Birthday Day 2

Today Doug and I had lunch with his Mom & Dad at Cheesecake Factory for my birthday

This is the best kind of birthday cake!!

After lunch we headed north of Baltimore to Gunpowder Falls State Park. We went on a short hike along the creek and enjoyed the nice day.

Birthday Day 1

(BTW, I know I get really creative sometimes with the Post names... Don't judge!)

Friday night I kicked my birthday weekend off with a bang by going out for dinner and drinks with some friends. We behaved and, in true, old people style, we were in bed before 1. :)

Eating dinner at Cadillac Ranch in Annapolis

(It was raining so we were not able to sit outside on the very nice patio. :( )

After dinner we went to Cancun's for drinks and a small amount of booty shaking. 

Outtakes

How many pictures does it take to get one good one of me and Doug?
(This was not posed! This was completely random and yet it perfectly catches our relationship.)

Hmmm.... 

Getting closer...

Almost (this one makes my heart smile)....

And there we go!

So the answer is 4!
(These pictures are thanks to Sarah A and her "expertise" smartphone camera skills. In other words, she had no clue she was snapping pictures or what she was taking pictures of when she caught all these moments. HA!)

Ft. McHenry for Father's Day

Yesterday Doug and I went with his Mom & Dad to Fort McHenry. The Ft. is in the Baltimore Harbor and is famous because that is where the Star Spangled Banner was written. With the bicentennial celebration occurring, the Ft. has had many special events scheduled. This summer they added boat tours to their agenda. The tour gives you a water view of the harbor and the fort while telling you the story of how the famous battle occurred and how song was written. For weather, we could have not asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, the temperatures where in the low 80's, there was no humidity, and there was a nice cool wind blowing. We had a great time learning about the history of the city and our nation but most importantly we had a wonderful time with Doug's Dad for Father's Day. I am counting down the days (14) to seeing my Dad at the beach for the 4th. A whole week being a beach bum with my Dad is just what I need!

The park surrounding the outside of the Fort

 

The Fort with downtown Baltimore behind it

Standing at the front of the Fort looking out at the bay and the Francis Scott Key Bridge

Inside the Fort

Some of the Fort volunteers who dress up

Shinedown videos

Shinedown

Last night we went to the private Shinedown concert. Well, more of a meet and greet than a concert but a once in a blue moon chance either way. Doug was really nervous and excited. He was determined to be their BFFs by the end of the day but I had to remind him how creepy they may find his . :) The weather was down right awful so we left really early to account for traffic. Nothing like a few tornado warnings to make people drive like blind, 100 year old, grannies. We got there in plenty of time and then had to wait even longer for the band to do the on-air interview (Listen here) and sound check. Doug could not sit still from his anticipation. They put us and 14 other people in a small break room for the concert. The band came out, talked with us some, played three songs, and then we got to meet them, get autographs, and take a picture with them. Thankfully the security guy came with a pocket full of Sharpies because I totally forgot to bring one. Oops!

Doug was in heaven the entire time. I was a little disappointed only three songs were played but Doug could have cared less. Thankfully they were three of his favorites off the last album. I totally had that "joy from seeing the smile on your child's face" feeling. I have never played one of their songs but I knew all the words from the countless times Doug has played them. After the little tease concert he had me promise him we would go to the full concert when they came in town again. I will probably go broke getting him seats as good as we had yesterday but I think he is worth it. :)

 

St. Micheals

This Saturday we had some yucky weather thanks to Tropical Storm Andrea but we were not going to let that stop us from having a fun day. Doug and I got up and headed out early to make the most of our one day a week together. We decided to go to St. Michaels, MD and make a few stops on the way. Since we had to go over the Bay Bridge and pay the toll, we figured we would make the most of the day and go to as many places as we could. Stop #1: the outlets. :) Hey, we rarely go and it was right there off the route. I forced Doug to buy some shirts so he would have some nice ones to wear at the beach. We still have to find him some swim trunks. I am betting we buy something last minute in FL...

Stop #2 was Easton, MD. We more or less drove through the city but we did stop at Kohl's. It was still raining when we left there and got to St. Michaels (Stop #3). A friend of Doug's recommended a restaurant right on the water, The Crab Claw. Our plan was to eat outside on the docks but the weather forced us inside. The food was good but we would like to go back for dinner on a prettier day so we could sit outside and really enjoy the view. We decided to wait out the rain driving around the peninsula and site seeing. There were many large houses and cute inns right along the water. Doug and I decided next time we came back we should get on a boat so we could get a better view of the area.

Finally it stopped raining so we headed back into the city to walk around the downtown area. There were a lot of cute little shops to keep us occupied for a little while. After that we grabbed some ice cream and plopped down on a bench to people watch. Once our bellies were full we decided to head back home. There was only one stop left to make, find Yum Yum sauce. For those on Facebook, you saw my devastating status update about me dropping my Yum Yum sauce. (For those not on Facebook, Doug and I went to eat hibachi, I got a HUGE to go cup of Yum Yum sauce to eat with my leftovers, and I dropped it in the parking lot all over the ground and our car. Sad, I know.) What is hibachi without Yum Yum sauce so we had to find some. I figured if Wegmans didn't have it, no one close by would. This was my first trip there and my mind was blown! It was huge! I was hooked after I saw the bakery and produce section. Unfortunately, Doug banned me from going without him because he knows I would spend every dollar we had in there. :) But they did have the Yum Yum sauce and cheesecake (he owed me from giving me the stomach virus)! And I just remembered I forgot to look for cornbread mix. Guess that means I will have to make another trip... :)