One Sweet World

Not so important posts about a married couple living in Baltimore.

Name:
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Portland, Part 1



Mr_BTM and I are in Portland for 10 days to work and visit old friends. We are staying at the company apartment in Lloyd Center. Thursday night we met up with Jamie and Annie before they left on vacation. We had dinner at Ken's Artisan Pizza and enjoyed a delicious mushroom pizza (Chenterelle mushrooms) and an italian sausage and onion pizza. It was great to hear that Jamie & Annie are moving to Baltimore next year! Friday had us working during the day but enjoying some fine brews at Kelly's Olympian with some of Mr_BTM's work friends. We didn't stay long at Kelly's since we wanted to do some grocery shopping for the week. After shopping we decided to stop by Dave & Theresa's since they were having a small get together. We called it an early night since we had a long travel day the day before.

Saturday morning we got up early to go to the farmer's market. The amount and variety just blows me away every time we go there. We got a lot of fresh veggies and fruit for the week. We just had to dodge all the urban hipsters with kids! After the market with met up with Anthony and the Verheyens at Hae Rim in Beaverton. Their son Tyler has gotten so big! After lunch we headed to the Columbia Outlet Store and then to the Koonce's for a quick visit. Then it was off to REI, although we didn't get anything there...so sad :( Our evening then took us to Powell's for some book shopping and then dinner at the new Deschutes Brewery in the Pearl with Conner and his girlfriend. The beer was amazing but the food wasn't all that great so that was kind of a let down.


Sunday morning had us up early again and meeting the breakfast club at Jam on Hawthorne. We're now the only couple that doesn't have kids! Our group now consists of 4 couples and 4 kids, all girls! It was so great to see them all again and to have breakfast with them. I miss having our group for breakfast..we don't have that living in Baltimore. Sunday afternoon was a lazy day of relaxing. Mr_BTM went off to work on Sunday night and I went out for Thai food with Theresa and Kirsten and a friend of hers. So far, this trip has been pretty fun and we've gotten a chance to visit a lot of our friends. Now next week we just have to work!

Labels: ,

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Let's Go RV'ing!

This past weekend a group of 14 of us took 2 RV's road tripping up to State College, PA for the Penn State vs. Oregon State football game. Eric, Karen, Peter, Kurt, Jimbo, Radu, Alek, Pete, Beth, Michael, Katelyn, Nick, Mr_BTM and myself made up quote a diverse group. We left Baltimore around 5:00 PM and headed north across the state line. We pulled the 2 RV's into the Red Rabbit, a tiny drive-in burger stand and overtook the outdoor seating. This place was adorable! You could pull up and eat in your car. The waitress came and took your order and then served you with those trays you can hang outside your door. Classic burgers, fried chicken and shakes. It was a good dinner after drinking beer on the ride up :)

We made it to the RV lot on the campus of Penn State around 10:00 PM and set up camp. We all got comfortable and got to drinking. Cards and Catchphrase were big hits. Sleeping was interesting since we had 7 people per RV. Mr_BTM and I got the bed in the "bedroom" area since he drove. A lot more private than the other bed options that were in the main part of the RV.

Saturday morning brought cloudy skies and the threat of rain. Most of the crew walked the Penn State campus. I was left behind since I didn't want to get up so early. So I set up the tailgate and was ready to start grilling right at noon. Our timing was pretty good...it started to pour down rain right when we started to cook for lunch. Fortunately, we had the tarps up and were ready for rain. We lucked out and it only rained for about a half hour and cleared out for the rest of the day. We went through a lot of sausages and burgers! Around 2:30 PM we started our walk to the game. The stadium is pretty large but the seats (a bench) are pretty uncomfortable. Our tickets for the game were scattered around the visitor's section so the Mr & I sat with Nick and Radu. There were quite a few of OSU fans in our section so that was fun. Even though OSU got killed the game was fun to attend. The marching band and the crowd participation is fun to watch! After the game we headed back to the RV's to cook up some food for dinner and to relax after the game. While the boys played touch football the girls battled it out in a game of chicken foot!
Sunday morning started early with packing up the tail gate and heading to brunch. On the way out of town we made the requisite drive by Jo-pa's house, coach of the Penn State football team. The ride home was nice and we were able to find parking spots for the RV's. After unloading the RV's the group went out to lunch in Baltimore to wind down and spend more time with the folks that came from out of town. Although this was a long weekend, we had good luck with the weather and had a good time visiting with everyone. We just might have to make this a yearly outing!

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend the in-laws drove in from Cincinnati to spend the weekend with the Mr & I. On Saturday we drove down to Annapolis and walked around downtown and visited the William Paca House & Garden. We decided to skip the home tour and take a walk through the garden. After the garden tour we had lunch at Middleton Tavern, along the waterfront in downtown Annapolis. Lunch was okay, nothing special, just some sandwiches. After lunch we walked down Main Street and decided to head to the mall for a quick shopping trip. After the mall it was back to Baltimore to have dinner at Salt.

Sunday took us to DC for a visit to the Newseum, one of the newest museums in DC. This was a fascinating museum! I loved it and would go back again to get a closer look at all the exhibits. There was so much to see, read and watch. After 2 and a half hours we still could have spent more time there. I particularly enjoyed the exhibit on Pulitzer Prize winning photographs. After the museum we were back at the Nationals game vs. Atlanta. I even got my photo with George! Only one President left to get...Thomas! The Mr & I have decided that the food there isn't that good...and very expensive! $9.50 for deluxe nachos or chicken strips and fries. Not to mention the $4.50 for a bottle of pop or water! After the game we headed back to Baltimore for a relaxing sushi dinner at Chiu's Sushi.

The in-laws left on Monday morning and the Mr & I took a nap to recover from all our activities. We each had to work a few hours too and do some major grocery shopping for next week's RV trip to State College, PA!

Labels: , , , ,