Friday: As of 10:35 AM I am officially done with Winter Quarter and on SPRING BREAK! What a surreal feeling, I am seriously so ecstatic right now it is one of the greatest feelings ever! Case and I had an afternoon flight out to the East Coast so by the time I finished my final I had to pack (oops forgot to do that! But in my defense I was up until 2am studying) and we took a cab to the airport! The flight to vegas,was quick and Case and I chatted the entire way there. Neither of us could grasp the fact we were going back to Maryland together and that I was going to get to see her home. However, the quick connection in Vegas separated us on our long flight to Baltimore. Both of us were passed out within the first hour and at one point I looked back a few rows to see Casey almost leaning on her neighbor with her mouth half open HA! Finals week definitely wore us out. We landed around 11:30pm east coast time and were greeted at the airport by both of Case’s parents. We had a pleasant car ride home and I couldn’t wait to see Maryland in the daylight. We were greeted with wet doggy kisses and a delicious pizza when we got home. It still hadn’t hit me that I had never seen Casey’s house before. Finally I got to see the place she called home and it was a very special feeling.
Saturday: Saturday morning we got up early and make a trip to the DMV for Case to replace her license…after that we headed to the Amish Market aka my new favorite place. After going there I 1) am obsessed with the Amish people and their culture, 2)broke my Lenten promise of giving up sweets and 3) probably gained twenty pounds. We had warm cinnamon rolls with luscious cream cheese frosting for breakfast, followed by a completely unnecessary but nonetheless delicious fresh baked pretzel, and just in case we got hungry later we bought a pound of chocolate covered strawberries and a pumpkin/cream cheese log. I was stuffed to say the least. Even though we were both so full we managed to meet four of Case’s friends down town for lunch a couple hours later at a sushi place called Joss. I have recently discovered, I would say in the past two years or so, that I do enjoy sushi every now and again. This sushi was absolutely divine and I managed to split a small meal of teriyaki chicken and some sort of traditional sushi with Case. Meeting some of her high school friends was an added bonus and I found myself simply listening to conversation and seeing the wheels of high school friendships begin to churn again which I absolutely loved. After Joss we drove to Severn, which was Casey’s school from 6-12 grade. Like the rest of Annapolis it was amazing to finally put an image to a place that I have heard so much about already. It truly is such a quaint, adorable, and precious town that I could have wondered around all day. Getting to see all these places of great importance to Case made me anxious and even more excited for her to visit this summer so I could show her all the places I am so found of back home. We met up with her friends again and took advantage of the gorgeous day and laid out on her dock for several hours. I got to know Katherine and Philip a lot better and I loved getting to interact with some of Casey’s closest friends from high school. Throughout the day we took advantage of having absolutely nothing to do and took two naps. If you knew me before I am sure you are about as surprised as I am at the number of naps I have taken thus far in my freshman year. I guess the college life will do that to you J We had a delicious dinner of chicken ceasar salad (something light was much needed after an entire day centered around eating heavy foods) and the chicken itself was actually from the Amish market! What an amazing introductory day to Annapolis.
Sunday: Sunday morning we had a bit of a lay in which was much needed and so nice. We had fresh bagels (they were still warm!) from Navals bagels before bundling up and boating into Annapolis. On our way in there was a Regatta so literally hundreds of boats were out on the harbor as we tried to make our way in to port. We circled around them and in doing so I had a better view of the immense Chesapeake Bay. What a perfect day to boat in; clear skies and good company. Case and I shopped around and I got to explore Annapolis a little more. We shared a sandwich, which was absolutely delicious, and sat by the water before getting picked up in the convertible by her parents. Dinner tonight was absolutely insane in the best sense. We went to Cantlers—a true MD experience. Lets just say I feel as if I am a true resident now J Between Case and I we had 12 medium size crabs covered in Old Bay, some onion rings, clam strips, and fries. I was stuffed to the brim but felt like I truly belonged in MD now. When we got home we decided to try and be active and took Casey’s dog Daisy on a run. It was right before sunset so the river was glowing with color and the air was perfect for an evening run. For the first five minutes Daisy bolted and Casey and I could barely keep up with the frantic pup! She quickly got in the swing of things and only lurched when a squirrel or bird was spotted in the distance. After a much-needed shower, we ventured over to her friend Kate’s house for a bonfire that reminded me so much of last summer in the PNW. I smelled of bonfire which made me anxious to get home and be with friends down by the lake enjoying the sunset while roasting smores in the fire before a rousing game of Catch Phrase J We started to watch GG but I quickly passed out and before I knew it I was dreaming of de-shelling crabs and walking along the streets of Annapolis perhaps passing a Navy man or two!
Monday: Today was our DC Adventure—Casey and Lindsey take DC as we liked to refer to today. We took the metro into the city and nothing was going to rain on our parade—except for the rain unfortunately. But even that was not too bad. We got off the metro at the Smithsonian stop and as soon as we breached the stairs I could see the Washington Monument and the Nation’s capital. This was really special for me because the last time I had been in DC was in 5th Grade on our trip to Williamsburg. 7 years later my level of appreciation for every site, monument, and historic place we visited was heightened so much more that I could have imagined as a measly eleven year old girl. Our first stop was the Natural History Museum. We saw the Hope diamond, the human evolution/animal development exhibit, and we b spotted the infamous whale in the marine exhibit (I was able to recognize this enormous beast from watching Night at the Museum hehe). We didn’t’ have as much time as we would have liked however, we were meeting Casey’s parents at Central for lunch. My only knowledge about this restaurant before stepping foot into it was that Oprah had hosted an Inauguration party there in January—that was enough to impress me before taking a bite of food. But let me tell you, I am so glad I had a healthy appetite that day. We started with these delicious cheese puffs that were like taking a bite out of air and tasting the best tasting cheese ever. We also had a bacon torte that was so thing and delicious it literally melted in your mouth. I then had a chicken-lemon burger that was the definition of perfection and somehow Case and I managed to consume an entire Banana Split to bring our meal to an end. One lady looked over at us and started laughing because we were so content and apparently it was clearly evident on the looks our faces had when the banana Split was presented before us. After our beyond delicious lunch, we went to the Vietnam War Memorials and saw the wall as well as the two separate monuments honoring both the men and the women who served in Vietnam. I remembered visiting the Wall in 5th grade and locating Chuck Wight’s name (a young soldier affiliated with my K-12 school) and I wish I had paid my respects to him this time around. However, I was obviously thinking of him and the great service he paid to our country and the fact he is still remembered at school back home. After the Vietnam Memorials we traveled across the city to the Air&Space museum where Katherine met up with us again. We watched the Hubble 3D movie, which was completely captivating, located the projects Gaffer worked on while working for NASA, and went in one of the weirdest “Celestial Roller Coaster” simulators ever. We then took a cab over to the White House, which was stunning to see. So many people from all the country and world come here and it is truly hard to fathom I was standing in front of the residence of our country’s president—what a cool thought. After a long day of wondering and exploring we made our way back to the metro and back home for a lazy night. Lets just say we were a little loopy and ended up with chocolate on our butts—a long day leading into a delirious night of pure hysteria was an amazing day filled with memories.
Tuesday: My last full day in Annapolis. Case and I had a leisurly morning—we had literally been on the go since touchdown in Maryland on Friday night. We got up around 11, watched some TV and headed over to her Grandma’s for lunch. Casey has gotten to meet Nana and Gaffer so it was fun to finally meet the notorious “Grammy” who has sent many delicious care packages out west. We went back into Annapolis after lunch and did some shopping after lunch. Case and I both made some adorable spring purchases as well as a spontaneous stop into a paint your own pottery shop where we both painted matching mugs for our room next year! I am very excited to see the final product J That night, my last dinner with the Cronins, was a delectable pasta followed by a yummy homemade apple pie provided by Grammy. Conversation was absolutely hysterical and we all shared stories and past memories that had us all rolling in fits of laughter. Case and I caught a late night flick of Alice in Wonderland 3D—I have already professed my love for this movie so all I will say in the 3D version only allowed me to feel more as if I was a part of the movie.
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