Chesapeake Bay

 I was very excited to explore the Chesapeake Bay! It was my first visit and certainly a place that holds lots of charm and history. I was not disappointed. The photo above is from a park overlooking the Chesapeake Bridge.

 We found several small communities on the shoreline that had the charm I had hoped to see. The lighthouses were all part of the tourism and museums but it was still fun to see them. Although I had not considered the miles and time it would take to drive down each peninsula and back inland before finding the next one it was worth it.

 Rock Hall had this quiet little beach with just a few people, mostly little ones with mommy and grandma. It looked like a wonderful place to unpack your bags and spend a week. St. Michaels had a cute main street with antique shops, souvenirs and ice cream. I won't always remember the names of these little towns but I will remember the feeling of Chesapeake Bay.

Baby Cuteness

 "Seriously, Grammy? MORE vacation photos?"

 Even I am getting overloaded with vacation photos. It's time for another baby cuteness break. Nothing like a baby's face to brighten my day!

 Lincoln had some avocado for lunch when he came over to my house last week. It was fun to feed him, watch his expressions and enjoy the little green mess!

Crab Vacation

 Although we ate plenty of cheese steaks and ball park hot dogs, it was the crab that I was most excited about when we decided to travel to the Chesapeake Bay. Above is a yummy crab dip with bread sticks from a local place we found on the eastern shore of the bay.

  This was our view from the patio while eating crab cakes at Fish Whistle on a river near the bay. Below are the Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs that we saw on the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay. I had never seen anything like them. They were kind of creepy while strolling the beaches but they were also very interesting. This is not the kind of crab that we ate (as far as I know!)

 We only tried one Roadfood.com option and it was a very simple and local crab shack. The interior is pictured below. The cases are filled with fresh seafood (as far as I know) and it was soft shell crab season so we ordered one. That's Dale taking a bite; legs, pinchers, head and ALL. It's a unique experience. I had it once on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi too. I think twice may be enough for me!

The crab cakes served at Camden Yards in Baltimore were as good as the other crab cakes that we ate. It was certainly a unique experience to order crab cakes at a major league baseball game. We brought back a few crab souvenirs, even one for the Christmas tree. It was a "crabby" vacation for sure.

Jersey Shore

 After race day and a day in Philadelphia I was ready for less pavement and more water. Although it wasn't on the agenda we knew that the Jersey Shore was close by and it was obvious that we had plenty of time so we headed east toward the Atlantic Ocean. It was a wonderful change of pace and so good to see the ocean. Atlantic City was our first stop. We didn't do the casinos but they were very prominent on the shoreline.

 The woman at the visitor center told us that Ocean City was more family-friendly and that we might enjoy that also. I loved the boardwalk in Ocean City; great energy, people, sea gulls and fresh taffy! We also decided to try the Crabfries which were a big deal at the ball parks and on the boardwalk. We liked them but so did the sea gulls. One brave bird took one right out of the container that Dale was holding!

 We also stopped in several little seaside communities south of Ocean City to peak around and enjoy the atmosphere. I got to walk in the ocean too which always adds much to vacation pleasure for me! It was a good day trip from our main destinations. I have spent lots of time in New Jersey in the past when visiting Randy in Union City but never ventured to the shore. It was good to see another side of Jersey!

Dale and Felix

Dale became a grandpa a few months ago.  Felix is adorable and changing quickly. Today I got to go with Dale to visit Felix and his parents and even snap a few photos. We both agree that it is very fun to have babies in our lives. This grandparent thing is pretty awesome!

Philadelphia

 We had one day in Philadelphia and lots to explore. I had never been to the city and wanted to see the sights before heading to the Phillies game that evening. We chose to take the double decker bus tour and it worked out great. . . until about 3/4 of the way through the tour when the heavy rain started! It was a fun tour and the rain just made it more memorable especially since the lower level of the bus leaked horribly.

 I saw and photographed Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' house, Rocky Balboa and other statues but I won't post all of those photos. I have found that this blog serves as my vacation documentation. I look at this more often than going through all of my photo files so I like to post snapshots that represent the trip. Feel free to skip past all of these posts if you get bored with other people's vacation photos.

 Reading Terminal Market was recommended by a colleague and he was right; it was my favorite find in Philadelphia. The old railroad terminal is filled with wonderful things for all of my senses. There are fish markets, produce, delis, ice cream, Amish goods and more. If I spent a week in the city I would probably go to Reading Terminal most days!

It rained on and off all day long. It was clearing off when we headed to Citizens Bank Park for the baseball game. By the time the game started there was a light rain falling. It wasn't enough to delay the game but it was enough to make us damp and less than comfortable. It was still fun to explore the ballpark and see the Phillies play. I am always interested to see what happens when the home team gets a  home run and we got to see this liberty bell swing and ring.

Delaware

 Although the nascar race may not be my highlight of our trips it is most often the Sprint Cup Series schedule that gets things rolling. This year it was the race in Dover, Delaware. It was a great location partially because neither of us had spent time in Delaware. Race day was beautiful, parking was easy and Dale's favorite driver won the race. The exit was smooth and quick which is very rare when attending a race. It was good.

 We took some time to check out the state capital, a couple of cities and the back roads of Delaware and we were impressed. The Delaware Bay was beautiful and an educational stop because we learned about Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs which we saw again later in the week. Delaware was a great place to visit.

Washington DC

 When we left Lancaster County Pennsylvania we took a drastic turn and headed toward Washington D.C.  It ended up being the first of four major league baseball parks that we visited during this trip. The game was sold out and we actually waited around to see if they might open up more "standing room only" tickets. We were glad to get in to explore the ball park and watch part of the game.

 This boardwalk along the river made a great walkway to and from the ballpark. Because we visited DC a few years ago we didn't mind that our time there was limited. We did drive around a bit to peak at some of the landmarks and had a nice surprise when we accidentally found embassy row. It's not my favorite city but it was a well spent afternoon before we headed to Delaware.

Pennsylvania

 Although we are often "off the beaten path" when we travel, we did spend many hours on toll roads and turnpikes as we passed through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was the fastest way to get to our destination and save more time for exploring new ground. Dale always likes to stop to see the state capital so Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was on our list. Since neither of us had spent much time in Pennsylvania we got off the turnpike and explored more.

 Hershey is a pretty town with cute street lights but we did not check out the attractions and amusement park. We did check it out a bit on our way to Lancaster County where we enjoyed the little towns and Amish touches. We also visited two ball parks in Pennsylvania but more about those later.

Civil War

Dale is very interested in Civil War history so I was fine with stopping at Gettysburg on our way across Pennsylvania. I found it to be historically interesting but also a very beautiful area. On the way home about ten days later we saw a sign in Maryland for Antietam and made a stop there. The photo above is the Antietam Creek which was a part of the bloodiest day in US history, but it is a gorgeous spot now. The photos below are all from Gettysburg. I have been telling my single friends that if they want to meet men, they have been looking in all the wrong places. These battle fields are full of male visitors!

Road Trip

Dale and I had a great road trip and I will be posting many more photos. It's been great to get settled in at home, weed my gardens and spend time with family and friends. Thanks to Jay, I don't need to mow the grass yet. Ashley kept all of my plants alive and we have been eating salads and broccoli from my kitchen garden. Dale and I traveled east this time toward the Chesapeake Bay. We put 3375 miles on the car, saw several sporting events, state capitals and other sights in several states! I loved exploring Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the Jersey Shore. Lots of baseball and several bodies of water made a great trip.

Six Months!

Yesterday Lincoln turned six months old. I got back from vacation just in time to enjoy some snuggles and smiles. After being gone for almost two weeks I could really see changes especially in his fine motor skills. He can entertain himself in new ways now. I will be posting plenty of vacation photos soon. For now it's good to be back home and close to family!