Getting Out

A few quick picks from Valentines morning Pink Pancake Party. Thanks Aunt Steph!

Excuse the delayed post, but I escaped town this last weekend on my first solo weekend since being here. It was great for me, but not so great for Will who unfortunately had a delayed onset of the stomach bug the girls and I had earlier in the week. Ouch, not so fun when you are flying solo with the kids.... bummer.

After spending any small amount of time in Southern Maryland, one will soon realize the importance of getting out of town, even if only for a day. On the great need to have a break from this lovely place, Will and I decided to load up the car and the girls (which is no small task when taking an outing) and head up to Baltimore for the day.


After a quick hour and a half drive we hit Baltimore for what looked to be a fun day.


Our first stop was the Baltimore National Aquarium. (First note on this is not to go to any tourist attraction on a National Holiday.... unless you enjoy the feeling of being claustrophobic.) Will's college buddy Tim, who lives in Baltimore in the Inner Harbor area, was able to come tour the aquarium with us - making it that much more fun for Will and I; especially since he did a fab job of touring Kate around.



After walking through shark tunnels, rain forests, observing sea turtles and a rather lame (at least in comparison to Sea World) dolphin show, it was time to move on. At this juncture we decided to hit up the Paper Moon Diner for a little lunch.



The Paper Moon Diner (at least for us) was discovered by my Grandma Darla... who saw it on the travel or cooking channel as one of the best restaurants in the country for kids. Well, the rating was accurate, this was a totally cool, funky, crazy place that definitely kept M busy... and the food was AMAZING. What made the diner unique was the fact that the inside was completely covered in antique toys, even the ceiling fans were covered in buttons. Talk about a lengthy game of I Spy.




After leaving the diner, and carrying two very tired children we decided to load up the car and take the 25 minute drive over to Annapolis. Annapolis is a great city. It has a cute downtown area, very similar to Newport - with a wonderful historic feeling, and also home to the Naval Academy. Will and I would have loved to get a cup of coffee and tour around, however the 32 degree weather limited us to the mall only. So after a stop at Nordstrom, some new shoes for Madison and Baby Gap and some new clothes for the girls (in prep for our Florida trip) we were on our way home.... back to lovely Southern Maryland.

Look for more adventures to come. This Friday night we are headed to Old Town Alexandria for two nights - this time a full weekend out of town and lots of fun DC sites.