We've been out and about for the last several days. Let's see if I can remember where we were.
It started Saturday afternoon, when we went to an art show that an acquaintance of mine was having. She is quite the accomplished artist, but I had never seen any of her work. Unfortunately, she is losing her sight and cannot see well enough to paint anymore, but she is making collages, which we saw. They were colorful abstracts, and I liked her balance of colors and textures. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures. And unfortunately, her works were out of our price range.
The venue for the show was an interesting place and new to us. The complex had a history of over 200 years and was a cloistered monastery and later a school for many years. Eventually, Marriott took it over and transformed it into a luxury hotel.
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| What used to be the front of the church is now a bar for the hotel. I'm not sure how I feel about that. |
That evening, went to a local line dance event. It was outside and a lot of fun. This venue is one of my favorites. It doesn't hurt that it is fairly close to our house. I was too busy having fun to take any pictures.
The next day, Wally called and asked if we wanted to visit Monocacy Battlefield with him. The Battle of Monocacy was an important engagement during the Civil War. The Confederates won, but the Union soldiers were able to stop the Confederate advance toward the nation's capital in Washington, D.C. Besides the history here, there are several nice trails. We went on a new one for us, the Junction Trail to the Best Farm Trail.
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| There were various cannons scattered throughout. I wonder if the cannonballs we have in the basement came out of a cannon like this? |
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| The trail followed along fields of hay and corn. |
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| The Best Farm still had some of the original structures standing, like this stone barn. |
Then on Monday, we went to my FIL's house for a cookout. We took hamburgers and chicken to grill, corn on the cob, Greek baked beans, Waldorf salad, and brownies. We were joined by some others in Ward's family and got to meet the new baby. It was fun watching the 2-month-old baby meet her 93-year-old great-grandfather.
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| Wally and Theo with their grandfather. |
This week has been back to the normal out and about. We've had a couple of appointments and went to line dancing and yoga classes. In addition, we've been getting our fair entries ready for tomorrow evening's entry time. Then on Friday, we're going to WV for the weekend for my family reunion.
We have done the important preparation for the trip by getting our traditional travel snacks of cheese crackers and M&Ms. I guess we'll get everything else ready tomorrow. 😊
The time has gotten away from me. It's bedtime, so I'll leave it here.
Until next time...
M&Ms are the ultimate travel food. I'm partial to peanut M&Ms, but won't turn up my nose at any of them.
ReplyDeleteYou've been very busy! I'm also not sure what I think about the front of the church now being a bar. I'm glad they kept the windows and the architecture.
I went with a friend on a new-to-me trail earlier this week. It's situated by an old farm, and was known as the county "poor farm" back in the day. There's a cemetary for the persons who lived on the poor farm, which we visited briefly. The trails look similar to what you went on earlier this week. A very pretty area for hiking!
Peanut M&Ms are our travel preference, but any and all M&Ms are good!
DeleteOther trails at the battlefield are wooded and follow streams. We have done those before. We will be going back another time because we have a friend who volunteers there most weekends, but he wasn't there this time.
Sounds like a fun week! What a fascinating venue for the art show. We may have to take a road trip to stay at that Marriott. I'm not sure what I think about the bar in the church either, but we have had an old Baptist church turned into a coffee house and wedding venue so I guess it is good that these old buildings have new life.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that your son's invite you on trips and hikes. Looks fun! Yum on the cookout and great family time.
Have a great time at your family reunion too.
We are going on a weekend getaway to an 80's airbnb with our kids. I think it will be fun, esp for my husband and son since they can play arcade games, and I can relive those wonderful? 1980's memories. :D
There were paintings hanging all over the place, so we got to see a lot of the common areas of the hotel.
DeleteWe feel very lucky that our sons want to spend time with us because we certainly enjoy them.
What exactly is an 80s airbnb? Built in the 80s? Styled like the 80s? Features 80s music? Sounds like it could be fun.
Ha 1980's decor, movies, music, etc. but you could play 100+ arcades from the 70s and 80s and lots of game consoles like Atari, so my husband and son had a blast. I enjoyed our trip to Old Salem NC; it reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg with the craftsmen and costumed interpreters, but it was even more hands on. I had no idea that straw beds were so hard or feather beds were so sold. I don't know how anyone got a good night's sleep. :D
DeleteBusy times for you! And do tell about the cannonball in your basement. I triguing!
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the reunion. I hope the rains clear away in time.
We have a friend who lives on a Civil War era farm and she found several cannon balls there. She gave two to our boys when they were younger. They aren't interested in them, so we have them. I took them once to a local antiques road show type thing and they said they weren't worth much. I am thinking about asking at Monocacy if they would like them.
DeleteI think the weather will be okay for our reunion, but I'm not sure about the Regatta and fireworks as thunderstorms are forecast throughout the evening.
Sounds like a very enjoyable week and another lovely weekend to look forward to. I love M & M's!
ReplyDeleteThe M&Ms were the first snack we broke into! :)
DeleteSounds like a lot of fun. I wish you had photos of the line dancing. That sounds like good exercise and also fun.
ReplyDeleteLine dancing is all over online from professionals, teachers, and just random groups of people. In this area, line dancing is growing and is showing up everywhere. You should look around your area. Sometimes you can find free classes at senior centers. It is fun, very forgiving, and nice people of all ages.
DeleteYou had fun! The best thing about retirement is being able to do what you want spontaneously. I keep telling that to TheHub but he still holds on to that weekend mentality. Maybe someday!
ReplyDeleteWe have some of the weekend mentality because some of the people we interact with still have jobs on that schedule. But I would agree, that one of the best things about retirement is being in control of your own schedule.
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