glad to be home

I wanted a good book for my flights. I found this one, and I recommend it to any of you single mothers out there. 

The evening we arrived in Baltimore, we decided to walk to a nearby Irish pub for dinner. I believe it was called "Oshea's" or something along those lines. I had crab soup and a salad. The soup was AMAZING! I really liked the atmosphere of this place. It was full of people, there was live music (a boy and his guitar). We had fun over dinner. I kept trying to get a cool picture of Brie. Our waiter (attractive Irish man, probably twenty something) smiled at me and said, "So, what are you doing with the crazy big camera?" We laughed. I should have said, "Do you even know who this is?" in a- I am having dinner with a celebrity kind of way. It made me think, how often are people wondering what the heck I am doing with my big crazy camera...

Above is one of my favorites that I snapped of Brie. Isn't she beautiful? I love her red hair and freckles. I really like freckles. Brie is hip. That's all there is to it.

Here are Amy and Brie on our walk back to our downtown hotel. Which, by the way, was awesome! We had a corner deluxe room with lots of windows, on the 20th floor. (Thanks to Miss Amy) The view was incredible. I love cities. Our second day, we drove to Washington D.C. where we toured the white house, visited the Holocaust Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War memorial, and several other places. I felt so connected to my country. The paintings in the White House were amazing. There is just such a strong sense of history. And I really believe that everyone should visit the Holocaust Museum. It changed the way I see the world. 

Above, Amy and I at Lincoln Memorial. The inscription by President Lincoln was breathtaking. As I read it, I couldn't help but tear up. I wondered how anyone ever persecuted whole groups of people, based on the pigment of their skin. Then I thought about our President. I am so optimistic about the future of this country. We have evolved.

I like this picture of Amy. (Notice the pretty blue bench) Amy is one of the all time funniest people I know. Her and Brie had my laughing so hard my cheeks hurt! Amy makes everything more fun, and I love that about her. 

The next day, we headed to Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania countryside was rolling and vast. The air was crisp and cool. The houses were quaint and the barns were works of art. I saw several antique shops I would have loved to stop at. We made our way to Gettysburg. We opted for the auto tour. It was very educational. Seeing all the memorials was very moving.

Then we headed to this Cheese farm. We were so excited about the cheese farm!!

We were greeted by the two horses in that perfect sized barn. I want a barn just like that. Amy and I had to introduce ourselves.

The boy on the far right gave us our cheese lesson. It was really neat to learn about actually. They have their own dairy cows, they use their milk and make their own cheese. Their cheese is completely organic and preservative free. The best part was sampling the cheeses! We all three brought some home with us. This young man knew his stuff too! I highly highly highly recommend their cheese! 

(pictures from the September Farms website)

Thank you Lord, for getaways and family and books and great friends... for history and peace, for safe travels and adventures, for airplanes and horses and cheese.

My favorite part of every trip is coming home. I love coming home. I missed my girlies so badly. And I have a story about coming home that I can't wait to share!!!