Backtracking

I’ve actually had an exciting week for a change. “Exciting” in my case does not mean oh-my-God-did-you-hear-what-happened sort of stuff. It means I finally did something different.

It’s about time, too. Different does not necessarily mean exciting, but at least it was fun.

We did NOT go to a sushi bar.

Amy’s kids were with their other grandparents for the weekend. Amy, who was really in need of some girls-night-out sort of fun, adult time or both, invited me to join her and her girlfriend, Jess, for dinner and drinks in Annapolis.

The plan was to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas at El Toro Bravo on West Street. Margaritas would have been REALLY good after yet another 100-degree day.

Jess arrived very early (3:30-ish) with her friend Kaitlyn. They each had an 8 dollar margarita, which they nursed because they are both tiny and they knew Amy and I would be awhile. Amy arrived next and ordered her own 8 dollar margarita. A short time later, they all ordered another round because I still wasn’t there (I had to work a full day on Friday).

AFTER their second round of expensive margaritas arrived, the fools at the restaurant told them there was a time limit on how long they could stay there if they were just going to have drinks.

So, you have three women seated at a table in an uncrowded restaurant who told the staff they were waiting for someone else (me!) AND already spent $48 on drinks, and you tell them there’s a time limit? Seriously? Idiots.

When I finally arrived, the girls told me what happened. We all agreed that was a very rude and stupid thing to do. And, after that, the restaurant didn’t deserve our hard-earned money.

Because I’m an idiot and know nothing about Annapolis, I parked like 10 blocks away (I did mention the 100-degree day thing, right?). That meant by the time I got to the place, I was dripping with sweat and quite thirsty. So I was drinking Amy’s water and Jess’s margarita. The waiter asked if I would like to order something and I said, “No. I’m just going to share these drinks and we’re going elsewhere.” They never did apologize, but instead tried to joke their way out of the screw-up by acting cute and asking if we were mad. Duh.

Anyway… we did not go to a sushi restaurant as the picture would imply (I just thought that sign and the artwork behind it were cool). We went to an Irish pub on Main Street. I won’t mention that restaurant’s name because the chef was on vacation and the food SUCKED. The beer was very cold, however, and we had a great waitress. Had the owner not apologized several times and removed the food from the bill, I would definitely reveal the pub’s name. But I’ll give them another chance. Even if they did serve our butthead, let’s-make-everyone-pay-even-more-taxes governor. And despite the fact that the well-intentioned owner touched Steve (Jess’s boyfriend had joined us) REPEATEDLY when he visited our table.

We did manage to capture a few pictures, though.

Here I am (in back) with Jess and Amy (Kaitlyn was gone by then).
Steve, Jess and Amy.

After plenty of beer and a mediocre and far-too-small meal, we left and looked around a bit. Downtown Annapolis on a Friday is always interesting even in the sweltering, still-90-degrees-at-9:00-PM heat.

Steve, the Indian and me with Jess do-si-doing in the front.

Amy knows how much I like being photographed with weird, inanimate stuff, so she made us pose for that fun shot with the wooden Indian. I was trying to look solemn like the Chief. Steve was feigning surprise. And I think Jess was either trying to square dance or strike an Irish-dancer pose. (We should have communicated on the appropriate mood before Amy snapped the picture.)

A booty-defining store.

The store windows we saw were quite entertaining. Annapolis is the home of the US Naval Academy.

Fun, touristy bumper stickers.
Taking a positive spin on things.
Proof that Jess rarely stands still.

It was a very fun evening  full of laughs. I had dual cheek cramps at least twice during the night. It’s too bad Kaitlyn had to go home to feed her dog before I remembered the camera was in my purse. I promised the girls a real margarita night at my house in the near future. So maybe we can get some pics of Kaitlyn, too. And I can find out if her name is spelled with a “C” or a “K.” If I spelled it wrong, I’m sorry. That’s one question I forgot to ask…

A Full Agenda

I’ve got quite a few things I’d like to get done today. Since we’re often away from the Maryland house on weekends, I feel like I never get anything accomplished. Hubby says it is my Internet addiction holding me back. But I don’t spend that much time on the Internet. At least I don’t think I do. I’m usually on in the mornings before work. I check e-mail and stuff right after work then I go off to do other things. Now is a good example. What else am I supposed to do at 6:30 on a Saturday morning anyway?

Amish Girls Shopping

Here’s my agenda for the day…

Number 1 – Make and drink FRESH COFFEE. That one is important. And it is already done. Well, at least the making part is. And I’m enjoying it much better than my first cup yesterday.  I often pull the coffee pot out when it’s halfway done brewing, pour myself a cup, then replace the pot so it can finish filling. I did that yesterday only to discover that the coffee was lukewarm. Weird. But I like drinking room-temperature coffee, so no biggie. I did worry in the back of my mind that something might be wrong with the coffee maker. But I didn’t dwell on it. However, when I went back for the second cup, I noticed the pot was just as full as it would have been if I hadn’t already poured myself a cup. The coffee was steaming hot this time, too. That’s when I realized I’d never gotten rid of the old, leftover coffee from the previous day. Ew. And THEN I realized I hadn’t been home to make coffee the previous day. So what I really drank was two-day-old coffee with just enough new coffee mixed in to make it lukewarm. Ew, EW!

Will it be Fresh Beef?

Number 2 – Go to Amish Market. Some good friends, Kathy and Barry, are coming over for dinner tonight, so I need to go to the Amish market in Annapolis for provisions. I like going there for fresh meat. I don’t know if it’s how they raise their cows or just the freshness factor, but the meat I buy there is always so much fresher. I did a Web search after work yesterday to check out their hours. That’s when I came across this YELP.com link that sort of made me chuckle. The link itself didn’t tickle the funny bone, the reviews did.

People rave about the place quite a bit. They says it’s HUGE. And the food there is almost the best thing since sliced bread, albeit slightly over-priced. The market isn’t huge. It’s just big enough for one of every type vendor: restaurant, pretzels/ice cream, baked goods, candy, meat counter, produce, canned (in jars) goods, and cakes/cheeses. It’s as if these people don’t realize we’re like 100 miles from Lancaster County, which is Amish Central. And they’ve never seen places like The Green Dragon and Root’s Country Market (pronounced “ruts,” which rhymes with puts). There’s also the Bird-in-Hand Market, which has more-liberal hours but is definitely the touristy version. The Annapolis market is nice, don’t get me wrong. I mean, I do go there whenever I can because it’s convenient. But it’s nothing when compared to the offerings in and around Lancaster, which really is just up the road. It’s like the 7-Eleven/Sheetz/WaWa of Amish markets, but I am really glad it’s there.

Number 3 – Go to grocery and liquor stores: I need to buy a few key ingredients for this evening’s meal. Also, I’ve been out of good tequila for awhile now. There’s only one beer in the refrigerator. And I may need to get some wine, although I sort of think I have plenty of that already.

Number 4 – Mow the grass: I haven’t decided yet what’s worse… having to mow the grass myself or having to remind Eric constantly that it needed to be done and putting up with the less-than-stellar results of his inevitably having to do a rush job. Mowing it myself may not be easier physically, but it certainly less frustrating.

Number 5 – Finish painting: I still have trim-work and touch-up that needs to be done.

Or Fresh Chicken?

Number 6 – Prepare the meal: I’m not nearly as creative when it comes to cooking as my friend, Kathy.  But my fare, while plainer, usually tastes good. It’s just not as interesting because it’s more-of-the-same. Like how good can a grilled hamburger be when compared with some sort of exotic-sounding Thai stir fry dish? We’re not having burgers. That’s just an example.

Number 7 – Eat, drink and be merry: Now THAT is an agenda item anyone could embrace! I’ll have to report in tomorrow to let you know how it all went.

Perhaps Fresh Pork?

Gone But Not Forgotten

As usual, our girlfriend getaway flew by far too quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was visiting with Tracey’s chickens. But that was five whole days ago already…

This photo, from left to right, shows Tracey, Carol and me.

We’re sitting inside a gazebo, which is behind a craft store about 1/4 mile outside of “downtown” Intercourse, Pennsylvania.

The entire area is interspersed with Amish farms. I bet Lancaster County has the highest concentration of barns and silos than any other place on the planet.

If you’d like to know how Intercourse got its name, you can read about it on the Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center Web site.

Carol, Tracey and I have been visiting Lancaster for 14 or 15 years now. For one long weekend each year, we get together to hang out, relax, shop and catch up. There used to be a fourth member of our little group, Laura, but she hasn’t joined us for at least five years, maybe more. We all lost touch over the years, which is sad, because it’s rare to be able to maintain friendships from childhood into adulthood as Tracey, Carol and I have managed to do.

We’ve been friends for more than 30 years. That’s a long time.

Anyway, I did manage to get some pictures on Saturday, which show you the area around East Lancaster where we spend most of our time.

On the Way to Intercourse Along Route 30 (Lincoln Highway)

I actually snapped that shot of the Amish plowman while driving. The Amish don’t like having their pictures taken. You can’t blame them. I’m sure they get sick of being gawked at.

The Old Candle Barn

The entire area is interspersed with farms, houses and quaint little shops. There’s a cute little village center in Intercourse, but with the weather being sunny, in the 70s and absolutely gorgeous, everyone was out and about. None of us like crowds, so we opted not to hang out in town.

Amish Girlfriend Getaway

These girls were parking as we were leaving The Old Candle Barn. I guess this is what we’d look like if we were Amish. Except they have a child with them. No children are allowed on our trip, even if they are all adults now.

Just Outside of the Intercourse Town Center

Instead, we headed to King’s Homestead, one of many stores in the area selling Amish furniture, crafts and other household knickknacks. I took this picture from the parking lot.

I’ve long suspected, and just now confirmed, that this store is affiliated with another King’s across the street from our motel as well as another King’s just down the road from our motel. It’s amazing that all of these places manage to not only stay in business, but thrive.

A Farm Just Behind and Across the Creek From King's in Intercourse
Another Amish Farm

Here’s another picturesque Amish farm. I took this one while I was driving.

Cows!

When we were finished shopping in Intercourse, we grabbed some hoagies from WaWa and headed back to our motel to chill. Because it was so sunny and warm, people were coming out of the woodwork to soak up the nice weather. I’ve never seen so many people sitting around a motel parking lot. These cows were in the field just behind our motel.

Checking Each Other Out

Did you notice the bunny rabbit in that picture? The cow and the rabbit were checking each other out. If you click on the picture, a larger version will pop up for you to see.

View From Our Motel's Parking Lot

You can see what a pretty day we had in this shot, which was taken by me just as we were leaving to do more shopping.

That's Me Loaded Down with Computer, Camera Equipment, Purse and Jacket

And that’s a picture of me, which was taken seconds after the previous image just as we were leaving to do more shopping.

The weather was even prettier on Sunday. Below are a couple of shots taken during the drive home.

There Were Hundreds of Motorcyclists Out Enjoying the Weather
More Cows

I couldn’t resist this cow picture…

All in all, it was a fabulous trip. I bought lots of cool stuff, too. I’ll have to tell you about that in another post.

The rest of the images from the trip are in a Picasa Web album.

Saturday = Intercourse

It’s Saturday. The last full day of my annual girl getaway. So we figured it would be a good time to head to Intercourse.

The Old Candle Barn is one of Tracey’s favorite shops. Carol and I like it, too, but Tracey is the one who discovered the place.

Carol and I get the credit for discovering Jake’s Country Trading Post.

I’m pretty sure it was me that found the Flower & Craft Warehouse in Blue Ball. And Carson’s in the Cornfields, which is in New Holland.

Those are our most-favorite shopping haunts. We do some of the outlets in Lancaster, too.

But the whole point of the trip, really, is just to hang out together for a few days to recharge our batteries.

We’re still recharging.

Intercourse is first on the agenda today.

I’m not sure what’s up with the weird town names here in PA. All the touristy places sell t-shirts like the one shown on the left. I’ve never bought one.

None of my girlfriends have either. We’re way too cool for that.

I haven’t taken many pictures during this trip. Aside from the poultry shots from Friday.

Maybe I’ll capture some good images today. Or maybe not.

I’ll just continue to focus on that recharging thing.

Things can get pretty colorful in there here parts though.

My Friend, the Chicken Lady

In 2008, my long-time girlfriend Tracey moved from a small house in Parkville, on the outskirts of Baltimore City in Maryland, to a much larger house on around 11 acres in York County, Pennsylvania. York County is farm country. At least it looks like farm country to me.

Shortly after the move, Tracey became a chicken lady. Today, I was finally able to visit. And, believe it or not, I took some pictures.

Guinea Hens

I’m a city girl for the most part. I know more about wild animals than farm animals. I thought chickens were essentially white or orange/brown and chicken-shaped. Sort of like this.

They’re not.

Guinea Hens Again

They are rather interesting-looking birds.

Bantam Rooster and a Dominiker (or something like that)

These two look more like regular chickens to me. The Dominiker, Jack Sprat (on the right), doesn’t have a full comb yet because he’s not quite a year old.

Daisy Donald Duck

I guess Tracey is technically a poultry lady, because she has ducks, too. This duck was originally named Daisy. Then someone noticed Daisy was a boy. I’m not sure who finally discovered the testicles under all of those feathers.

More Ducks

These other ducks, the brown ones are Waffles, Howard and Mystery Duck (Tracey forgot the other boy’s name).

Ducks Drinking

I am jealous of the ducks. Not of the ducks, of Tracey for getting to own ducks. How cool is that?

Mick Jagger the Cochin Bantam Rooster

Mick Jagger is probably the coolest. He’s got natural mukluks (boots). Tracey says, “His boots were made for walkin’.”

Follow the leader...
Cock a Doodle Do!
Mick Jagger Struttin' His Stuff
One of Three Partridge Rock Hens
This is either Gertie, Wilma or Betty.

Remind me to ask what’s on the menu before accepting any dinner invitations.

Well, Dam

After a very snowy winter and lots of rain last week, the Susquehanna River is running high. How high?

It’s not flooding, but check out the video within this news story.

To really appreciate that, take a look at this image of the dam on a normal day (taken by one of my Flickr friends).

Here’s a nice little story with really bad timing as I suspect this is probably under water at the moment.

The image below was shot on that very wharf.

Now there’s a slim chance I’ll be passing through there tomorrow. It’s time for the annual girlfriend getaway to PA. But I’m going to be stopping at my girlfriend’s house just north of York en route to eastern Lancaster. Conowingo is not exactly on the way.

I’ve done weirder things. We’ll just have to see if I wake up on the right side of the bed, I guess.