No Comments From Me

Why yes, I am going crazy. And it’s blogger that’s making me that way. It seems that I can’t see nor comment any comments currently. It’s partly due to the cruddy internet connection at my mother in laws house and partly because I brought the crummy HP instead of my fabulous Dell. I didn’t want to take a chance on anything happening to my super-duper laptop so I brought the one that no one in their right mind would want to steal. So somehow, between the crappy laptop and the crappy internet connection, I can’t see or respond to comments.

Sorry.

Good news is we’re leaving tomorrow. Yay!!! Why am I thrilled about going back home? Have you ever tried to spend a week of your vacation with your mother in law? LOL. Don’t get me wrong, we get along great and I do truly love her. Its just that I don’t to stay around anyone longer than three days, other than my husband.

 

We’re going to take our time going home and don’t expect to hit Louisville until sometime Sunday afternoon. I got my fill of crabs in Maryland though so all in all it was a successful vacation. (I rate beach vacations on how much blue crab I get). I also got my favorite sandwich in the entire world; a Southside Deli sub sandwich; east coast style. I overate so much that I oink now! Nonetheless, it’s back on the road tomorrow and back on the diet starting Monday!

Tagged

 

It’s no secret that the hubster is one of the biggest fans the Redskins will ever have. (Or as I call them during football season—the Deadskins.) That’s why I was so shocked that he didn’t buy a tag for his new truck when we were at the Fan Store at FexEx Field in Landover last Monday. I was beginning to think there might actually be hope for him.

 

But yesterday when we went into one of the many sports stores here in Ocean City MD, he finally bought a Redskin tag. It seemed the Fan store in Landover didn’t have one that he liked. Fortunately (or is that unfortunately) West Marlin Mall in Ocean City did. So this morning was spent putting the new tag on his pick-em-up truck.

 

After he was tagged and ready to go we climbed aboard the USS Dodge Ram and set about enjoying our morning. This is our last day here, as we plan on heading back towards Louisville in the morning. So we wanted to take a last look at the Boardwalk. First was another stop at Thrashers French fries by the Inlet. If you’ve ever been to Maryland’s Ocean City, you know the joys of these pieces of fried potato. Drenched in apple cider vinegar and liberally sprinkled with salt, they’re the perfect beach food. The hubster and I both grew up with these fries and miss them desperately when we are not back home for a visit.

 

Since we’d started lunch at the Boardwalk we decided to go whole hog (no pun intended) an ventured further down the boards to Piezano’s for a couple of slices of pizza and a birch beer. I don’t know what it is about east coast pizza, but it can’t be beat. You just can’t get this kind of pizza in the Midwest. It’s the same thing with east coast subs. You can’t get that kind of sub in the Midwest.

We finished our junk food boardwalk lunch by scarfing down a couple of donuts from The Fractured Prune. Thank God they didn’t have this donut shop when we lived here because first off we probably wouldn’t have moved and secondly we’d both be bigger than sumo wrestlers. But holy moly these donuts were the kind you’ll find in heaven! They fry them when you order them so you’re getting the freshest donuts you’ll ever eat.

Coming home for a visit isn’t all about the Redskins and seeing how much food we can stuff in our pie hole, but that sure is a lot of fun! Although I don't think it will be so fun anymore when I step on the scale next week and find those three pounds I'd lost before we went on vacation.

 

 

 

Tripping

Despite running into road construction almost every ten miles, we enjoyed the trip to Maryland. We went through the mountains and took our time, enjoying the scenery. We even made a few side stops.

 

We spent a good part of Sunday driving through the Allegheny mountains. I can’t begin to describe how deliciously cool the mountain air felt as we drove the USS Dodge Ram with the sun roof open and the windows down. 

 

You really feel close to God you drive through such beautiful scenery.

 

We spent Sunday night at a Hampton Inn in Front Royal Virginia. Front Royal had quite a bit of action during the Civil War. It was also the place where some of Mosby’s men were captured and seven of them hung. What horrified me was that after the men were hung, the townspeople took chunks of wood from the tree they were hung from, as a souvenir. What a morbid thing to do. When we went through the Confederate museum in Front Royal, we saw several of these chunks of display. And yes, I can definitely tell you there was paranormal activity in that museum. Everywhere I looked I saw the transparent faces of battle weary men staring back at me in that museum. I try not to tell the hubster when I see spirits because I think it freaks him out. But that’s another story for another time.

 

On Monday our relaxing trip took on a more stressful aspect as we encountered bad weather and heavy traffic. The day started out peaceful enough. We spent the majority of it tromping around the battlefield at Manassas VA. It was a cloudy day, but the rain seemed to be holding off. That is until we got out in the middle of the battlefield, with no tree's around, no shelter, no umbrella, no nothing. Then the skies opened up and boy howdy did it pour…and pour…and pour. There was nothing to do but walk in the torrential rains toward the visitor center—which was half a mile away according to our drenched map.

 

I took our blow dryer in the visitor center and did my best to dry is off with it, but we were pretty much beyond repair at that point. And when the busload of 50 teenage girls arrived and all started pouring into the bathroom, we knew it was time to leave. After a full day at the battlefield we headed to DC and to the part of the trip I dreaded. FedEx Field in Landover Maryland, home of the Redskins—namely to the fan store at FedEx Field. 45 minutes and $100 later we were back on the DC beltway in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic. Eventually we exited off the Beltway and made our way down Route 50 in Annapolis and along St Margaret’s road to Cantler’s Seafood. Nom, nom, nom!

 

At Cantler’s we stuffed ourselves with some of the finest and freshest softshell crabs you’ll ever eat. Add in the corn on the cob, shrimp, scallops and rockfish and our pie holes were working overtime. Stuffed, we left for the last leg of our journey that day and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge into Maryland’s Eastern Shore aka home.

 

Originally from the lower shore of MD, we were headed to Ocean Pines MD and the hubster’s mothers house, where we’d be spending the rest of the week. She lives two miles from the Atlantic ocean and resort traffic can be a bear, so we didn’t reach her house until 10pm. A long day to be sure. But now we were ready for a week of fun at the shore!

 

Have Truck Will Travel

The day started out on a dismal tone as we walked through rows and rows of SUV's. What I liked he didn't and what he liked I didn't. But we were determined to leave with a new vehicle one way or the other.

We settled on a Dodge Journey It wasn't what either of us wanted and was more of a car than a SUV, but it had only 9K and was a 2012 and had heated leather seats. Heated leather seats! That's pretty hard to pass up. I know we get mild winters here in Louisville compared to a lot of other places, but we still have some mighty cold days. And sitting on leather seats on a 40 degree day makes for a frozen backside. But I digress. Before we pulled the plug and signed on the dotted line, just for grins and giggles we decided to look at pick up trucks, despite determining we couldn't afford one. The hubster sat in a burnt orange Dodge Ram 1500 SLT extended cab pick up truck and a look of sheer joy spread across his face. We took it for a test ride so he could see the folly in getting such a large vehicle. Okay, it did ride like a dream. And I have to admit it felt pretty darn good being so high up and looking down on the ants, I mean cars. Having all that glorious room to move around was pretty swell too. But the gas mileage. Dear God, the gas mileage! Folly, sheer folly.

After taking the truck back to the lot, we took the Dodge Journey out for it's test drive. After all, that was the vehicle we were going to buy probably. We even drove it home to get the title for our Pathfinder, so we could do the deal as soon as we got back to the dealership. A funny thing happened at that point. The nosiest neighbor in the entire community saw us pull up in the white dodge journey and alerted the rest of the neighborhood that we had purchased it. She even described it in full detail to those who hadn't seen us pull up in it. (That turned out to be a hoot later when we came home in a different vehicle. Neighbors were asking us where the white car was. LOL) Later, when the hubster went into the back room of the dealership, I told the salesgirl that even though he loved the pick up truck I was certain we'd be going with the dodge journey.

 

We walked in the "talk turkey" room and sat down. We'd already run the numbers on both vehicles and with the truck being $100 more a month, I knew he'd make the right decision and go with that Journey. Sure, it wasn't my favorite vehicle, but it fit in our budget and it made sense. Lower gas mileage, lower payment, smaller vehicle so even I could drive it. Since it made so much sense, I knew my practical husband would choose the Journey. After all, we've been married 19 years and I know him like the back of my hand. "Which vehicle will you be purchasing today?" the salesgirl asked. My husband smiled wide and said, "The pick up truck." I tell you, I almost fell out of my chair. Is he crazy? The gas mileage! I'll be having nightmares about 15 miles to the gallon in my sleep tonight. But oh, how well it drives. The comfort. The spaciousness. The gas mileage.

Guess we'll find out tomorrow how horrid the gas mileage is because we're taking our first road trip in it. We're leaving early Sunday morning for Manassas Virginia and the Civil War battlefield there. Then we'll trek on down to the eastern shore of Maryland to Ocean City, where my mother in law lives and spend the rest of the week with her, coming home next weekend. We're thinking about making a few other side trips on the way home to other Civil War sites and a few haunted locations, but aren't certain yet which ones. Even though we both were born and raised on the eastern shore of Maryland, there is still so much we haven't seen. But, no matter where we ending stopping, we'll be driving there in comfort thanks to the USS Dodge Ram.

So if you pass a fine looking burnt orange Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 4 door extended cab with Kentucky temporary tags, be sure to wave.

See you on the road, happy trails!
 

What The Fudge

I'm having a perfect, "What the fudge," moment. We've been planning a trip to our hometown in Maryland for this upcoming week. We were going to leave on Saturday morning and spend the entire week in Maryland, coming home the next weekend. Then the hubster's SUV started having transmission problems. Short term solution (rather than doing the smart thing and staying home to get it fixed or to buy a new vehicle) is to take my poor aged minivan. At twelve years old, it's not my first choice for a 1500 mile round trip. Not to mention my AC doesn't run very cold anymore and I'm too cheap to pay the $200 to get it serviced again, because the last time I did it ended up costing me $950. And then there is the fact that the wiper transmission is going up on the van and the wiper blades are stuck in the upward position when not in use. Fine for the driver, but the passenger side has a wiper blade smack-dab in the middle of their vision.

(No, we aren't getting snow today. I'm just too lazy to go out and take a picture of it this morning. But you can see the wiper blades in this picture and can imagine how annoying it will be for the passenger on a long trip--aka me.)

This morning I turn on the weather channel and learn that tropical storm Andrea will be coming right up the Eastern seaboard just as get there. Did I mention my mother in law lives in a coastal town and that's where we'll be staying? Seriously, what the fudge? Is the Universe trying to tell us not to go? Every fiber in my body is screaming that it's a bad idea to go right now. I learned a long time ago to listen to my body's signs. The hubster hasn't--or won't--learn that lesson yet. He's hell bent on going this week, come hell, high water or tropical storm.

Rest in Peace

My husbands SUV is our sturdy trip mobile. The USS Pathfinder. He doesn't like my mini van and prefers to drive his manly SUV on all of our trips. That's fine by me, because its an extremely comfortable SUV. When we were in Alabama during spring break, it acted funny one afternoon. It was acting exactly like my first car did all those years ago, when the transmission went out on it. After the SUV rested for a day it seemed to be fine. Sunday afternoon, on the way home from Cincinnati, it did it again. Fortunately we were less than a block from home. But this time it's still acting wonky (a technical term). We're afraid it's death is near. We've had the SUV since 2005, so it's paid off. But we've been enjoying spending the money we would have spent on a car payment. I fear our good times are over. The hubster is going to make a last ditch effort by having the transmission flushed this weekend, but I think he's throwing money into the wind.

Another reason he doesn't want to get rid of the SUV, other than not having a car payment, is that our dog (who died March 2008) loved that vehicle.  He loved it so much that he's still in there! Hard to believe, but whenever I take a picture of the SUV at night, he shows up in the picture. We've tried to get Moose to pass over into the light, but so far he hasn't. A Medium told me that I need to ask a friend or relative who has passed over to come and get Moose and help him go into the light. I know I need to do that. Its hard though. We've missed that dog so much that I think it became a comfort when he (and his friends) started showing up in the SUV.

(See the two dogs in the middle seat? The beagle lived next door to us and passed a few months after our Moose did. It would seem that they are joined in the afterlife. We don't know who the dog in the far back is.)

But still, you can't live your life around the spirit of your deceased pet. The SUV has to go sometime.

Another Road Trip

Another weekend, another road trip. My twelve year old granddaughter and her friend are here for a few days. Saturday they cried boredom. I'm not sure how it came up, but one of the girls mentioned the sloths at the Cincinnati zoo. The next thing I knew, I was suggesting we go on an impromptu trip to Cincinnati. Within 30 minutes we had the SUV packed up, a reservation at Embassy Suites and were on our way to Cincinnati.

 

 

Ninety minutes later we were walking into our two room suite at Embassy Suites. I admit, I'm a hotel snob. But this Embassy Suites left me little, if anything, to complain about. Totally loved it! Well, except for the fact that they use canned diced tomatoes in their omelets instead of freshly diced tomatoes, but that's easily taken care of--just don't order tomatoes on your omelet. One thing that did impress me was the towel animals on the bed. Even the girls room had a small towel swan. And in the bathroom they used a washcloth to make a mini tee shirt out of. So imaginative and a nice touch!

 

After dinner at Blue Ash Chili and a quick stop at Walmart for sharpies and drawing paper, we went back to the hotel for the rest of the night. There were tons of things to do in the hotel. They had an indoor pool, a game room for the teens and a lounge for the adults. So the hubster and I retreated to the lounge so he could down a few beers and I could have my customary martini (actually two but who was counting). The girls drew in their art pad for a bit, then went to the game room to play video games. Around 11:30 they joined us in the lounge for some late night appetizers. Then we all went to bed and slept like babies.

 

Sunday morning, after a large hot breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and went to the Cincinnati zoo. What an enormous zoo! They had it all though. White tigers, elephants, giraffes, gorillas and of course the real reason we came; the sloth.

After a full day at the zoo we drove back to Louisville, all of us exhausted but happy.

 

Today the girls are sleeping in, which I don't mind a bit. Kind of wish I had slept in myself. But as I sat here looking at the pictures from our fun weekend, it occured to me. The hubster and I have gone away for the weekend for the last three weekends in a row and will be leaving next weekend for Maryland. So by the time we come back from Maryland we will have had five weekends in a row. What a way to build up those Hilton honors points! I love it!

 

Things You Learn On Roadtrips

Something I learned in Tupelo MS last weekend is that the toilets at the Hampton Inn have two options for flushing. A low flush for pee and a full flush for poo. I guess that means, if it's brown flush it down. If it's yellow do a low flush. Interesting the things you learn on a road trip.

Bodyguard Detail

 

I wear many hats. This week I've been wearing a bodyguard hat.  My mild manner neighbor, Ellen, made the mistake two years ago of telling a bat-shit-crazy (technical term) neighbor that the association rules are that he needs to bring his garbage can in by 11pm on the day garbage is picked up. He'd been leaving his garbage out for four or five days. Everyone had been thinking the same thing, but none of us had the kahona's to say it to him except for Ellen. First thing he does is paint his huge garbage can neon pink and put it on her doorstep. Next night he proceeds to steal all her lawn ornaments and hanging flower baskets and throw them in the garbage. He stalked her as she would walk her dog--alone--at night and mutter things like, "Smoke that cigarette, smoke it, smoke it." Just crazy stuff! It got to the point where the Homeowners Association board had to be notified and later the police. Eventfully he stopped. Until...

Tuesday night he was walking his dog at the same time Ellen was walking hers and he started following her, so close that she felt like she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. He muttered things like, "It can be dangerous for a woman to walk alone at night. Lots of accidents could happen. Most accidents happen close to home I hear." Sounds like a threat to me. She proceeded to walk directly to the closest neighbor's porch and knock on their door.

Thursday afternoon this nut job follows Ellen in his car as she drives to the dog park and parks next to her and gives her an evil grin and a little wave. She backed her car out of the space and drove immediately home. That night she hears a noise coming from outside around 10pm. It sounds like water gushing. She goes outside and "someone" has turned the outside faucet on the side of her house to full blast. It had been running so long that the water was up past her ankles.

So I have been her bodyguard and have been walking with her in the evening when she walks her Jack Russell, Barney.  This creep never seems to bother her when others are around, only when she is alone. So we are all trying to make sure Ellen is not alone when she walks her dog now.

This afternoon I went to the dog park with her and as we are leaving who should suddenly pull up (dogless). Yup, the lunatic!

Ellen couldn't figure out why he was suddenly targeting her after a year of peace and quiet. She went to one of the Association's board members about the matter today and found out that this man had been called before the board this week concerning some of his "behaviors." The board member wouldn't divulge what these "behaviors" were but just that he was on probation because of it and they weren't taking any more from him. So we surmise that the lunatic is taking his frustrations out on Ellen since she is the easiest one to terrorize since she lives alone. He hasn't taken into account that she has many friends throughout the neighborhood and he has none.

For this weekend, however, she will have to get another neighbor for bodyguard detail. Because the hubster and I are headed off on another weekend trip. A three day trip this time. We are headed to Mississippi and Tennessee to Shiloh Battlefield. Being both Civil War and Ghost enthusiast it's a double delight. 

Happy trails!

The Daily Grind

Our weekend road trip went by way too fast. Apparently it was a good thing we got out of town though because my neighbors tell me the walls were rattling throughout the entire neighborhood from the live band they had at the festival across the street. Its one thing if its good music, but if its not the genre you enjoy it can be a nightmare. Glad we hit the road!

We went to Lexington KY. The land of expensive hotel rooms, haunted historic sites and meat and three places. (Or in my case, fish and three) Meat and three might only make sense to you if you are a southerner or watch a lot of food TV.

But, now it's back to the daily grind. Or at least for a few days. We are hitting the road again next weekend. I believe our destination is Shiloh battlefield in TN. If you know your history it was a particularly bloody battle in the Civil War.

But for now, it's life as usual. And the daily grind for me today is playing driver on the hottest day of the year thus far. Temps were in the low 90's yesterday and expected to be higher today. I haven't run my AC yet this year in my minivan, so it's always a guess as to if it will work or not. The girls may regret having me drive us to shopping and lunch today if my AC is not working. I have a little voice in the back of my head telling me it's gonna be a hot ride. We shall see.

Roadtripping

 

They are setting up a huge tent in the parking across the street from my townhouse. I walked over to the tent last night and saw a sign touting "Wildlife Foundation Festival." Oh. No. Several times a year organizations hold events in that parking lot. And each time the live music runs late into the night, disrupting my sleep. Sure, I've tried the old adage of "If you can't beat em, join em." But I quickly learned it was best to just stay home and mumble complaints to myself because these festivals--albeit loud--are pretty lame and boring!

So last night I told the hubster, we're out of here this weekend dude! Between the festival across the street and the noisy next door neighbor--who gutted his townhouse--with his never ending construction, we're outta here!

The hubster stayed up till after midnight working on plans. At least I assume he was working on travel plans. For all I know he could have been checking hockey scores. (Even though his beloved Caps are out of the finals). He never bothers to tell me where we are going most of the time until we actually get there. Sometimes that bugs me. Other times (like now) I could care less and am just happy to be along for the journey.