After the long drive in the fog and rain from Ohio to Maryland yesterday, we were happy to get settled into our hotel and just do nothing today. I know, I know... Baltimore and the Washington DC area have so much to do and see... it would take weeks to do it all. However, since our daughter lived here for 6 years... in fact did her under graduate work at UMBC (University of Maryland at Baltimore County) and her master's at University of Maryland (Donna, I hope I got this right) while our son-in-law was at Walter Reed Hospital, we had the opportunity to visit and see things several times during those years.
Anyway.... since the cruise doesn't leave until Thursday and the genealogy pre-conference events have been canceled due to the gov't shutdown, we were in no hurry to rush around and join the rat-race traffic in the area.
We're staying in a hotel in Columbia, MD.... here's a view of the lobby from the glass enclosed elevator....
It's not one of those hotels that looks like they're filled with antiques... no chandeliers dripping glass prisms... but actually not bad, either. I got around to asking Bill today what it cost to stay here.... gee, it's only $179 a night.... BUT (you might have guessed we're kinda on the cheap frugal side) and, because Bill is registered for the conference, we're paying ONLY $100 a night. Oh well.... this is a once-a-year event for us and you only live once ;-)
There was a wedding party here when we registered yesterday....
Notice the footwear on the lady on the left....
I figured the Fashion Police would arrest her mighty fast... but... no....
When we went inside, the whole wedding party - and looked like many of the guests - were all dressed to the nines... and wearing Converse tennis shoes. (But NONE of those shoes looked like they'd EVER been worn before... nothing scruffy and beat-up like I wear)
The long drive earned us a well-deserved dinner out...
With the snap-brim hat and Killian beer, Bill looks like he's in an Irish Pub... except for all those HUGE TVs around... we had dinner in a sport's bar. I took my hearing aids out almost immediately... who in the world wants to listen to 4 different football games going on at the same time? AND all the people talking... AND... whatever kind of music they were playing. Sometimes it's kinda nice to have a hearing loss ;-)
We both felt like doing some walking today and of course, it doesn't take me too long to find out the coordinates of the nearby geocaches.....
We never did find this one...
Just a short walk from our hotel we wandered down through the woods to a creek... lots of fallen trees and what looked like some utility company crew doing some work.
This cache was a fun one... Can you find it?
That middle nut and bolt are fake... unscrew it and you'll find a tiny, rolled-up piece of paper that is the cache log.
This was another fun one...
Some geocache owners spend a lot of time and effort putting out very creative caches. I love them no matter what, but will say that I do appreciate the work that goes into the "good" ones.
The Walgreen Drug store just up the street has this....
A place to charge your electric car!
We tried to figure out how it turns on, but finally came to the conclusion that you go inside the store and pay for your time and it's turned on from there. Pretty neat, huh?
And... we saw this in the nearby mall...
I'm a sucker for Merry-Go-Rounds... maybe because they're about the only ride I can go on without getting motion sickness. But wait... it's been a long time... maybe I shouldn't say that so confidently.
Still... the color, the lights, the music... just the fanciful idea of it all just enthralls me.
And... just to let y'all know that the leaves ARE still turning their fall colors... and I'm still a leaf peeper....
I'm still gawking at the maples, sweet gum, poplars... just all of them!
Not your idea of a vacation?
Well, that's okay... we were ready for some "down time", and today was just perfect!
Who knows what we'll do tomorrow?
That's All For Today!
Different strokes for different folks. Right now, my idea of a vacation would be just getting out of Minnesota!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour. BTW, isn't tennis shoes high fashion now-a-days? (grin)
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with your kind of sightseeing. Walking around is what I like to do, does not have to be all of the touristy places.
ReplyDeleteI like the unusual geocache's too. We've found some very clever ones.
ReplyDeleteTeri
You do find some pretty neat geocaches! Love that Merry-Go-Round. I used to love riding one of those at the local fairs as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI love those "down days"....so much fun! Beautiful color in the leaves!
ReplyDeleteWishing ou lots of fun on the cruise!
ReplyDeleteI see nothing wrong with avoiding the hustle and bustle of the DC area!
ReplyDeleteLove that merry go round, such pretty colors.
ReplyDeleteHowdy Sharon & Bill,
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice hotel, at least you'll probably wake-up alive there; not so sure about Baltimore... Yep, the IDIOTS have screwed-up a lot of people's lives, except theirs.... I too like carousels !!! At over $100 a pop TENNIES ought to be dress-wear!!! Bill sure looks Irish !!! That has got to be the very best geocache in the world; who would ever think to look inside a bolt !!! Where else but in the DC or Californica areas could you find a plug-in for your Tesla !!!!
Hope y'all find some more 'good' stuff and have a HAPPY DAY !!!!!!!!!!!
I love your photos, Sharon. And Bill is either very definitely into his game(s) or he's becoming a very good actor! He does look the part of the avid sports bar fan. Enjoy your time there - and relax just as much as you'd like!
ReplyDeleteThat charging station gives me hope that maybe someday----. I once thought of trying geocache. I had no idea they were so tricky. I thought they would be ammunition boxes. You are obviously experienced.
ReplyDeletelove your geocache pics...
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of a vacation … haha… full time travelers… I mean … vacation? love the geo cache stuff… never have done that … don't think I would have the patience.
ReplyDeletenever liked scavenger hunts either … why? I don't know. love the beautiful trees and the merry-go-round .. I would love to have an electric car. and what else… oh, Bill looks awfully jaunty in his snap brim hat… AND what fun … Converse tennis shoes for a wedding .. all dolled up with tennis … wonder what the deal was… bride or groom a rep for Converse? fun, regardless...