BALTIMORE!
Aside from a rainy Thursday night, the weather in Baltimore was perfect. Our hotel was a nice brisk walk from the Harbor and it was convenient to a lot of nice restaurants and things to see. So we saw!
We had a lot of touristy time at Harbor Place:
We rode a Chessie boat!
I bought Fuzzy a new hat! SO CUTE!
Anchors Away!
But we also had some time being a local and exploring the artier side of Baltimore.
We went to the Baltimore Tattoo Museum (a parlor with lots and lots of memorabilia. We bought shirts.)
For years and years Fuzzy has been promising to take me to Maryland to eat crabs, and here we are finally making that dream a reality. Thanks, Obrycki's!
Before:
After:
Helloooo?
Fuzzy and Erica, how do feel about that meal?
We ate 11 of 12 crabs, and named the survivor Jerry. Here is a sad scene of Jerry realizing the destruction that surrounds him (pretend the camera swings upward, to film him from above...the table was cleared before we were able to reshoot. Where was my Production Assistant?!)
That night, we went to a schmancy Italian restaurant for an amazing dessert and amazing grappa:
"Uh...what dessert?"
The next day, on our way out of town, we were total geeks and went and took pictures outside Charm City Cakes, the bakery from the Food Network reality show (and one of our favorites) Ace of Cakes. I got so nervous, especially when someone walked out of the building, but we were able to get a peek of the familiar blue walls.
On our way out of town, we went to a different Columbia-- Columbia, MD (has anyone else noticed that we visited three Columbias on this trip?). Fuzzy moved around a lot as an Air Force kid, but he spent a good chunk of years in Columbia, MD, so we went to his childhood home! Lord knows, he has spent way too much time in my hometown, so it was great being in his and seeing where he used to play, read, shop, etc.
Which one was your bedroom, Fuzzy?
These bridges and paths are in the fields behind the houses in this neighborhood. It was gorgeous!
Here we are at Fuzzy's old library:
After spending a few hours at the mall there, we headed on down the road and made a stop for the night in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. I have always wondered about the "h" in "burgh," since I am from a "burg" with no "h." Anyways, while there, the power went out in the whole stretch of highway, and it was super creepy. You know, that is how horror movies start--the power goes off at the motel on the side of the highway and then the murders begin. If it weren't for text messages from Ken and deadbolts on the door, I might not have gotten to sleep. Just kidding, I can almost always sleep.
The drive home the next day was fairly relaxing, and after a stop for a fish sandwich in Sandusky, OH, we passed a local winery. I had never really been to a winery before (does the Biltmore count, if you went when you were little and didn't care about tastings or the glories of wine? Hmm...posting that, I am reminded of the extra "e" in Asheville. What is up, extra letters?) Fuzzy turned the car around, and soon after we left with half a case of delicious Hermes wine.
Erica, how do you feel about wine?
(note: I now want to start my own winery. That, or raise Alpacas.)
All in all, it was an amazing vacation and a total success. It seemed very daunting and ambitious when it was all in my head and unknown, but we pulled it off like pros! Now more than ever I realize the importance of getting away, seeing and experiencing things you never have before and just having fun!! Thanks for reading!
