Road Trip - August 2011

We really had not intended to take a long trip this summer.  But my Dad (Henry) called me in July and asked if we might be able to come to his family crab feast on August 13.  I guess a personal invitation is what was needed, because we managed to scrounge up a couple of weeks and turn it into a fun trip!

For various reasons we couldn't leave until Thursday evening.  But the crab feast was on Saturday and we are too old to be driving 16 hour days anymore.  So, we left around 7:00 PM on the 11th.   We stopped for the night at the Super 8 north of Davenport off of I-80 about 9 PM.  (Nothing to write home about but convenient and fine for one night).  The next morning we had breakfast and were off by 8 AM.  That was our long and boring day.  We took the "southern" route (less construction and no tolls).  We had packed lunch but stopped in Wheeling, WV for supper at a Cracker Barrel (reliable food and they were very efficient).  I don't know what was going on in the area but I had to call quite a few places to find a vacancy at the EconoLodge in Morgantown.  By 9:30 PM (Eastern Time - we lost an hour) we were definitely ready to stop and it wasn't a bad place –  reasonably comfortable and convenient for one night, though not worth the cost and the front desk help needed an attitude adjustment.    Fortunately, we weren't in a big hurry on Saturday so we slept in a little and left around 9 AM.  

Saturday August 13:  Crossing into Maryland is where we finally got into a scenic route!  The first picture (above, right) is just beyond Exit 4 near Friendsville, MD.  That has to be a branch of the Youghiogheny River.   In the picture above left, you can see the 340 foot notch in the Allegheny Mts just west of Hancock known as the Sidling Hill Cutout.  The two pictures below were taken at a rest area there at Sidling Hill: the cutout itself and a praying mantis who was as interested in me as I was in him.


So, we got to Dad's house in La Plata around 1:45 PM.   The crab feast was great fun - good crabs and good conversation.  It had been 5 years since I'd seen most of these people and even longer for some.  The whole group is at left - thanks to Lindsay (who came with Kevin) for taking the picture (for a better view, click it to get the enlargement).  Standing: Gary Kennedy, Justin (came with Jen), Jen Stevens, Dottie Kennedy, Rich Koski, John Mardis, Kevin Horrworth, Ron (came with Deb), Deb Horrworth, Linda Stevens, Emma (Jen's daughter), Barb Mardis.  Seated: Debbie Koski, Henry Kostkowski, Henrietta Kennedy, Betty Kostkowski.    My nephew Kevin and his girlfriend Lindsay challenged Dad to table tennis which was fun to watch.   Even though they know he is a medal-winner in the senior olympics each year, they still couldn't quite believe they had been trompled (pictured below center, contemplating their loss)!   My Aunt Henrietta is amazing - at 94, she still lives in her own home and doesn't seem to have changed a bit. 


Sunday morning, August 14, we took a walk around the neighborhood with Betty and got rained on a bit.  There were lots of nice gardens but this particular piece of tree art (at left) caught my eye!   We played bridge for most of the afternoon, went to the Old Country Buffet in Waldorf for dinner (I could gain a lot of weight if I did that often) and then played some more bridge and listened to Edith Piaf and Neil Diamond CD’s.   Oh my - playing bridge and listening to '60's music really brought back college memories!   We also had fun watching the resident groundhog (at right) and the "hummer wars" as the very territorial hummingbirds fought over the feeder.  

Monday morning John admired the garden worms my Dad raises (we have a couple of tubs of red wigglers at our house, too) and we got in a couple more hands of bridge before we left for Germantown after lunch.  

For the second time on this trip, we negotiated the Capitol Beltway without incident or traffic problems, and we arrived at my sister's house around 3:30 PM.   Kevin and Jenna both came for dinner (and I didn't take any pictures... duh!)  John fixed a wonderful meal with his homemade pesto sauce on spaghetti and sauteed eggplant and squash with cheese.   It was great to have a chance to visit with the kids.

Tuesday August 16:  Deb was working today so after breakfast, John and I went to the Seneca Creek Greenway trail - the Watkins Mill entrance is only a couple miles away.  We took our time and walked along the creek (one view above) for about 3 miles from there to Brinks Road and back.  We were pleasantly surprised to find such a nice, woodsy place so close!    It was a very peaceful morning - we didn't even see much wildlife (though we heard some birds) other than a group of butterflies at waters' edge (one at left).

 Tuesday night we went to dinner with Deb, her friend Ron and our old college friend, Jonathan, at the Indigo Landing - a waterfront restaurant right across the Potomac River from Reagan Airport.  We ate on the terrace and it was lovely.    I had herb crusted filet of sole and asparagus risotta with delicious crème brule for dessert and enjoyed the food, the company and the view at the right.

After dinner we went to see "Oklahoma" at the newly renovated Arena Stage (at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC).   I loved the Fichandler Stage!   It has stadium-type seating on all sides of a square stage and a fantastic sound system -  you could see and hear everything from every seat.   The production was extremely well done with enough variation to keep it fresh even after all these years.  During intermission we walked up to the terrace and had great views of the city and the Washington Monument.   I didn't have a tripod and couldn't hold still enough for sharpness, but you get the idea of the view at left!  A delightful evening.

Wednesday, August 17:  Deb had to work again.  I stayed home, transferred pictures and read while John got the car fixed (it needed a new power steering pump).  He didn't mind that chore because it meant he could hang out at a nearby mall that specialized in international food!  So he had lunch at the Pho House and brought home bags of goodies that he found at various markets!   That night we had supper with Deb and Kevin, Rich, Debbie and Clay at the Sakura Japanese steak house there in Germantown.  Rich and Debbie came back to Deb’s and we visited for a couple of hours.   It's very seldom that we siblings spend any time together so it was great to catch up.  

Thursday morning we packed up and headed south to the Outer Banks and the trip is continued in the next link!