[four score]

Last Sunday Katy and I took a road trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania!

Gettysburg is about two hours outside of Baltimore, so it was just perfect for a quick Sunday afternoon getaway.

I love road trips so much. I love not really having an agenda. I love just exploring. I love that you can stop at random things you spot along the way, like....

The Mason-Dixon Line...

Some chickens hanging out in someone's backyard...

And a really scenic Christmas tree farm!

Once we stopped making random pit stops, we finally arrived at our first destination: Gettysburg National Park. We popped into the visitor's center to plan our attack. Just in case you were wondering...Gettysburg is NOT walkable. We asked and got laughed at by the guides. The good news is the park is free to just wander around and they have really good maps that lay out driving routes and small walks you can take. There are markers at each spot explaining what you're looking at. 

We decided to take a little 15 minute hike along the high water mark trail, especially since it started at the visitor's center. The trail took us through some forest then along the Northern front of the battle. Each state had a monument marking where their troops were positioned. We also got to see the spot where Pickett's Charge came to an end. I have to say, even though I'm a Southerner, the North had a much better strategic position on this one. They were on the top of a gently sloping hill while the South was across an open field, charging at them like sitting ducks the entire way. 

Naturally Pennsylvania had the biggest monument of them all. You could actually climb up a set of narrow spiral stairs and walk around the top of the monument. Naturally that's exactly what we did!! Here's the view from the top:

Part of the reason we wandered over to the Pennsylvania monument was that we heard cannon fire, which was confusing because the battle ended YEARS ago. It seemed to be coming from near the monument so we scuttled over. Once we were on top of the monument we found the source of the noise:

 

An artillery demonstration by men in civil war uniforms!! Unfortunately I was not able to get a picture of the cannon actually firing. Even though they fired it twice, it scared me both times and I missed the shot. Those things are deafening; they had to do a warning before firing it and wait 10 minutes in between each shot!

By the time the demonstration wrapped up it was close to 1 and we were both starving. So we headed back to Katy's car.

The main square in Gettysburg is absolutely precious! We snagged lunch at a local diner then coffee from a coffee shop named The Ragged Edge. After lunch and a whirl around a bakery and winery, we plotted our next move. We decided that since the actual winery would always be open, as would the battlefield, we would instead hit the National Apple Harvest Festival! The festival's been going on in the middle of some apple orchards for 50 years. It was soo much fun!! In addition to everything apple (from apple pizza to apple hot sauce to apple syrup), there were antique cars, craft booths, and a petting zoo! They had a whole section devoted to antique tractors: 

After a couple of hours at the festival, we were both stuffed full of all things apple (seriously they shouldn't have given away so many samples) and a bit sleepy. We decided to head back so we could be ready for work the next day.  Naturally we made one more pit stop along the way: a scenic little apple orchard, which I totally trespassed into to get the perfect apple shot:

I must say, if there's ever a time to go to Gettysburg, it's in the fall.

[mazel tov]

Last weekend I went on (another) trip. This time, it was off to Virginia for my cousin Ethan's bar mitzvah!

After work on Friday, complete with a yummy pot luck lunch, I hopped a MARC train down to DC where I met up with Kara and hopped the metro out to Virginia. I love that about this region of the country: public transportation is really well designed so you can get a lot of places by train.

Friday night was low-key, at least for Kara and I. We met up with our parents and grabbed dinner at Silver Diner. Seriously if you're ever near one of these, I highly recommend it. They use fresh, locally sourced ingredients to create super delicious diner fare. Love.

Saturday was when the real fun happened. Bright and early Saturday morning we piled into a shuttle with Dad's side of the family for the temple service. I do love Jewish tradition and heritage and I'm proud to be a part of it. While having parents with the same religious tradition has a great deal of value, I truly enjoyed growing up exposed to two different belief systems. You see, Dad is Jewish and Mom is Catholic. Kara and I were raised Catholic but we also learned about the other half of our heritage. We had to learn tolerance and understanding from an early age. When we reached Confirmation age, Mom gave us the option to explore and told us we could convert to Judaism or a different Christian denomination. She even offered to drive us to services so we could check them out. It's not that she didn't care what we believed, it's just that she wanted us to find our own way and claim a faith as our own. We both ended up claiming the Catholic faith but we did so knowing that the choice was ultimately ours. My exposure to Judaism has enhanced my Catholic faith. It's not that I go to Bar Mitzvahs and think, thank goodness I'm not like them. That's not it at all. It's a lot like traveling to be honest.

Enough about religion--back to the weekend celebrations!

After the service was a kiddush luncheon at E's school. Of course there were bagels and lox and cream cheese galore. It's not a good bar mitzvah without them and goodness knows I love me a good bagel & schmear. Goodness knows I don't eat them that often anymore, mostly because there's not a good bagel place anywhere near me. If I lived in NYC I would be in serious trouble!  Holy mother of all things sweet do I love butter cookies. Growing up I used to love that my grandmother would get us butter cookies from Karsh's, a Jewish bakery near her house in Phoenix. Those cookies set the standard. Sadly very few cookies have lived up to that standard. While the kiddush butter cookies were not Karsh's, I was still excited for them.

Next up we took a little break. By that I mean we hung out in my parents' hotel room and watched football for a few.  Then it was time to get gussied up and party!

Pre-party we did family portraits, which I will definitely be sharing once I get them. The night started out with a cocktail hour, complete with a full open bar. Side note: vodka, ginger ale and sour mix is potentially the best mixed drink. Ever. There were roving trays of yummy apps such as sushi, lamb, and black bean eggrolls. The party was held at a gorgeous country club nearby. E chose a "green" theme for his bar mitzvah. Not only did his talk focus on the links between being environmentally friendly and the Jewish faith, the entire party was built around a green theme. We got to vote on which non-profit we wanted him to support and all around the party were reminders to be "green." The adults got a full sit-down dinner, made with organic food of course, while the kids got a buffet. After dinner  it was time to dance the night away!! The food kept coming though--there was an adult only dessert bar where you could pick a cookie paired with an alcoholic beverage. You nibbled your cookie then took a sip of your beverage and experienced flavor magic. Mom, Kara and I went for the bourbon which turned out to be way too strong for us, even when properly paired with a cookie. There were also organic ice cream sandwiches in fun flavors like apple pie, pumpkin cranberry, and peppermint white chocolate. The bar stayed open the whole night, although it did move under a giant tree in the center of the dining/dancing area. There was a photo booth with silly props too! Finally it was time to head back to the hotel where we sadly had to say our goodbyes to extended family.

Sunday was a bit...subdued. Dad dropped Mom, Kara and I off in DC. The three of us girls grabbed breakfast before Kara's first meeting of the day. Then Mom and I puttered aimlessly around for a few hours, pausing frequently to sit on various benches. It was way too nice of a day to spend indoors! We ended up finding the Constitution Gardens which are stunningly gorgeous. If I lived in DC I would be in those gardens constantly. After that we wandered over to the WWII memorial where we met a WWII veteran and his wife. The veteran had served in the Pacific theater as a deep-sea diver for the navy. He told us a funny story about when he accidentally welded his helmet to the bottom of a ship off Leyte Island in the Philippines. He would tear up whenever someone said thank you and shook his hand. It was adorable. He truly was a national treasure and I am so honored to have met such a brave individual. Finally it was time for Mom to head to the airport and me to head back to Baltimore.

I had such a wonderful time this past weekend. It was lovely seeing the family I so rarely get to see and celebrating E's big day.

Once again, Mazel Tov Ethan!! I'm so happy for my little cousin!

[over the hump]

Happy Hump Day everyone!!

I don't know about you but this Hump Day is off to a rocky start for me.

You see, Ginger is on the fritz. Apparently when I turned her back on after my flight landed at BWI on Monday, she decided that making sound was just not her thing anymore. She won't ring. She won't play music. She won't make any sort of sound at all. I took her to AT&T yesterday but all they did was shrug and say "I don't know. Take it to Apple." So Ginger and I are headed to Towson after work today.

Normally Ginger doubles as my alarm clock. With Ginger refusing to make any sound, I've been using the analog alarm clock I bought back when Ginger decided she'd rather stay ride around in a cab all day than come home with me. Everything went swimmingly on Tuesday. Everything fell apart this morning. I was all excited about getting up early to run. I set the time on my alarm clock and went to sleep.

This morning I woke up and it was strangely light outside. I looked at my alarm clock.

I had overslept.

Apparently I had forgotten to actually flip the switch to turn the alarm on when I had set it Tuesday night. Oops. Thankfully I had just enough time to eat a quick breakfast before getting ready for work.

Since oversleeping, I've managed to forget to put my rings or bracelet on, put my shoes on the wrong feet and spilled coffee on my shirt.

Fingers crossed the rest of this day goes in a slightly different direction!

My difficult morning is not the subject of this post. No, I actually wanted to tell you all about my wonderful weekend in the peach state!

Friday afternoon I left work a little early and headed to BWI. With the Grand Prix in town, getting anywhere was a nightmare. Thankfully I left in enough time to make it to the airport and grab some dinner before my flight. If I had left even twenty minutes later, it would have been a completely different story.

Saturday morning Mom and I woke up bright and early. Well, Kammie actually woke both of us up. Apparently she was soo excited that I was home, she decided that we both needed to get up super early. You see, Kammie won't get out of bed until she's sure Mom is awake. Having successfully awakened Mom, she was free to charge upstairs and wake me up. Kammie is half beagle, half Jack Russel terrier and all kinds of noisy. I heard her whining before she even made it into my room!!

Once we were both up and fed, Mom and I went for a walk. We walked 3.3 miles, chatting about life while we walked. I think walking is going to be a new tradition for us! I love spending time with Mom and getting some exercise in the process is the cherry on top of that delicious sundae.

While we were showering Dad came home. He works in Ohio currently and commutes back to Atlanta most weekends to spend time with Mom. With the three of us home and showered, it was time for lunch and errand running. I was so happy to spend the day with my parents! We're so rarely in the same place at the same time so any time we have together is precious to me. I wish Kara could have been there though. We'll all be together in Virginia in about two weeks though!

After a full day of running around town on Saturday, we curled up on the sofa to watch Animal House and catch up on college football highlights.

Sunday was a beautiful, beautiful day. Two of my dear friends got married! I was so beyond blessed to be able to attend the wedding and the reception. The ceremony itself was beautiful: Katy looked GORGEOUS and the whole ceremony was just so sweet and romantic. I love weddings. No matter the age of the couple, a wedding is a celebration of a new start. It's a day to celebrate love in all its forms.

After the wedding, we headed to the reception in a darling little cottage in old Roswell. We danced and laughed the night away. The reception was a total blast! There was food and wine, laughing and dancing. In other words, it was everything a wedding reception should be.

Sadly Monday I had to head back to Baltimore. I do love Maryland, but I hate leaving my family. Walking away at the airport always makes me so sad!

At the end of the day, I am so blessed to have the family and friends I do. Even more importantly, I was so blessed to be able to spend time with them last weekend. I can't wait for November and another dear friend's wedding!!

[escapists]

Oh my goodness am I sunburnt. 

But oh my goodness was it worth it. Saturday was worth the last two sleepless nights. As a side note, don't burn the top of your thighs and your back at the same time. It makes sleeping, well, impossible.

But like I said, it was worth it.

Tuesday night Katy asked if I had plans. I didn't. So we started making plans for a little road trip. We were Delaware bound on Saturday!! 

Since I've been in Baltimore I haven't done too much exploring. The truth is, I got so caught up in school that my weekends were close to non-existent. But now that school is over and a dear friend and serial escapist is living less than an hour away, I have a feeling that many more trips will be happening in the future.

Our day started super early. Naturally our day also started with some Starbucks. No one should be on the road around 7:30 AM without some good coffee. 

We took backroads through Delaware, making a bathroom stop in a small town. As a bonus, I saw this beauty of a car:

I know. It's just so pretty isn't it??

After driving through endless farms, we arrived in Milton, Delaware. Milton is the home of Dogfish Head Brewery, which is a craft brewery. The tours were all full for the day. We figured we'd still hit the tasting room, even if we couldn't make a tour. The taps didn't open until 11 so we wandered around the store. When I popped out of the bathroom, Katy was talking to the guy checking people in. Turns out, she'd gotten us in to a modified tour! We didn't get the full history of Dogfish Head, but that's okay. It was my first ever brewery tour so I was excited just to get behind the scenes of how beer is brewed, even if I had to wear Crocs and ugly safety glasses in the process. 

The tour ended with a tasting. We tried four different types of beer. I have to say, I am now a huge Dogfish Head fan. I wasn't familiar with their beers before the tour. 

After the tour we traveled ten minutes down the road to Lewes Beach, where we both proceeded to lay down in the sand and conk out for about an hour and a half. After that, we sat around for another hour having some girl talk. By then it was close to three and we realized that we had only eaten an apple since breakfast. Since we had two more beaches to hit, we headed onwards to our next beach.

Rehoboth Beach was up next. It was cute, but far too crowded. We decided to skip over it and head on to Bethany Beach for an early dinner.  Bethany was darling. It definitely felt smaller and quieter than the other two beaches. We ambled the boardwalk and the beach, and finally ended up at a table overlooking the beach with mango margaritas in hand. 

After a bit more ambling around, we hopped back in the car to find a good spot to watch the sunset.  We ended up parking near a campground in a town called Land of Pleasant Living. I kid you not. And living there would certainly be pleasant living. I mean, just look at that sunset:

Beautiful, isn't it??

After that the only natural thing to do was get gelato! We headed back to Rehoboth where we encountered a massive ice cream fail. First we circled the main drag of Rehoboth. There was not a single parking spot to be found. Plus, it took forever since everybody and their brother was in Rehoboth ambling around the streets. Finally we found a spot a good hike outside of the main area. Undeterred by the distance, we parked anyways. Katy went to pay the meter and made a little discovery: the meter only took quarters. Between the two of us, we only had one quarter. We wanted gelato, but not badly enough to risk a parking ticket. Katy pulled out her phone and found a gelato spot a bit away from the main drag. We hopped back in the car and headed towards Gelato Gal. Unfortunately, we found out that Gelato Gal was on the wrong side of the road and the median wouldn't let us turn around for a while. When we got to the turnaround, we decided that we wanted gelato badly enough to turn around. It was completely worth turning around for. I had an amazing amaretto that I'm still dreaming about. Yum. 

Since it was close to 9 PM, we headed back towards Baltimore. 

Sometimes you just really need to get away for a while. And boy oh boy am I glad we did.