Maryland

We had went to MD with Paul when he first went up there back in March. The state was still in the remnants of a snow blizzard and we were only there for 2 quick days. So when we went back up there recently, we considered it our first real view of MD.

It was our first for flying as well. Okay, so I flew one time when I was young - way before Homeland Security was in effect. Our trip started on an interesting note. We were very rushed in getting to the airport (work, football games, last minute packing, etc), so it did not help matters when we got on the interstate to go to the airport only to run into a major traffic jam. At this point we had about 55 minutes before our flight was scheduled to leave.

Then my van started running hot - I mean really hot. The temperature needle was in the red and it started smoking. Yikes! I managed to get over and off at an exit, but what to do?? I was not about to waste the three plane tickets, yet I also did not want to damage the engine. We pulled into a gas station, bought some antifreeze, and prayed...a lot. We continued a different route to the airport (with less traffic) and the temperature dropped. We made it there about with 35 minutes to go and still had to go through security. No problem for experienced travelers, but for novices like us - well, lets just say that I utilized the employees there by asking what to do and where to go at each corner. We made it to the gate with about 3 minutes to spare.

Austin was at first terrified to fly, he did not want to be by the window or in the aisle. I guess he thought having us on each end might somehow protect him in the event of a crash. Matthew however was very excited about sitting near the window. Austin ended up loving it though, and sat by the window on the return flight home.

We made it, safe and sound. The next day was a beautiful fall day so we went exploring. We like the outdoors and there is a very large park (Patapsco Park 14,000 acres) not too far from where Paul is living, so we went there to hike and letterbox. The only problem was that the park is so large and has so many entrances, we did not go to the one mentioned in our directions. Well, this was not really a problem other than it stretched our hike into almost 5 miles and we were not prepared with any water or snacks. I am proud to say that I was leading the first half, though I was lagging behind the last quarter.

The park was very nice though, and we came across many other people enjoying the nice weather. The letterbox was very hard to find, but we prevailed - over the bridge, through the tunnel, up the mountain, over the river...

Of course there was time for play as well...