Non-Mercer Related: Baltimore, part 1

Mom and Pop traveled down to Baltimore this past weekend for some relaxation and exploration. We've both been to the city, but never together and never out of the Inner Harbor. Our first stop on Friday morning was the Canton neighborhood, a small area east of downtown. The main square is easy on the eyes and I imagine a real active area for nightlife (which we did not sample, unfortunately). We grabbed an iced coffee at Firehouse and strolled down to a very serene waterfront park. I'm not positive, but I think this part of town was named after all of the canning that went on here. Not so much anymore.






It was still too early to check into our hotel, so we drove north of downtown to 36th Street in the Hampden neighborhood. Recently voted as one of the best shopping streets in the city, Mom went to town perusing all of the items on offer. Kitsch, second hand, chocolate, auctions, high end brands...this street had it all. We had a tasty lunch at Dogwood, feasting on roasted garlic cloves with delicious olive oil, blue mac and cheese, farfalle pasta with sausage, and a refreshing glass of wine. Not bad.




We checked into our hotel located on the east end of the harbor and took a dip in the pool, tested out the gym, and roasted in the sauna. After relaxing a bit in the room, we walked over to the unbelievable Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Completed in 1992, this stadium became the blueprint for new ballparks all over the country; both major and minor. I've never seen a stadium so clean and welcoming. It's a shame that the faithful fans of this city haven't seen playoff baseball more than twice since the park opened (and none since 1997). The atmosphere surrounding the stadium was decent, too, especially for a team with the worst record in baseball.

We didn't stay for the entire game, but moved to a nearby bar/brewery to finish watching the Orioles beat the White Sox in extra innings.





It was a long day, so we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap in the hotel bar. Turns out it was free movie night at the hotel so we took a look to see what the movie was. Amazingly, it was Spongebob Squarepants, a movie Mercer has seen a thousand times.

Have a good weekend.

Mom and Pop are off to Baltimore to celebrate their fifth anniversary while Mercer hangs out with Grandpa for the weekend. Enjoy the weather if it's nice to you.

Silly

Harrisburg

Some various shots taken in and around Pennsylvania's capitol.

A vist with Nicole, Justin, and Niko.

Our friends Nicole and Justin, along with their seriously cute son, Niko, were kind enough to let us invade their wonderful home this weekend for a visit. Before that could happen though, Mercer had us stop by the side of Route 78 in Pennsylvania to relieve himself. When you gotta go, you gotta go. I doubt Mercer will be happy with us over this photo when he gets to high school, but he'll appreciate it when he's in college. We hope.

It took a little while for Mercer and Niko to get fully used to each other, but they shared a common goal of agitating their parents, so they were fine. We had an amazing BBQ feast on Friday night, complete with burgers, venison, corn on the cob, fruit salad, french fries, and hot dogs. This was promptly followed by a trip to Rita's for ices and frozen custard and then a bath.











The next day, we decided to go to Chocolate World in Hershey and then Zoo America. Photography wasn't really allowed in Chocolate World, but we got to see a cool 3D movie where we got tickled by spiders, blasted by wet spider guts, and brainwashed into thinking chocolate was appropriate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We also took the "factory" tour, where Mercer was afraid we were on our way to becoming chocolate bars.

Unfortunately, Mercer developed a slight fever in the gift shop and became exhausted. We skipped the zoo and headed back to the house after picking up some pizza.


Mercer rebounded and we all went to the very cool Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg for dinner. Pop sampled a few delicious brews and we all ate very well, despite some spotty service. Pop even hosted some foot races near the entrance after we finished up.









The next morning we lazily watched cartoons and Mercer gave Niko a nice back massage with his feet. Mercer had a few toy sharing issues, but he's always been stubborn about that. He needs work. Niko was so accommodating (and cute) about the whole thing.




All in all, a very nice trip. We can't wait to go back.