Maryland Trip - July 2010
Wow, this is going to be quite the game of catch up. I finally "borrowed" Sarah's camera and got some photos of our east coast trip from it.
We took off Thursday the 8th and headed to Phoenix...which went well. That was followed by a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina...luckily we had two folks behind us who talked for the full four hours! That made it pleasant. Then a quick layover turned into a long layover AFTER we had all boarded because, as they put it, "This is a bad plane and needs to go to the hanger." We finally made it to Baltimore where Sarah's Dad, Jim, picked us up. Finally made it to their house at 0100! Sixteen hours of travel was enough.
We took off Thursday the 8th and headed to Phoenix...which went well. That was followed by a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina...luckily we had two folks behind us who talked for the full four hours! That made it pleasant. Then a quick layover turned into a long layover AFTER we had all boarded because, as they put it, "This is a bad plane and needs to go to the hanger." We finally made it to Baltimore where Sarah's Dad, Jim, picked us up. Finally made it to their house at 0100! Sixteen hours of travel was enough.
The next morning we got up relatively early and headed for Ocean City. On our way, we met up with Sarah's brother Matthew and his wife Liola. Sarah's Mom, Nancy, treated the four of us to a sweet suite for the weekend...right on the beach and on the 10th floor...we had some views!
Bay side view from hotel
Ocean side view from hotel
So that night, Jim treated us to an all-you-can-eat crab feast! There's definitely a technique to taking crabs apart...by the time I was done with one, Jim had four down! "I've been doing this since I was 10, Tom." It showed.
Saturday had some ominous looking clouds brewing and the forecast called for an 80% chance of showers. Well, when it rained...it RAINED! Jim, Sarah, and I headed to Assateague Island with the roads flooding. Seriously, there was probably 18 inches of water on the roads...which made it quite the adventure. So much concrete and nowhere for the rain to go = clogged drains.
Well, we made it to the island and saw the famous ponies...and saw them getting rained on. We decided since we were there, we might as well go out on the beach despite the rain. Jim and Sarah taught me how to dig for sand crabs which became oddly addicting.
Assateague ponies
After we had gotten soaked, we headed back to the hotel, got cleaned up and then headed out to the famous boardwalk. After a long day spent in the rain, I was fairly tired. The CROWDS down there got to me after the first hour and I kinda shut down. But, Jim convinced me to play one of the games with him...the shooting gallery...and the salesman running the place got us for $20 and we left with nothing.
The next morning I took some photos of the beach...bear in mind that this was 0700 and there were already people setting up for the day!
Das beach (north)
Das beach (south)
Later that day, Nancy, Matthew and Liola left to head back home and Sarah, Jim and I stayed to enjoy the best weather we had the whole weekend. We waded through the throngs of people and settled in. I can say I have now been in the ocean beyond my knees! I always thought it was weird that people could just stand in the waves and find it fun...well, having done it now...I know it's really addicting! I got rolled once and finally learned how to go UNDER the waves. I could have spent the whole day there doing that. Bizarre.
Same beach, about 1400 (north)
Same beach, about 1400 (south)
After a long hot ride back to the house, Sarah and I got cleaned up and headed right back out the door. We met up with her friends Sarah and Charlie who took us to dinner in downtown Annapolis. These are great folks and from the instant I met them I felt comfortable...like I had known them for years too! Turned out to be the most relaxing time I had there...and after $160 of incredible sushi...I was ready for bed! (Annapolis is pretty cool, I would have liked to spend some more time around there exploring. Next time.)
Monday morning led us onto my first legitimate subway ride (I don't think they count in airports.) We ended up in Washington D.C. and exiting the subway I was shocked to see the Capitol building, the Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian all in the same area! Who knew!? We checked out the natural history museum but the crowds and rude people who seemed to be there just to say there saw it (rather than learn anything) started to really get to me. I can say I saw the Hope Diamond and wasn't really impressed. It's a rock for chrisake!
After that, Sarah and I headed over to the Vietnam Veteran's memorial...on the way passing the Washington Monument, the new WWII memorial, and the reflecting pool. And oh look, there's the Lincoln memorial! Oh, the White House! I never thought everything was so close to one another over there.
Proof I was in D.C. (the reflecting pool was a slimy cesspool of duck shit...fyi)
Sarah and I reflecting
The Vietnam Veteran's memorial hit me more than I thought it would. What a sad, sad wall...but so artistic and perfect. I got very irritated with people not showing it the respect I thought it deserved...on one side you have a guy sobbing on his wife's shoulder...and the other side you have people shouting at one another and a kid sliding his greasy body along the names. A little French kid...I ALMOST bounced his insolent head off the wall, to make HIM cry...make HIM pay attention to where he was. Well, after four hours in D.C. we headed back to the house to wind the trip down.
At 0445 we were up and headed to the airport. We were surrounded by kids for four hours and I had a gal next to me that was REALLY nervous to fly. Acted like a tweaker that you'd see on Sherman Avenue. That should be enough information to figure out my attitude.
It was a good trip, but I definitely needed more time over there. It was good to get it in a small dose though...now I have an idea of some other things I'd like to see or do the next time. And perhaps plan some down time into that next trip...I was going into bathroom stalls to be alone. I'm amazed at the volume of people over there, but overall...people seemed nicer than I expected....but they are EVERYWHERE.
Here are some interesting funny things:
- I saw a bar called "Dr. Unks" (I like it!)
- There was a fishing boat called "Happy Hooker"
- Saw a shirt whose theme was "Master Baiter" that I almost got for Rod
- There was a sign on the main drive that said, "Have you figured out who's weird yet?"
- Koon's auto sales (seemed a little blunt)
So, the following weekend, Sarah and I headed to the Joe for a relaxing weekend.
This is about all we did!
Lucca taking a break
What a pup
Lucca and I have been monitoring a trail cam I put in a place I want to bow hunt this fall. On the way in there, there are a number of sediment trap / wallows for her to cool off and play in. Which she does and seems to enjoy immensely. I've been getting some good photos out there, the best had to be deleted the first time...and I had photos of about five different bulls! Plenty of critters using that spot, but they are there in the middle of the night or really close to dark. Gonna be a tough spot to set up in, but I guess I'll see how it goes!
Bay side view from hotel
Ocean side view from hotel
So that night, Jim treated us to an all-you-can-eat crab feast! There's definitely a technique to taking crabs apart...by the time I was done with one, Jim had four down! "I've been doing this since I was 10, Tom." It showed.
Saturday had some ominous looking clouds brewing and the forecast called for an 80% chance of showers. Well, when it rained...it RAINED! Jim, Sarah, and I headed to Assateague Island with the roads flooding. Seriously, there was probably 18 inches of water on the roads...which made it quite the adventure. So much concrete and nowhere for the rain to go = clogged drains.
Well, we made it to the island and saw the famous ponies...and saw them getting rained on. We decided since we were there, we might as well go out on the beach despite the rain. Jim and Sarah taught me how to dig for sand crabs which became oddly addicting.
Assateague ponies
After we had gotten soaked, we headed back to the hotel, got cleaned up and then headed out to the famous boardwalk. After a long day spent in the rain, I was fairly tired. The CROWDS down there got to me after the first hour and I kinda shut down. But, Jim convinced me to play one of the games with him...the shooting gallery...and the salesman running the place got us for $20 and we left with nothing.
The next morning I took some photos of the beach...bear in mind that this was 0700 and there were already people setting up for the day!
Das beach (north)
Das beach (south)
Later that day, Nancy, Matthew and Liola left to head back home and Sarah, Jim and I stayed to enjoy the best weather we had the whole weekend. We waded through the throngs of people and settled in. I can say I have now been in the ocean beyond my knees! I always thought it was weird that people could just stand in the waves and find it fun...well, having done it now...I know it's really addicting! I got rolled once and finally learned how to go UNDER the waves. I could have spent the whole day there doing that. Bizarre.
Same beach, about 1400 (north)
Same beach, about 1400 (south)
After a long hot ride back to the house, Sarah and I got cleaned up and headed right back out the door. We met up with her friends Sarah and Charlie who took us to dinner in downtown Annapolis. These are great folks and from the instant I met them I felt comfortable...like I had known them for years too! Turned out to be the most relaxing time I had there...and after $160 of incredible sushi...I was ready for bed! (Annapolis is pretty cool, I would have liked to spend some more time around there exploring. Next time.)
Monday morning led us onto my first legitimate subway ride (I don't think they count in airports.) We ended up in Washington D.C. and exiting the subway I was shocked to see the Capitol building, the Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian all in the same area! Who knew!? We checked out the natural history museum but the crowds and rude people who seemed to be there just to say there saw it (rather than learn anything) started to really get to me. I can say I saw the Hope Diamond and wasn't really impressed. It's a rock for chrisake!
After that, Sarah and I headed over to the Vietnam Veteran's memorial...on the way passing the Washington Monument, the new WWII memorial, and the reflecting pool. And oh look, there's the Lincoln memorial! Oh, the White House! I never thought everything was so close to one another over there.
Proof I was in D.C. (the reflecting pool was a slimy cesspool of duck shit...fyi)
Sarah and I reflecting
The Vietnam Veteran's memorial hit me more than I thought it would. What a sad, sad wall...but so artistic and perfect. I got very irritated with people not showing it the respect I thought it deserved...on one side you have a guy sobbing on his wife's shoulder...and the other side you have people shouting at one another and a kid sliding his greasy body along the names. A little French kid...I ALMOST bounced his insolent head off the wall, to make HIM cry...make HIM pay attention to where he was. Well, after four hours in D.C. we headed back to the house to wind the trip down.
At 0445 we were up and headed to the airport. We were surrounded by kids for four hours and I had a gal next to me that was REALLY nervous to fly. Acted like a tweaker that you'd see on Sherman Avenue. That should be enough information to figure out my attitude.
It was a good trip, but I definitely needed more time over there. It was good to get it in a small dose though...now I have an idea of some other things I'd like to see or do the next time. And perhaps plan some down time into that next trip...I was going into bathroom stalls to be alone. I'm amazed at the volume of people over there, but overall...people seemed nicer than I expected....but they are EVERYWHERE.
Here are some interesting funny things:
- I saw a bar called "Dr. Unks" (I like it!)
- There was a fishing boat called "Happy Hooker"
- Saw a shirt whose theme was "Master Baiter" that I almost got for Rod
- There was a sign on the main drive that said, "Have you figured out who's weird yet?"
- Koon's auto sales (seemed a little blunt)
So, the following weekend, Sarah and I headed to the Joe for a relaxing weekend.
This is about all we did!
Lucca taking a break
What a pup
Lucca and I have been monitoring a trail cam I put in a place I want to bow hunt this fall. On the way in there, there are a number of sediment trap / wallows for her to cool off and play in. Which she does and seems to enjoy immensely. I've been getting some good photos out there, the best had to be deleted the first time...and I had photos of about five different bulls! Plenty of critters using that spot, but they are there in the middle of the night or really close to dark. Gonna be a tough spot to set up in, but I guess I'll see how it goes!
Lucca enjoying the mud
Moose sighting? (Lotsa moose in that area, yesterday I set the camera back up and saw a DANDY bull where this photo was taken.)
Don't be fooled by the time...my clock is set wrong. I think this is actually 4:24 a.m.
This happens a lot. All the critters are interested in the camera!
posted by geotracker12 at 8:26 AM
5 Comments:
Took me a minute to figure out what was so cool about Dr. Unks. I like it too. Open one up north! Dad'll live there & we'll come visit. What a fun adventure for you two - very cool.
The nonchalant way you said, "Dad'll live there..." made me giggle most of the day yesterday! If you don't mind, I'd like to open it in MT, so we'll see you there!
Hi Tom,
Sorry about the late reply. Nancy is very excited about the "ring news". She read your story when she got back from India. She still doesn't know we spoke about this when you were here.
Also read your Maryland trip story. I did'nt want you or Sarah in the middle of this, but I went 'round and 'round with Nancy regarding the Ocean City trip. It's the most busy time of the season, and who could have predicted the weather!
Nancy and I usually go in late September or early October. The water is still very warm and there are no real crowds. I like little motels, not caring for the classy (and pricy) places. We often stay on the norhtern side of the island just near the Delaware border. They have state parks there , kayak rentals, and dogs are allowed everywhere. It's a short drive to the boardwalk (no traffic), and if you drive north, there are many picturesque little beach towns along the way.You can then catch a ferry boat at Cape Henlopen (the place next to the refuge where all the horseshoe crabs invade to spawn) and take the ferry to Cape May New Jersey. This is a restored Vicorian-era village with a nice beach and interesting places to stay and visit. It's like going back in time. If you really feel ambitious, you can keep driving north and go to Atlantinc City, famous for the mobsters and gambling (even a new movie coming out about the place during prohibition).
I'm sure Sarah may have mentioned other things to do. Maryland has a very diverse geograhpy for such a small state including many different wildlife habitats. In our area we have many wetland areas and a short drive west is the Potomac river valley with huge waterfalls, rapids, and a scenic cannal that parallels it, full of trails and cliffs to climb. Our western counties have the Appalatian Mountains, full of deer, black bears and now cyotes. Also the timber rattler, the largest of the rattlers in the U.S. Sarah can tell you that I'm a reptile fan. I had her rock scrambling and chasing lizards when she was eight years old.
Sorry this is rambling. Hope you can come out again with less of a rush and more "down time" to see some more of our area at a more relaxed pace. Good luck with the job search. Keep Sarah's spirits up with her own work situation. Let us know when you have a wedding date. We would like to help (as best we can) with the expenses.
Take care and good luck this hunting season! Hope to see you both again soon...
-Jim (aka soon to be "dad-in-law")
p.s. I can't type and my spelling is worse. (go figure for working in a school system for 32 years). No "spell check" with this, so hope I was able to fix most errors before hitting "send"!
Woah,
First time ever responding to a blog site. Kept getting error messages. Didn't know I was sending it out multiple times. Hope you can delete!
- Jim
Got your back Jim...
Tom
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