Where we're heading next:
Home Sweet Home
Quote of the Day
Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"
Driving to Maryland threw us for a loop. We were all pretty confused about which state we were in, and this leg of the trip was like a scene from one of the vacation movies.
First of all we were up in the middle of the night looking for a mouse. Grandma heard it first, reached over to feel Doodle and only got her feet. Turns out Doodle was falling off the bed in s l o w motion, squeaking like a mouse as she went. No tears or wails, just squeaking with her head on the ground, feet still on the bed.
In the car, Doodle repeatedly sang ‘Here Comes Peter Cottontail’ until Grandma and I were sure it was March instead of October. In between renditions, she’d start chanting, “We need a break! We need a break!” or some such plea she’d previously heard emanating from the front seat.
Also, Doodle has entered the potty mouth stage 2 years early. Little Man was finally beginning to leave it, but now they just egg each other on. When I was on the phone with Tomcat, Doodle started in with something inappropriate and when Grandma turned around she looked up at her indignantly and said, “Just ignore me, Grandma.” Grandma has been getting her due, I have to say. Usually, I'm the one hearing my own voice coming out of Doodle's mouth. But lately, Doodle has been calling Grandma, "You little twerp" or "You're such a little turkey". Guess where she hears that occasionally?
I’d like to note that Little Man hasn’t come up for air in nearly 3 days. He has so many questions and even more lessons to give. Finally, I asked him to pppplease figure out something to do back there because I had to focus on the road! He ended up rigging some sort of fishing pole out of pencils, some string and his Pirate’s hook, which he kept flinging around the car to “catch” things. Plunk. Smack. Plunk. Smack.
The point here is, on the way to Maryland, none of us had a clue we actually went through Delaware, save the precarious stop on the toll road for a picture at the Welcome sign. We really needed to go back. So we did.
Grandma had the brilliant idea of going through Annapolis and across the Chesapeake Bay instead of backtracking. I'm so happy for that recommendation. It was tough to just do a drive-by through such an historic and endearing place. We needed at least as much time in Annapolis as we had in Baltimore, but we were already going in the opposite direction of Pennsylvania, where we were planning to lay our heads for the night so we marched on!
Then we almost forgot our Maryland dirt! Just before crossing the Chesapeake Bay (loaded with those tasty blue crabs) we found an exit and ended up at at Sandy Point State Park. What a nugget of a place looking out over the water – the sand is precisely the color of Sugar Babies. Pretty enough to eat.
I must begin by stating that I ate the most delectable Maryland Lump Crab Cake at Rusty Scuppers. Poor future crabs that pass my lips will always be measured against it. Blue crabs are something quite indescribable.
Our first thrill was to go aboard 3 different ships in the harbor: the USS Torsk submarine, the Lightship Chesapeake and the USS Constellation.
Peanut started pouting when she realized the sub wasn’t going to go down under for us. It’s shocking what a difficult time I had explaining that concept – the U.S. government refused to lower a sub for the mere enjoyment of our road tripping family! They grasped claustrophobia clearly, however, when a big man came rushing past us explaining in no uncertain terms that he didn’t feel well.
Light ships served the same function as Lighthouses but were on the water, usually docked. They had the nicest accommodations of any water vessel we’ve toured. I guess that was the incentive for such a dangerous and tedious job.
Oh the USS Constellation is such a magnificent ship! It went down 3 or 4 decks – one dedicated to guns alone – guns that held 32 lb. cannonballs. That's Doodle in a ball! We came running to the stern for the presentation on how to care for and light a cannon. Within 15 minutes and a little help from the audience, off it went, Boom! We were much more impressed than we’d expected.
Here's Little Man's #1 lesson of today: Do you know why the toilet on a ship is called the head? Sailors used to go to the head of the ship to pee and poop off the side – it actually went into a tube down to the ocean. Zero privacy.
Baltimore has a little water taxi, not to be confused with a narrated tour, and that’s how we ended up in Fells Point for the rest of the afternoon. Grandma and I could have spent days there – her reading every historical marker and me, going in and out of every shop. An interesting slice of history with modern appeal. The Daily Grind coffee shop is a combination of 2 buildings and the space between – so many places were clever and charming like this.
The Art Gallery of Fells Point was showing a miniature paintings exhibit. This appealed to all of us and we were told that miniatures have been done since the earliest of times and they’re the diamonds of art. I think I’ve found a new creative outlet. I love to paint on 4x6 watercolor tablets, but these were as small as 2x2 and sold for as much as $500. Phenomenal. The two volunteers were local painters and such warm, genuine people. One even offered to get me some Delaware dirt on her visit next weekend, since we missed the state by driving through it at night.
She was a perfect example of why we're doing this trip; we are witnessing the benevolence and generosity of pure strangers time and again, and I believe people all over the world are the same. I want my kids to someday be counted among them!
