We have had a great weekend so far!!! Even without the furniture and boxes, we have managed to have an awesome weekend :-) Friday greeted us with quite a surprising diversion. We dropped Greg's dad off at the airport expecting to pick up my mom in the next couple hours (in Baltimore). She called to tell us that she had been put on the following flight and wouldn't be arriving for another 2 hours after that. So we had 4 hours to play with in Baltimore. We decided to be adventurous and head out of the airport without a map. Greg had heard many wonderful things about Baltimore's Inner Harbor, so we took the freeways into downtown and found that exit. I had no idea what awaited!
The Inner Harbor is a tourist delight of shops and boats along the big harbor. We took a 45 minute boat tour and learned all about the industrial era when Baltimore developed. We also saw Fort McHenry from the boat; Francis Scott Key was on a boat in the very same area we were when he saw the American flag rise up in the air at Fort McHenry to signal the victory over the British. He penned what is now "The Star Spangled Banner" right there. So cool!!! We really are right in the middle of all the historical hot spots. We also saw an Australian military ship docked in the harbor for some event and all the military standing around it. The other neat thing on that boat tour was seeing the Domino Sugar factory. It is still the same building where it all began back in the late 1800's/early 1900's. As we passed by you got a whiff of molasses. It was the first time I had been on the water in a really long time. It was really sunny and hot at first but then the sun went behind the clouds and we had a great breeze the rest of the time. So my mom's flight delay, while frustrating for her and shortening our visit a little, ended up giving us a mini vacation we hadn't expected. I really wish I'd brought my camera with me that day, because there was plenty there to take a picture of.Mom and I went exploring in downtown Lancaster last night. Tons of people were out even though most of the shops were closed. We did lots of window shopping inside the art galleries and went inside the brand new Marriott. The Marriot has been a source of great debate among the locals due in part to the fact that it replaced a long time favorite business and also because of tax implications for residents. But since we are not property owners here, we love it! It is stunning inside, and I think it will bring a lot of good business and conferences to the downtown area.
Today was jam-packed with fun trips around town. We got up early and all went to Central Market. This was Greg's first time to go. We loved going up and down the rows and choosing our fresh foods for this next week. Greg is also loving his glass jar milk bottles. Apparently the milk is really fresh from this one vendor and it isn't any more expensive than what we used to buy at HEB. Awesome! I wish I could try it.
We also went outside of town about 30 minutes to Kitchen Kettle Village where there are 30 outdoor shops filled with trinkets, leather goods, fudge, and homemade jams/pickles/salsas. There was a live band with a banjo playing when we arrived which had drawn quite a crowd. KKV is on the east side of town right in the heart of Amish country. So we saw lots of horse and buggy travelers in the bike lane of that town's road. The Amish were also out on their farms and milling through the shopping village. We also saw that an Amish funeral was being conducted at a farm right off the road. You could see a crowd of black dresses and white bonnets gathered around a central area and I saw a funeral sign at one point. At first we thought we were witnessing a wedding.Pictures: banjo band, view of some shops at the village, an Amish buggy in front of us on the road, and a view of the countryside--
Then we fought through some horrible tourist traffic on Route 30 getting to Target. Our only Target is right passed the 2 outlet malls on a 2-4 lane road. Needless to say we won't be visiting Target again unless absolutely necessary, which is a shame. I love Target. We got stocked up on lots of household items we needed and got me a great looking kitchen rug! Yay!!
Mom treated us to dinner tonight at Iron Hill Brewery right across the street from Franklin & Marshall College. It has an excellent food menu and is also a microbrewery. So Greg got one of their beers that is made onsite, I got their homemade root beer, and Mom got a glass of wine. The food was also really good! We got to see a little more of downtown, took a quick drive passed Millersville University, and dropped Mom off at her bed and breakfast. I've made quick friends with the B&B owner and she's having Greg and me join mom and them at the B&B for breakfast in the morning. Turns out her husband is doing some PhD research on forgiveness, so now Greg has another scholar to talk about this with! How cool is that?! They also told us about the church they attend. People are super friendly here.
Tomorrow afternoon Greg and I are officially on our own here. We will have plenty to do this week while I am unpacking everything and he is getting started at campus (not officially, but with writing papers and such). But we both commented how weird it is going to be to not have another family member up here with us. Good thing we love being around each other 24/7! :-)
Thanks to all of you who have left blog comments or emailed. I want to know what is going on in your world!! I miss everyone so much!
Libby, sounds like you are getting settled in! I am so jealous of all of those tourist things you got to do. I could spend days looking at all of that history you have up there. I am so excited you are meeting nice people and getting to check things out around town. You guys are doing so great and I am very proud of you! Talk to you soon!
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