A Maryland/Tailgating Thanksgiving

We flew to Maryland the day before Thanksgiving.  I was not looking forward to a single second of being in an airport or flying on one of the busiest days of the year. (If you know me at all, you know this was on my mind since we had booked the trip months before.  All the time.)  And then, of course, the Winter storms began.  More worry...

Something crazy happened when we got to the airport though - our gate was on the 'less busy side' of PDX.  There were maybe 4 people in front of us in line a security.  We went right through.  We had time to get coffee and breakfast and still wait for the plane to board.  (I was also waiting for something bad to happen.  But nope, nothing!)  We safely arrived in DC 5 hours later.  That is my kind of miracle.

We planned to spend Thanksgiving in Maryland again this year because the Ravens were playing the Steelers for the evening game.  Makena hadn't been back to Maryland in several years either and had never been on the Ravens Bus.  (Boy was she excited!)

Our first stop that morning was Starbucks.  There is one in Westminster.  One.  And the other connecting towns share it.  (I don't get it either.  Dunkin Donuts is not my idea of a coffee shop.)  And then we headed to Bruce's house (Jamie's younger brother) to get the bus ready and head to Baltimore.

 

When it's cold outside, the bus is the best place ever.  Other than one time I made her take a picture with the group, Makena never left her spot on the warm bus.  She was happy to sit and cheer on the Packers under her toasty blanket and read her books.

Bruce deep fried the turkey again this year.  Several other people brought food that could be cooked/heated up on the grill or in crockpots.   Lots of food.  (Not everything that we wanted, but lots of food.)

 

 Bruce, Jamie and I during the game.

The next day, we drove to Ocean City, MD to spend the weekend with Stan (Jamie's older brother) and his family.  They had purchased a beach house there the year before and were spending some time there during the holidays.

Makena, Jamie and I spent some time on the boardwalk.  And Makena and I walked through the Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday night we decided to visit the local light show.  You ride a train around a park that is decorated.  We apparently chose the busiest day of the year to go.  The wait was long and cold, but it was still beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back to Westminster, we stopped in Annapolis.  I wanted to see the Naval Academy.  We also stopped at a Veterans Memorial along the way.  So much history - I loved being there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After it got dark, we headed to downtown Annapolis for dinner.  Everything was decorated for Christmas and there were performances on the streets.

We spent the next couple of days visiting family and friends before returning home.  It was another great visit to Maryland!