A Visit to Pittsburgh

August 13, 2017 - August 15, 2017

I left to visit my sister, Becky, early on Sunday morning and arrived in Pittsburgh at 12:30 pm.  We went out for a delicious lunch at a restaurant overlooking a forest with a river running through it.  Since we were by ourselves without the guys we decided to do some “girlie things”.  We shopped awhile and went to see The Glass Castle at a nearby movie theatre.  We had both read the book by Jeanette Walls and agreed that the movie was as poignant and moving as the book.  The acting was fabulous.  Back at the house we played Scrabble (our favorite board game), had dinner, watched a movie and went to bed.  A full day to be sure!

In the morning we drove through downtown Pittsburgh where I got a chance to admire the unique and beautiful architecture.

As you can see the architecture is amazing.

We stopped at the Strip District which is a few blocks on Smallman Street which is flanked by restaurants, markets, and kitschy shops. 

The Strip district is definitely a colorful neighborhood.

Penzeys Spice Store smelled delicious.

We were entertained by this street musician.
 

We stopped at Roland's for a delicious lunch.

We had a great day exploring the
Strip District.

We stopped for pedicures on the way home (of course). We played another round of Scrabble, chatted, ate dinner, and just enjoyed each other's company.  What a great visit!

Thank you for reading my blog.

A Trip to Houston and Galveston

August 4, 2017 - August 8, 2017

Blog by Maggie and photos by Brandy!

I flew to Houston on Thursday (August 4) and arrived at my son's (Karl) house at about 2:30. After settling in I played with Acen (my grandson) most of the afternoon while Brandy (my daughter-in-law) made preparations for our trip to Galveston, cooked dinner, and caught me up on how the family was doing.  Acen has become very verbal and has a great vocabulary...he has grown up so much since I saw him in December and for the first time he remembers me and is comfortable with me right from the start of our visit.  Needless to say, with the time change, travel, and playing all afternoon I was exhausted.

After diner we snuggled on the couch
and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning we did some grocery shopping for the trip and were packed and ready to go by the time Karl got home from work at 2:00 pm.  Fortunately we missed most of the rush hour traffic (which can be brutal in Houston) and arrived at the condo in Galveston and were settled in by 5:00 pm.  The condo was perfect for all of us including the two dogs.  It had just enough room for relaxation, cooking and sleeping.

This is the view from our balcony.
We were right across the street from the Gulf.

After dinner we headed to the beach to do some exploring.  Acen is fascinated with sea creatures and was thrilled when his dad found a crab hiding in the rocks.

Here we are searching for treasure on the beach.

"What's in those holes, Grandma?" 

The sunset over the beach was beautiful.

On Saturday morning we headed to the beach.  The sand is different than east coast sand, but still lots of fun to play in. 

Acen is collecting seaweed.

It started to rain a bit so after lunch we headed to the pool at the condo so we would be close to shelter if it started to thunder and lightning.

The pool at the condo was spacious and never crowded.

We had fun in the smaller 3 foot pool that was fed by a "river"
and had a gentle slope into the water.

This photo speaks for itself.

The next day we spent the morning at the pool, but it started raining around lunch and we retreated to the condo.  It remained cloudy and rainy all afternoon.

We entertained ourselves with some you tube
videos of dinosaurs.

We drove to a shell shop (Murdock's) to find some hermit crab food for the crab Acen and his daddy had found at the beach the night before.  It was huge with a wide variety of clothing, toys, and decorative items. We found the hermit crab food, but the clerk informed us that the crab we had was a salt water crab and would require sand and salt water.  Since salt water is not easily available in Houston we decided to free the crab and skip the food and cage.  I bought a mermaid plaque for the boat and Acen got a large crab (which he took with him everywhere). We had dinner at Shrimp and Stuff and returned to the condo.  

Next morning we decided to make it a pool day.

Acen and Karl are looking for the rabbit they
found in the bushes next to the pool.

Acen sees the rabbit.

Acen became comfortable enough in the water to
take off his water wings and jump to me from the rock ledge.

After a dinner of grilled steak and asparagus, we walked to the beach to try and get someone to take a photo of all four of us.

Success!

Brandy snapped this great picture.

We all had a fun and relaxing time making family memories in Galveston.  It was so great to spend time with my son and his family.  But, inevitably, the short vacation had to come to an end.  We said our goodbyes after shopping one last time at Murdock's Shell Shop (Acen snagged another crab).  I drove to the airport to head back to Baltimore and Karl and his family headed home to Houston.  We will have to take a trip like this together again soon!

Thank you for reading my Blog.  

My next blog will be about my visit to Pittsburgh.

Our Maine Vacation - part two

July 28, 2017 - July 31, 2017

We woke up to a heavy fog hoping that it would burn off by the time our whale watching excursion began.  After breakfast we drove into the small town of Lubec.  The down town area consisted of one block of shops and restaurants of which several were no longer in open for business.  We were mainly there to take photographs anyway. 

Main Street in Lubec is colorful and quaint.

I am amazed at the wildflowers that bloom everywhere.

These buildings are on the water when the tide is high.
The tidal range in Lubec is around 30 feet.

All over the coast of Maine residents
decorate their houses with vibrant flowers.

A landscape artist captures the stark beauty of the harbor.

This memorial to Lost Fishermen lists the names of
the local fishermen who have been lost at sea.

The fog burned off by lunch time and we were able to go on our whale watching excursion. We saw whales, dolphins, eagles, seals, and a light house on the Canadian side of the bay. I was so busy looking for and admiring the sea life that I didn't take any photos.

This is the boat that took us and 14 other people
on the excursion.

The Next morning we left Lubec and drove to our hotel in Lincolnville which is just outside of Camden, Maine.  We stopped in Belfast for lunch at the Harbor Walk Cafe and Pub and then walked down to the harbor.

This statue was outside the Harbor Walk Cafe.
His name tag labels him as the harbor master.

These musicians were playing folk songs
in the small park by the harbor.

We met our friends from Annapolis who have moved their sailboat to Rockland, Maine in Camden and toured the harbor. It was just wonderful to see them again and catch up. Later Bob and Tom rested at a pub while Karen and I did some shopping in the unique shops.

Here's Tom, Bob, and Karen (left to right)
at the harbor in Camden.

Our next stop was Rockport, Maine to tour the harbor.

Beautifully maintained wooden boats in Rockport Harbor

We had dinner at a unique restaurant in Rockland called Miranda's.  It had an extensive menu and the food was excellent. We made plans to meet Tom and Karen the next day at their marina to spend the day exploring some of the area lighthouses and visiting the Farnsworth Art museum in Rockland that features Andrew Wyeth watercolors and drawings.  Wyeth spent his summers in a town nearby.

We visited Owl's Head Light first.

The views from the light house were stunning.

We drove down to the harbor which was
a true working harbor.  Since it was Sunday the
lobster pots were stacked on the dock.

Bob and Tom are solving the world's
problems at Owl's Head Light.

The second light house is Marshall Point Light.

After lunch at Luke's restaurant we traveled back to Rockland to view the Wyeth paintings at the Farnsworth Art Museum.  We watched a movie of Andrew Wyeth's life and development as an artist which made the paintings all the more meaningful.  It was a great day with our friends exploring the costal area.  We had to get back to the motel early to pack and rest for our long road trip back to Baltimore.

My next adventure will be visiting my son and his family in Houston and going to Galveston for a long weekend.

Thank you for reading my blog.