We departed Oct. 16 for Baltimore, Md. so we could attend a good friend's wedding (see left - the new Mr. and Mrs. Ben Collins.) John's mom and grandma came down from Minn. to watch Rebecca.I was excited to go on the trip, but sad to leave Rebecca - even though I knew she was in good hands! :-)
We departed late afternoon and arrived in Timonium, Md. (the location of our hotel) after midnight, so we weren't able to enjoy fall foliage on the way in, but we certainly were able to on the way out! The West Virginia and Maryland mountains are gorgeous in the fall!! Ben and Johanna sure picked a gorgeous weekend to wed!
On Friday, John and I slept in a bit and then headed to downtown Baltimore. While there, we took in the sites and visited the Walters Art Museum, which was very impressive! We especially enjoyed looking at Roman statuary and sarcophaguses and perusing European Renaissance and Baroque art. What a neat place!
We finished our own little walking tour of the area and finally ate lunch at a little place with somewhat tasty fare.
We joined the wedding party for a rehearsal dinner Friday evening at a delightful Italian restaurant called, Liberatore's. (The bride and groom were gracious enough to invite us!) We had a great time!
On Saturday, John and I, along with our college friend, Matt Griffin, decided to tour Washington D.C. We managed to admire a bunch of monuments, buildings and such, but we didn't have a lot of time to tour many sites. I believe my favorite monument is the Lincoln Memorial, but the most moving monument is the World War II Memorial. It literally brought tears to my eyes. It made me so very thankful!During our short stint in D.C., we did manage to buy some cute FBI and Witness Protection Program clothing for our munchkins (Matt has two little girls) and a couple items for us!
Here are some pics of our tour:
Unfortunately, we got stuck in our Nation's Capital. The map kept leading us to dead ends and we we thought we had finally found the way out, we ran into a wreck. If it weren't for a good Samaritan who led us onto the Interstate - we may have very well missed the wedding!
Yes, we were late to the wedding and even had to enter in our street clothes. How embarrassing!!! We did manage to make it in time for the vows and we snapped as many pictures as we could from the balcony of the Tagart Chapel at McDonogh School. What we saw of the wedding was beautiful! I couldn't stop talking about the flowers - an awesome array of fall colors!After the wedding, we changed into nicer apparel and headed to the reception at the Martin's Valley Mansion. The venue was stunning and the food delicious! Everyone certainly had a great time celebrating Ben and Johanna's nuptials.
Here's one of John and I dancing:
Sunday, we ate lunch at Johanna's parents' home and watched them open gifts before they departed for their honeymoon to Aruba. It was an intimate gathering where friends and family could chat and relax.
That evening, John and I explored Baltimore's Inner Harbor and later supped at G & M Restaurant, recommended to us by Johanna's dad. The restaurant is known for their crab cakes. John sampled jumbo shrimp stuff with their signature crab cake. He looked like he was in heaven! I had a lighter entree - broiled flounder. It was yummy as well (and better for the waistline.)
All in all, we had a great time in Maryland and we hope to return and visit our friends some time in the future. We wish Ben and Johanna all the best!!!
