Apr 19, 2013 - Richmond To Baltimore

I took advantage of a shuttle service offered by the downtown Marriott and had them take me to the Capitol Building first thing this morning. A severe storm warning had been issued for the afternoon so I wanted to get an early start on my drive to Baltimore. Tom and I came to Richmond in 2006 and the Capitol Building was undergoing a major renovation. We promised ourselves that we would come back to see the finished product. Tom would have loved it. I know I did. I loved the statues, the film, the exhibits explaining Virginia's role in the...

Nov 3, 2012 - Navy in Baltimore, Maryland - Max's Traveling Teddy

Dear Max, My name is Sophia, I am 9 years old, I am in the fourth grade, I live in Baltimore Maryland, in the USA. I am here to talk about HURRICANE SANDY! Navy visited Baltimore Maryland. When we went outside we saw some damage - a whole entire tree fell down! Also a huge block of dirt came out of the ground! After the hurricane was finished, Navy and I went duckpin bowling. Duckpin bowling is a fun traditional game in Maryland. - Sophia

Oct 29, 2012 - Baltimore Part II

In Part One of our stay in Maryland, I ended with Rick returning to Maryland from Phoenix on the Saturday, October 12. We vegged out on Sunday and then on Monday took care of domestic chores like laundry and grocery shopping. Since Michele is off work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays we planned on spending those days with her. Tuesday the three of us drove to Gambills, MD to visit with Karen's nephew Cliff Wellington and his wife Wendy and their children. Unfortunately Derek was down with a virus and was not up to going with us. We had a...

Oct 21, 2012 - Baltimore, Maryland, Part 1

We are now ensconced at Bar Harbor RV Park in Abingdon, Maryland. It is right down the road from the Aberdeen Proving Ground. That is where the Army tests weapons and equipment! We are about 30 miles north of Baltimore where our youngest, Michele, lives. She and her fella, Derek (M&D) have a cute apartment in downtown Baltimore. The building is called the Munsey and houses a bank on the ground floor and what had once been offices has been converted into apartments. Their apartment has a view of some great buildings and a monument dedicated...

Sep 17, 2012 - Travel to Baltimore

From Baltimore, Maryland … Monday, September 17, 2012 We got up around 6:00am this morning since we had a relatively long travel day. We were on the road by 7:00am without taking time for coffee or breakfast. We said our goodbyes to my parents last night since we were planning to leave early. Mom and Dad plan to stop a couple more places before returning home the middle of this week. We drove through Connecticut, and after about two hours, we stopped for some breakfast and more importantly, caffeine. Then we were back on the road. The...

Sep 15, 2012 - Lauren and Steve's Wedding

I attended a very lovely wedding today - my great neice Lauren and her now husband Steve. There were many wonderful special touches that made the ceremony and reception personal and special - the rings being delivered to Pastor Danny by a red tailed hawk was pretty spectacular, the release of white doves by the bride and groom was beautiful, and the groom dancing with his 91 year old grandmother to a tune from the 1940's was very special too. For me this wedding was like a family reunion. I hadn't seen my nephew, who lives in California, in...

Sep 11, 2012 - Family Visit

First of all, may I say, this is a day of remembrance and of honor to the victims and rescuers of that tragic day we will all remember...Sept. 11, 2001. May God Bless America. We drove into Baltimore today about 1 ½ hour drive. We took some side roads to look at the country side and promised ourselves we would come back that way to see a couple little towns we drove through. We met up with John’s ½ brother, Jack, whom we hadn’t seen since their Mother’s memorial service in April. We were excited to see him again. We met about noon at a Bob...

Jul 6, 2012 - First stop Charm City

We were supposed to leave home today at 1000, but as usual we were late. Winnie didn’t roll out of Newark until Noon. Our first stop was Baltimore to visit with Kyle and Annie to return Ramona and Leo. We were sorry to leave the dogs. We got a chance to hear about Kyle and Annie’s trip to the Cook Islands in the South Pacific and drive up the Northern California coast to Portland. It was a great trip and they got some great pictures. By the time we got to the end of the pictures the temperature in Winnie was about 85 with the AC on. We...

Apr 7, 2012 - Epilogue

Epilogue Woke the girls up this morning at 8:00. They just had to drop their PJs into their suitcases and dress. PopPop had already made the last run down to the pastry shop for the chocolate croissants. In a flurry of activity, the trash was emptied, suitcases closed up; souvenirs stowed. Mema and Gabby tidied up the apartment while PopPop, Colby and Sarah ferried the suitcases down to the ground floor one at a time in the tiny elevator. Our faithful Paris driver Victor was waiting at the curb at 9:00 and we loaded up and headed out....

Mar 31, 2012 - Departure Day

Last item of business before leaving for the airport is to activate this trip journal. Grandgirls are expected in a couple of hours and we'll head to the airport. Leaving from Dulles this time as it was the only reasonable nonstop flight. Departure set for 9:45 PM. Next time we check back in, it will be from Paris...hopefully with pictures of the Eiffel Tour, our first tourist stop.

Mar 23, 2012 - And I'm Off...

I'm a big girl now, my first international solo flight(first solo flight period). No Greg or Dian to talk to and remind me of the boarding times and gates. Can you believe BWI doesn't have free wifi? I had to purchase a 24 hour plan from Boingo($7.95). Well, I board at 10:45 for a 2hour and 47 minute fight to Minneapolis. Then, I have two more connecting fights before I'm with Erin and Pup-pup in South Korea. Until next time, 많은 사랑.

Oct 29, 2011 - Oh Say Can You See...

From just over the border in Maryland, we headed southeast toward Baltimore, stopping at a campground on an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay. Our site was great, looking out at the water through Otto’s front windows, but the weather was so miserable that we couldn’t really see much anyway. We spent that afternoon doing errands and chores and “hunkered down” for the evening. The rain we were getting was the snow we had run from in Pennsylvania, so I think we made the right decision for once. Having our new chairs in which to relax made the...