Blogs from Frederick, Maryland, United States, North America

The Civil War Battle of Monocacy, 9 July 1864, took place just east of Frederick, Maryland. The battle focused on preventing Confederate forces from marching on Washington, DC. Confederates under Jubal Early and John Breckenridge invaded Maryland from Virginia at the beginning of July 1864. Union forces under Lew Wallace were dispatched from Baltimore to head them off. (After the war, Lew Wallace would author the novel Ben-Hur.) The two forces met at Frederick Junction, a strategic point where both the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Georgetown Pike (Rockville Pike) highway crossed the Monocacy River. Ultimately Union forces retreated, allowing the Confederates to move against Washington, DC. Nevertheless, the engagement delayed the Confederates and provided time for Union reinforcements to be deployed to Washington. The Confederates were ultimately stopped at the Battle of Fort... read more

Awesome weekend at Hotel Edwards! The breakfast wraps here are unbelievably delicious. Todd is chief cook and bottle washer and come to think of it laundryman, gardener and all around great Dad. Dinners are also amazing, like the Cod and Veggies we had for dinner last night! I'm loving the morning walks, the air is cool and the mountains are a nice change from Florida! My days are spent with grandkids at the pool, making cookies, and sharing meals. The sunset walks are even more spectacular! Tonight's was especially beautiful! When I got back I found Renee out practicing here Lacrosse. She plays in tournaments all over the east coast. Hopefully one day she'll get a scholarship with her field skills!... read more

Climbing the ridge this morning on our walk, Todd and I saw the Albino Deer! He was just standing there posing for us in between the trees. What an amazing site! It's great spending time with the grandkids. Rachel worked most of the day at her job at CVS. She has been promoted to Shift Supervisor. This young lady just graduated from high school and she is heading to Duke University in August. Renee and I had some bonding time together today. She is the most fun for me and we are a lot alike! We bought the other kids M&M's and bought ourselves some Starbuck Frappuccinos and our own small containers of ice cream since Moore's Ice Cream Shoppe is still closed. It was a beautiful afternoon to spend in the pool, and most of ... read more

Leaving Myrtle Beach behind early this morning, I spent the whole day driving north and west through North Carolina, Virginia, through Washington, DC and into Maryland. I hit an hour long delay on 495 getting around DC. Eight long hours of driving - Ugh! I hate traffic - LOL! Michelle's girls are at their father's, and they have a new baby brother, Ryder. Todd's boys, Ryan and John are here for summer vacation and it's great seeing them. Ryan is 16 and John is 14 and they are both into Star Wars. We played a family Sequence game, and now the boys are playing Star Wars video games in the family room. Tonight is going to be an early one for me. Time to catch up on some well needed sleep time!... read more

Mika, Just a quick note...Irma and I have been playing with this thing....and are trying to get were we need to be, to see all the work your doing...I'm not sure were the disconnect is. Hopefully as Irma and I have both sent you "invites" via the "Private Invites" on this site so you can see what we may post....I'm thinking maybe it will help if you sent us invites via that method as well. We worked on trying to get to your site...previously and tonight together on the phone, however there seems to be ...yes some disconnect..as while we can pull up your "username"...there is a prompt to "log in again"...which loops us back to our own "home page"...with still nothing to be found about viewing yours. Please feel free to provide any guideance...I'm kinda ... read more