Our drive north was smooth. We had a great time visiting with my brother Mark and his wife Carol in Florence, SC. We had dinner at the local Ruby Tuesday and hung out in their hotel room talking until the wee hours. The next day we enjoyed breakfast together and then went to Batlimore, arriving just before the derecho. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like for anyone on the roads during that storm.
Trees were down everywhere, including across the street from where we are staying. Traffic lights were out all over the Baltimore-Washington area and down into Virginia as well. It was just one crazy storm. When it hit, there was severe lightening, thunder, hail, heavy rain, and very high winds. It was one scary storm! The news men are saying Maryland gets one about every four years, but I really don't remember anything like this before. It's also being called the third worst storm EVER in Maryland as far as damage and deaths go. There were five deaths. So sad.
To make matters worse, Mark has been nursing the worst cold he ever had since the day before we left. We canceled all of our plans on Saturday (bat mitzvah at our Greenbelt synagogue and dinner out with the Larsens) before the storm even was a factor. Mark just needed to take the day off and stay in bed. He slept almost all day Saturday, just getting up for food occasionally and listening to the ballgame in the car. He would have been more comfortable if there had been air conditioning and coffee, but resting and sleeping is what he really needed. Thank God I had a full tank of gas and a car charger for the cell phone. I literally spent four and a half hours sitting in the car listening to the game and charging the two phones!
Sunday, even though he didn't really feel any better, we had to go on about our plans. We met Lowell and Emily and her parents for brunch and then went to the Orioles game. Sadly, the Os lost, but we all had a great time anyway. We went to the Inner Harbor for dinner afterwards with Lowell and Emily. It was a 100 degrees and humid, but it didn't dampen our fun!
Today, we split up. Mark had lunch out with some former NASA co-workers while I had lunch and played Mah Jongg at my girlfriend Annie's house with three other of my Mah Jongg Maniac buddies from Mishkan Torah. I only won one game, but it was a lot of fun to get together with Annie, Sue, Robin, and Arlene.
Then we shopped at Seven Mile Market! That's like going to HEAVEN! It's the super big kosher store in Pikesville, a short ride from Cindy's house. We bought a TON, possibly literally a ton, of meat (hamburger, hot dogs, and chicken) for the Fourth of July cook out at Kip and Denise's house. We also bought pareve buns, watermelon, and fixings for tonight's dinner. Mark made rib eye steaks and I baked potatoes and made fresh Brussel sprouts. So delicious. It is one of the few nights that we are going to have dinner with Cindy at her house, so Mark wanted to make it a special one. It was a lot of fun to catch up with her and talk about everything under the sun. Cindy and I never seem to run out of conversation!!
Now that I have electricity and time, I will probably be able to write daily blogs again. I did bring my scale with me on the trip, so I'll be checking my weight. I don't think I'm going to like it, but I'm going to check it anyway!
Here are some pictures from this trip so far and a few wintry ones from that blizzard of 2010! Enjoy!
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