Blogs from Maryland, United States, North America - page 3

The summer of 2021 is almost officially here. Yesterday my granddaughter graduated from high school. Big difference from when her brother graduated three years ago. Then entire families jammed into the field house at McDaniel College. This ceremony took place in an agricultural exhibit hall with only 4 tickets per family. Becky says it is called the cow palace. A big open cement floored building with giant fans slowly spinning and sprinkler heads that looked more like rain shower heads than commercial sprinklers. Giant signs announcing upcoming events instead of sports champion flags. Plastic wobbly chairs instead of bleachers. The weather held off until graduation was over and then the rains began. It wasn’t too bad at first, so we joined the throngs headed to the high school where photo op areas were set up. It ... read more

Susan and I thought Solomons, Maryland, would be a pleasant place for another circumscribed day trip. I had head of it, but not visited. Certainly easy to reach from home, only about 1 1/2 hours away via the Capital Beltway and Maryland 4. Solomons is at the tip of a peninsula where the Patuxent River flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Fishing, especially crabbing, had been the industry in Solomons for decades. Shipbuilders at Solomons developed the bugeye and skipjack sailing vessels specifically for fishing and crabbing. Today pleasure boating and sailing are the principal leisure activities. There is no beach immediately at Solomons but there are several marinas. At Solomons, Maryland 4 continues across the Patuxent River via the Thomas Johnson bridge. We took the branching Solomons Island Road into the town and and then on ... read more

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