The road trip

So last Thursday, we headed south to Maryland for the Bar Mitzvah of our friends' son. We spent Thursday night in a nice Hampton Inn in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. For supper, we made the mistake of going to a nearby Benihana-esque Japanese restaurant and stupidly ordering sushi. Worst. Sushi. EVER!!! We ordered a special roll with spicy tuna and spicy scallop. It looked more like a bad cat-food-filled tube bundled in day-glo orange gelatin with red sprinkles. I christened it "Fancy Feast maki" and neither of us could eat more than a few bites, it was that weird and revolting. At least the rest of the sushi was edible. Barely.

But arriving in Maryland the next day (hurricane predictions be damned!) made it all worthwhile. At our friends' house, I found my favourite pastry chef, Rachel, piping filling into cream puffs she had MADE FROM SCRATCH! Rachel spent a week with us last year and made us all sorts of heavenly baked delights. She is growing up to be a wonderful young woman.

Her lovely little sister Sarah was on hand to sample the goods and provide moral support. 

The next day was their brother Eli's Bar Mitzvah. Here's Gordon posing with Sarah at the luncheon held after the service...

And here is the young man himself, with my old man...

Eli is an amazing young man. He's a keen young naturalist with a gift for drawing and wood-carving the birds and animals he loves. He has three guinea pigs in his room. I love talking to him, as he always has a million questions for me, starting with "Have you seen any animals lately?" He always asks about the creatures that frequent our farm. "Have you seen a fox? Have you seen a moose? Have you seen a bear?!"

In the evening, there was a dinner and party for Eli. Unfortunately, many people couldn't attend because of Hurricane Isabelle, but we braved the rain and wind and had a great time. Luckily the power didn't go out until we were back at our hotel and safely tucked into bed. 

Here I am with Sarah, drawing a moose on a photo of Eli kayaking. Everyone signed the photo for Eli.

Back in 2009, I took a picture of us in a reflective wall at the reception venue.

I continued the tradition this year!

Self-portrait with timer!

The next day, we moved to a hotel in Baltimore that actually had electricity. It was very nice and near the waterfront. And guess who we met there for lunch?

Lynn and her hubby Randy from Razzberry Corner! It was great to meet a fellow blogger, and Lynn is every bit as wonderful in person as she is on her blog. They kindly took us to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and we had a great time. Thanks so much, Lynn and Randy, for the yummy lunch and fabulous company.

Yes, me and the Guinea Hen Queen herself! :)

in the evening, Gordon and I took a stroll around the harbour, where we saw this heron fishing. I am guessing it's a juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron, but I'm waiting for Happy Wombat Boy to give me the final word on that.

 

The skyline is very pretty at night!

 

The next day, we started our journey home. Monday night, we stayed in Cortland, NY. On Tuesday morning, we had breakfast at the Blue Frog Cafe. YUM! I recommend the breakfast burritos and chai latte.

Gordon enjoyed a cafe mocha.

  

Cheers!

Me with hurricane hair. Blow dryers don't work when the power is out!

More trip photos to follow.