Maryland Is for Crabs

Virginia is for lovers (so the State tourist office says) but Maryland is definitely for crabs. So . . .

It seemed the thing to do, to take Josh and Erin and Natalie to the Eastern Shore (that's past Annapolis, with a stop for breakfast at Chick and Ruth's Deli, over the Bay Bridge across the northern Chesapeake Bay) to St. Michaels for crab at our old haunt, The Crab Claw.

It hasn't changed at all, still great seafood in the perfect setting. After all, this was the view out the window by our table:

And this was the view of our table before the hammers and knives started to work:

Yep, those are Chesapeake blue crabs boiled, spiced with Old Bay Seasoning and ready to go.


All that's needed is a lesson in "cracking" which Josh handled quite handily. Of course, Erin and Natalie, being true desert rats had to get over their initial reaction:


But being quick studies they quickly got into the spirit of it all and became quite adept; they did an excellent job keeping up with Dan and Josh! Oh, there was also steamed, spicy shrimp - you gotta love the Chesapeake!

Coast To Coast For a Picnic . . .

. . . and it was totally worth it!

I went west (to Oregon) for the annual picnic with "The Fam" and had a GREAT time. It was so terrific to catch up, check up and generally be amazed at how much all the kids had grown.






A special treat was listening to James, my brother Jimmy's son, playing Stairway To Heaven. couldn't have been a better choice!










Great food, fun games, pinatas and people with talent! What could be better?


Being able to spend some time with my brothers! How did I get so lucky to have such amazing guys in my life?

Happy Birthday, Josh!

It was a VERY good birthday dinner at Maggiano's at Friendship Heights - remember, Aby?
The Italian food was great, but the cake from Baked and Wired was incredible!

Yes, Spence was in town to celebrate as well as Erin and all the interns at KAF.

HAPPY B'DAY, J!

Hooray For The Red, White and Blue!

It was the first non-rain 4th of July in Washington DC for a few years and we decided to spend it with a few of our closest friends:

We were joined by Erin, Danny's girlfriend, fresh from her semester abroad in New Zealand and friend Natalie. Both are interns at Do The Write Thing this summer. Very fun to have two DC novices to share the 4th with.

Dan and I started the day at the National Archives where "George Washington" and "Thomas Jefferson" read the Declaration of Independence. The end of the program is a great rendition of God Bless America with thousands of people singing. Yes, I got very misty eyed.

The picture of the man to the left of the podium is actually a screen image of the man who led the singing. He had a FABULOUS voice.

We were also part of the throng on Constitution Avenue watching the parade. The best? No doubt about it, the representatives of every branch of the military followed by the Continental Fife and Drum Corp.