



We laid out our picnic and then enjoyed the non-humid day and the nice cool breeze.

MMmm.....sandwhiches, potato salad and banana pudding. As well as soda and chips. :)



After awhile and once our stomachs were full we decided to head out as it was starting to get a little warm and the nice breeze seemed to have disappeared. We drove up through Poolesville and then over to Point of Rocks and then back home to Leesburg. It was a beautiful day to be out and about, but would have been better if we could have spent it with Dad.

Happy Father's Day Dad!!! We love you.

Happy Memorial Day

For those who have come home, for those to still come home and for those who will never come home. Thank you. Thank you for our freedom and thank you for your sacrafice. I am PROUD to be an American.

A night at the ballpark.

Eric and I headed up to Frederick, Maryland tonight to catch a Frederick Keys game. The Frederick Keys play in the Carolina League and are the Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

The players in position for the National Anthem accompanied by one of the local little league teams.



The Keys came out strong in the beginning of the game and then slowly lost steam as the visiting Pelicans from Myrtle Beach found their momentum and took off.

Keyote tried to rally the fans to stand behind the home team.



Eric and I showed our enthusiasm for the team.



After the game they had a very nice display of fireworks. Just the perfect ending to a very fun evening.

Crabby McCrabberson Party of 4

It has been awhile since I've written here but it has been prety quiet on the travel front for us. I think we ventured out a couple times for some railfanning in April but nothing too exciting.

It is May and spring is in full bloom. May also means that my parents are in town for their annual vacation. They come down every May around their anniversary to spend a little more than a week with Eric and I. Today actually happens to be their anniversary (Happy 34th Mom and Dad) and Eric and I took them into DC and to Philip's Seafood Buffet for all you can eat...you guessed it....SEAFOOD! http://www.phillipsseafood.com/index.cfm?page=menus&id=11 I'm usually not a big fan of the kind of seafood you have to pull apart and break legs and work for the meat but man...those crab legs were soooooo delicious.

After we ate we strolled down to the Fish Market. This is a photo of one of the many vendors there at the market. You can get fresh fish and seafood to take home, you can get sandwiches, peel and eat shrimp and many other things to eat there in the market. It is such a cool place to just people watch too.



This is the view of the marina that is right there next to the Fish Market.



We strolled through the market and past all of the vendors. I like this picture of the (snow?!?) crab and the Maryland blue crab. Let me just say...the blue crabs are WAY too much work. ;)



They have everything from catfish to trout to crawfish and shrimp to large octupus and these baby octupus. For those of you from Michigan and you Red Wings fans...just think of chucking these little guys onto the ice. ;)



A coupe of booths down I decided to play with the color accent feature on my camera and took a picture of the blue crabs.



and then focused on the reddish/salmon color of the other crabs.



After we were done at the market we headed towards home by way of Maryland and White's Ferry. This is a ferry that runs across the Potomac River and ferries commuters and the like back and forth. It's $4.00 for a one way trip but truly worth it.

A few stops here and there and then we were home to relax and enjoy one another's company.

A hiking we will go....

Today was a very fun, hot and exciting day. My friend Jen and her friend Sara came to visit me from Minnesota for the weekend. We headed out today to Great Falls National Park to do some hiking (aka walking for me. hehehee...) and to just enjoy the beautiful weather. The falls were absolutely beautiful and full of life.



This is a picture of me, Jen and Sara with the falls behind us.



We watched some white water kyakers trying to work their way up the falls. I can't imagine the muscle strength they must have. I was tired just watching them. ;)

After we hiked some more we headed out to the mountains of western Loudoun County and to Bluemont Vineyard for some wine tasting. It was such a beautiful vineyard and the views were breathtaking.



Sara and I did the wine tasting as Jen doesn't care for it too much. :)



I ended up getting a bottle of the donkey which is a rose wine.



They have this amazing Strawberry wine I was thinking of getting but thought I'd wait to take Eric out there to try it. :)

After we were done we headed back to Leesburg and to the outlet mall for a little shopping. Then it was home for dinner and not long after we all crashed in bed.

It was such an amazing day with 2 very awesome people.