Happy Birthday to Me!

This is the second year in a row I spent my birthday away from home, in places with temperatures higher than 80 degrees. Last year Tuxtla Gutierrez with new friends and my dad, this year with some of my oldest (in terms of how long I've known them, not how old they are) on the Delmarva shore. I could get used to this. Feel free to send suggestions for warm locations for my 30th birthday.

The sun lit the farms on either side of the highways and penetrated the glass to give me a slight sunburn on my right arm as we made our way to the Delmarva shore Sunday morning. For those of you unfamiliar with the word Delmarva, it is a charming combining of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that locals use to call this part of the country.

The cast of the Delmarva Shore - much less dramatic than Jersey

We spent the day at Rehoboth beach. I'd never been to Delaware before, so I was excited to be getting closer to meeting my goal of visiting all 50 states. I'm only at 23, so I have a ways to go. Anyway, about Rehoboth. It's a touristy beach, but it wasn't crowded even though it was a beautiful day. The water felt like someone poured a glass of ice water on my feet every time a wave came up to greet me. Nick and Corrine were braver than I and brought Elaina in the water. She loved it!

Once the water got too much we went back up to our spot on the sand. Nick dug a hole to bury himself in. Lane was so cute because after he patted all the sand down around him, she tried to get him out.

I made a sand salamander and afterward soaked in the sun until the kite was brought out. Lane got one for her birthday, it was from the Cars movie. I think it was her first time flying a kite. The wind wasn't blowing incredibly fast or furious, but when it was my turn I kept it in the air with minimal jogging. I'm not sure how long it has been since I've flown a kite, but I can safely say years. And that is way to long to go between kite flying outings.

It was a few hours of beach time, and after the kite flying it we were ready for some food. Lucky for us, Dogfish Head brewery has a pub on Rehoboth Beach, their brewery is just a few miles from there I guess. The best part of micro brew pubs is the sampler. It made for a great birthday treat. I tried the Raison D'Etre, Chicory Stout, Black & Blue, World Wide Stout,  Palo Santo Marron. I couldn't choose a favorite, so rather than get a full glass of one that I tried, I gave the Red & White a try too. We also had their Parmesan Rosemary fries and fried pickles. They weren't messing around with the parm on those fries and the dipping sauce was a cheesy mustard goodness that went fabulously with the pickles. While the people next to us who got seated after us got their food and left before we got our meals we were beginning to think the waitress forgot to put in our meals. Which was true. But, it gave us more time to chat and sample beer and lick the basket of fried goodness clean. My main entree, Mushroom Mac & Cheese, was all I was hoping for in a birthday dinner. Something to remind me that even though I'm pushing 30, I can still eat like a 12 year old without guilt at least once in a while (like on my birthday).

After our bellies were full and our hearts happy, we strolled the boardwalk. We found an instant photo booth in an arcade and had to cram in for a strip of black and white prints. And then it was time for ice cream. Soft serve with sprinkles. My shirt was a little less messy than Lane's. Happy birthday to me!

Happy Birthday Lane!

In my first Maryland post I forgot to mention the adorable routine Lane has before bed time. She turns out the lights in her room, excitedly asks for purple stars (which appear on the ceiling at the push of a button), hugs and kisses everyone, and says goodnight when she's put in her crib. I don't know if it is this easy every night, but it seemed that easy both nights I was there. I also don't have much experience with other two-year-olds, so I'm not sure if she is the norm or if my friends are lucky or phenomenal parents, but I hope for the sake of all parents of two-year-olds that it is the norm. 

The next morning I woke up to the smell of marinated pork simmering on the stove. It smelled delicious. It reminded me of tamale making day with my dad. The ladies, including the little lady, left Nick to the cooking and party prep and headed to the Amish Market. This was the second Amish Market I visited in as many weeks. This Amish Market is known for its pretzels, and it's well warranted. The cinnamon raisin pretzels sticks were just the right softness and sweetness for breakfast and went perfectly with my latte. The guy behind the espresso machine was super nice and shared his booth with a fudge shoppe where I bought maple and chocolate fudge, it couldn't have been a better start to the Saturday.

When we got back to the house it was time to finish making the Mickey Mouse cake. Well, Corrine did. I mostly watched and then used the scraps to make myself a cake to celebrate my 29th birthday. While Corinne finished up the cake and Nick mowed the lawn, I went for jog. Easton is a great place to run. People stop even when they have the right to turn to let you cross the street and there are tree-lined main streets. Though the pollen is so intense it coats the cars, it didn't seem to bother my allergies, though I have to admit I did take an allergy pill in the morning that I may have to give some credit. And on this particular Saturday, they were having a farmers market in the city square that I took a stroll through. It was a small farmers' market, but it seemed to have everything you could ask for from a local market. I can't wait to visit some of the markets here in Chicago. After the run it was time to party. Elaina's friends came over with their parents and we had a fun afternoon in the sun. She got an old school radio flyer wagon that all the kids loved. And then it was time for the cake, funfetti and strawberry.

Elaina dove right in!

Later we jokingly brought out my ridiculous looking cake and everyone sang to me. They even had a glittery 2 and a glittery 9. 

After the sugar rush wore off and the party trickled down, we took a 30 minute drive to St. Michael's. It kind of reminded me of Lake Geneva. A cute town with lots of shops with a double e. It was a little late, so there wasn't much open. Though we did get to look at some nick knacks, fun signs, and cute sea side decor. We walked to the bay and tried our hand at making appropriate faces in the wooden paintings with the faces cut out for tourists like me to take silly photos like this one. Does anyone know the appropriate name of these things?

As the sun went down we made our way back to Easton, and since it was still Lane's birthday day we went for ice cream. So. Much. Sugar! I tried red velvet and a pretzel caramel. I had never had either before, and they are as delicious as they sound. The red velvet had pieces of cake mixed in with the brilliant red ice cream. We ate our cones on a bench across from yesterday's lunch pub. The street light made for some dramatic photos. Elaina has my sweater on because when the sun went down, it cooled off quick.

                                        

After the birthday girl got sufficiently covered with drips from her ice cream, we called it a night. The little one was so tired she went right straight to bed. Corinne and I stayed up to watch awfully awesome TLC television, and Nick finished his movie which I didn't have time to screen during this trip. I guess I'll have to wait for the Chicago screening.

Day One of Merry Times in Maryland

It's been too long since I had to take my shoes off, put my liquids in a ziploc, and pound the water in my reusable water at O'hare. I boarded a plane a few days before my birthday to see some of my favorite people in the world. It had been nearly half a year since I've seen the Richards', but with friends like them, it was as though no time passed at all.

I'll be sure to give you all the details of our Eastern Shore adventures, but first a story of what being in close quarters on a puddle jumper can do to two grown women. Readers with two-year olds, there is no need to finish this paragraph. The women in this story merely recreated the referring I only imagine you have to do when your kids are fighting in the back seat. The flight attendant had to be called when two women couldn't seem to figure out how to resolve their space issues. Woman A put her seat back causing woman B to get in a tizzy because she was in the last row and couldn't move her seat any further back. "Just because you can't move your seat doesn't mean I can't," I heard one of the women snarl. And then Woman B began kneeing the reclined seat causing Woman A to turn around and scream for Woman B to "stop kicking her chair." Yes, Woman A could have easily put her seat back to neutral, but no, a hissy fit was what she chose that morning. Great entertainment, though I fell asleep as the flight attendant was calming them down so I'm a little fuzzy on the resolution. Lucky for everyone, it was only an hour and a half flight.

Driving from the airport it was as though I never left the Midwest. The drive from Baltimore to Easton, Maryland mimicked the drive from Milwaukee to Madison. Rolling hills and green fields. It was small town Wisconsin, less than two hours from the ocean. We passed an adorable instrument shop clearly run by an old hippy and crossed the bay. The bridge wasn't as scary as Mackinac, but I'm sure I would have had white knuckles if I were the driver.

We had lunch in downtown Easton, a Gilmore Girls-esque square with a cute main street of restaurants and pubs. The Washington Street Pub is where we bellied up for lunch. Nick ordered oysters, only half a dozen since we thought he'd be the only one partaking. We were mistaken. Nick convinced me that I had to try the oysters.

(Side Note: Yes, I know, I'm a vegetarian. But oysters have no central nervous system. They don't feel pain. Farming them isn't a detriment to the environment. And, I eat cheese. So, as I've said before, I draw these lines for myself that might not always make the most sense to other vegetarians/vegans. But, that is why I am not an evangelical vegetarian. I eat what I eat and you can eat what you eat. And we can still be friends.)

The oysters didn't taste like much. The texture was what I imagine uncooked chicken to feel like, which is to say weird a little too chewy. I don't know that I would order them again. I'm glad to be able to say I tried it, but I think I would rather use my calories on the amazing pub chips, veggie sandwich,. and extra pickle I ordered.

After lunch it was going to be park time, but Corrine called and we made a detour to visit her office. It was so cute to hear Elaina (their two-year-old) switch from saying "Go Park" to "Go Mom" I almost couldn't stand it.

After errands, and picking up food stuffs for the evenings festivities we made it back to their place and Nick prepped "our" contribution for the pot-luck block party -- guacamole. If the main street/square wasn't Stars Hallow enough for us, their neighborhood gets together once a month for a block party and tonight was the night. And outsiders like me were welcomed with open arms. I keep waiting for the Stepford moment, but it never came. Everyone was genuinely nice, welcoming, interesting, and they all were great conversationalists.

The back yard of the host was so familiar. It had a little wooded area behind the grassy yard. It was getting dark though, so we spent most of the night inside, but the next day I would get my share of sun at Elaina's birthday party. More on that in the next post.