Our First Vacation...

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I enjoyed our first vacation together... We had so much fun. We flew to Washington D.C. and arrived in time for Steve's great Uncle and his wife to pick us up from the airport. Cecil and Nancy were so much fun. (I can't believe that I didn't get a single picture of them, but they reminded me so much of Roger and Sandy... so light-hearted and happy.) We first stopped by their cute carriage house in DC proper and took a short walk to the Eastern Market, which is a combination indoor and outdoor market with food, crafts, etc. The combination of music, delicious smells and ambiance was so fun! (But it was so HOT and HUMID!) Nothing like a little sweat to help make a nice first impression!! Oh, well. :) Cecil mentioned that his favorite restaurant in all of DC was at the American Indian Museum. Steve and I were fascinated to see why... so we took the subway/train a few blocks and then had a delicious lunch there. I could see why he loves it. It was so interesting. They had several cooking stations with a variety of native American foods. I had a chipotle chicken fry bread meal while others had buffalo burgers, etc. Such an interesting way to begin our visit.

After lunch, we received a call from Steve's brother, Gary, who is a church organist (in addition to being an internationally-known composer and performer). He had been called to a funeral for a dignitary and was finished sooner than he expected, so Cecil and Nancy drove us to the church to meet him. We then drove to Gary and Julie's home and I had a chance to freshen up. It felt so good to get into fresh, cool clothes! Much better!! Julie was out of town, so Gary, Steve and I hung out and visited. Below are some pics from various points in our visit:


Gary (brother 3) and Steve (brother 2)


The rushing waters of the Potomac.


Steve and Gary battling it out over the stove. (It was a contest all week to see who was the "the Chef" vs. "the Cook!")


Toward the end of the week, we drove to California, MD to stay the night with Paul (brother 1) and his wife, Donna. Their yard was a sanctuary... literally. I think it was 1/3 of an acre and fully planned and beautifully designed. Lush greenery, flowers and specially appointed trees, with bird baths and bird feeders everywhere! It was gorgeous!!


Paul and Donna, on their porch, as we were leaving. Such a sweet couple and a perfect, beautiful home... (Plus, I got some delicious recipes!!)


One afternoon, Steve's dad and his girlfriend, Christine, Steve and I went to the new Air and Space Museum Annex near the airport. Oh, my! What a treat!! I got to see a Concorde, a Stealth fighter, and the Enterprise Space Shuttle. It was such a cool thing to do.


Christine and David (Steve's cute dad)


My sweetie... Steve, at the Orchards. We went to get some fresh corn, but it wasn't ready yet, so we left with only a few cherries. :(


Fun at the Irish Inn... On Monday evening, we picked Julie up from the airport and after a quick change, met everyone at the Irish Inn. It was a small restaurant that was packed with fun. Because they are frequent guests, we got "THE" prime table in the restaurant, which was right beside the musicians who jammed with Irish music all evening. We had a very traditional Irish menu (Steve had some sort of Irish sausage and I had fish and chips) YUM! It was such lively fun music and at one point, Julie (who is a professional singer) joined the group and sang a couple of Irish ballads. It was great!! And she's another great talent!!!


This is the front door to the place. Fun memories!!


This is the pic of Gary's church on Sunday morning before the services began. All of those pipes are connected to his organ, which he plays magnificently!! What a talent!!!

It was a wonderful trip, filled with relaxing moments, a little exercise with some beautiful walks through the tree-lined neighborhoods, a little bit of touring, and fun getting to know Steve's family. Just have one more brother and sister-in-law to go, but they are on the other side of the country in Washington State. So... likely a stop for an upcoming vacation.