This weekend I went to Maryland and Stephanie gave me CRABS!
Literally. Alec and I were seriously confused by this new experience of ours.
And that fact we were handed some large, wooden mallets and told to eat.
And that boy knows how to stay immaculately clean. But we managed.
That is likely the parable that relates the whole of the weekend.
So, yes. Welcome to the picture spam post of my Last Big Summer Trip.
I did not take many pictures, as the lament of the week was that I kept forgetting to bring my camera anywhere. And then even when I forgot my good camera, I had the tiny one in my purse. But then suddenly it wouldn't turn on. And the phone camera was not the most amazing.
This is an only pseudo-serious write up, as all the names and places are true, but I'm feeling a little giddy, so you're getting a less than purely serious walk through for this weekend.
The important cast members:
My Hostess, Stephanie (neenie)
The Couple of Adorableness: Steph & her fiancé, Alec
My fuzzy boyfriend, Tiger(-Face)
and his patented "No One Loves Me Face," and his
"I'm Totally Stealthy Hidden Under This Skirt Routine"
(You will not see him again, but I totally loved on him the whole weekend.
And everyone reminded me to take my medicine. So I did not die.
And we are still free to love each other for another day!)
I arrived Thursday morning of last week and mostly Thursday's day itself was sort of a blur. Since I took a red eye, and then we had to drive to Casa of Steph & Alec & Steph's Family. And then we stayed up. Before finally all of us had to give up into unconsciousness. Not that it helped the fact Steph and I get up with the dawn. Her room is bright in the morning.
Let's see. What can I remember of Thursday. We watched Eclipse in the theatre in town, to a lot of squeeing and mocking all at once. Followed by ice cream and penny throwing in the fountain we decided to sit on while eating said ice creams, while talking about any number of things. And I got to go to her amazing fruit market. And I remember that the morning of almost not sleep pre-dawn lead to like the epic beauty of a long afternoon napping for two most of us.
Friday I was dragged back into Baltimore for tourist-y cuteness. (This was the first important day I forgot my camera in the car, and so there are some pictures, but then I got tired of my broken tiny red one not working and the finicky of my phone camera.)
I was taken --
To a very big boat in the Inner Harbor. Wherein it was proven
1. I am a tiny thing. (I'm on my tiptoes here, even.)
Thus, cans not steer boat. I was so heartbroken.
2. That my hostess and my roommate are in cahoots...
...to keep me from climbing things.
3. That they do cute well. Together.
&
4. And apart.
We spent a good deal of time walking around in this area, too. Through the malls. They stopped for ice cream and I stopped for bubble tea, and we lolled in the perfect sunny afternoon. Walked through more malls, seeking a Godiva Chocolatier a sign said existed except it thwarted us and would not appear. There was the trying on of cute girl-y things, but nothing acceptable was found.
Dinner this night was the crazy Crab Affair. It was hilarious and amazing. I have definitely been introduced to Old Bay now (which, yes, Steph sent me home with a bottle of). They coat their crabs in it. And then expect you to smack them with mallets. I was ssssooo lost, and so amused. And pieces kept going flying. At people. Off the table. None of us succeeded in not laughing at this.
And seriously, Alec managed four of them with a mallet and a knife and never got Old Bay even on his fingers. It was scary impressive.
This night I remember had crazy silliness as it's end cap. Drinking and playing Munchin and everyone being distracted from both of these by the awesome of Moulin Rouge.
On Saturday of Independence Weekend, Since Alec was having a Mega Battle,
Steph and I Thought It would be Good to Go
Here.
That's right. I have seen The White House Errr I mean The Capitol.
I only called it the wrong thing like three times. >_>
IT WAS BIG AND WHITE. I WAS SO SUPRISED.
THE INTERNET DID NOT LIE.
I also liked it better when the top reminded me of a Skeksis.
And Stephanie may have dubbed me crazy for that.
The hilarity only really lasted so long in The Capitol, because then I turned into a rabid cute, bouncing, excited traveler again. With the line. And even when they made me throw away my nail file. (Who exactly am I going to stab or break out of the US Capital again? I feel I missed a calling somewhere.)
I think Steph spent much of this time laughing at me while I bounced around with head phone during my tour, with really big eyes, and my camera taking in literally everything. Even though she was totally into it with having not seen things in over a decade, too.
Sigh. Oh, pretty, pretty building. This is only the roof of one room.
Somewhere in here was where my knee started hurting. I make frowny faces just at having to relate this. From here, we kept moving though
Library of Congress. Where we totally talked about phoenixchilde.
We luffs you bunches and bunches, okay.
Two of Three Buildings which if I remember right are
The Offices of House of Representatives.
We walked toward
The Washington Monument
But we got distracted a few times in between. There was a field that had first this interesting little Hare Krishna group of tents, followed by this massive 2010 Folk Like Festival. Where there were tons of things to investigate, and wander toward, and point at, and check out. The first of the two you can actually see in the picture above, since it's my distance shot.
I don't remember the name of this place. Only that Steph called it The Castle.
We took a break here, because my knee sucked, and then I fell in love.
(She can correct me and there may be edits in the morning?)
Yeah. Just look at that roof.
Tall, thrusty, sky object up close. From our bench where we rested.
And drank a mango smoothie. It was awesome.
Also, pretty much when my knee gave up.
We rode the Metro back to car, like we'd ridden it into the city for our touristy hours, and I missed Seoul a little. Texas may be doing bullet trains to Dallas and Houston soon, but it will possibly melt and fall off the map before it gets a Subway. And I really do miss my truly awesome subway inclusive public transportation from last year.
That evening we gathered up Alec from his Killing of Many Things and they introduced me to The Local Mexican Food Restaurant. The salsa was lame in the spice department but tasty anyway, but the margarita's are amazing, the fajita’s and tortilla made the baby kitten's in the soul cry. But not as much as our crazy waiter, who can and asked us if we needed anything every two minutes.
And while some people can do this with subtle grace and charm, he did it with a brick through a window, in that kind of tone the clingy boyfriend who don't know how to break up with at twelve, does. It was kind of hilarious how much all three of us were like "don't come back, plz" for half of dinner, and then when we wanted to end the meal and leave.....he never seemed to ever return again.
This was followed by Avatar: The Last Airbender theatre going. It was the sad. Especially for how amazingly pretty certain things in it were. The casting fail I am sort of 'mleh' about, but we've all seen better and worse. The sets and landscapes and the magic and the myth were beyond gorgeous. But the dialogue was horrid. And clunky. And they narrated so much. And the humor it needed, that balances out the severity in that series, was almost lacking entirely.
Plus, Steph fell asleep during it. Making me 2.0 on performance I've gotten to see that in.
I am sad. I kind of still hope for Book Two and Three. But better ones.
By Sunday everyone was tuckered of events, and we all voted first to stay home the morning and evening, followed by leaving to a base to see fireworks, and then later to just stay home all day. It was gorgeous, lazy, do nothing sort of day. Even though we did a few things anyway. We went to a Wegmans. Where Alec and I continued out many day bonding over even more foods. There was some general grocery shopping but a lot of it was to supplement the awesome plans of staying home the rest of the night.
Steph and I made our own deviation on Spell Stars, this nifty craft I learned at Spring Fest. But having only found one set of cookie cutters in Wegman's we made Spell Flowers. They are awesome. And only made of apple sauce and cinnamon, which means they can be written on and left as gifts to trees, or spells left out doors, or placed into flowing water. They dissolve pretty fast and harm absolutely nothing.
I'm amazed I didn't take even a single picture of it, but Alec cooked us a beautiful masterpiece of dinner. There was Caprese for he and I, while Steph stared at as us both like we were crazy, sided by the, everyone loves it, sausage and prosciutto plate. The main course was buttered six-cheese tortellini, topped with fresh parmesan. I ate about half of last, and mostly helped dissolve the end of earlier plates of yummy.
We watched fireworks while sitting on her front lawn and one of the cars, and then did movies through the latter half of night, as we put off the inevitable turn of the hours closing down Sunday. Before we all had to give up the ghost and sleep.
Which brought us to morning, the packing and the drive back to the airport.
Then I was winging my way back to the land of Texas and my lovely roommate, where I am now on the Bed of Blue. There's more to it, of course. Things like how I never quite got in it Steph's brother and his tiny Girl Friend. Or the way Steph tried to convince me I could figure out highways 95, 295, 495, and 695 as though they were not just cutesy numbers she listed while I got to play dj.
May the negative space have its place.
It was a truly beautiful weekend.
The amazing last summer hurrah to rest on.