Sue and I flew out to Baltimore Friday morning 06/17/16 to visit with and celebrate both my brother's and my birthdays and ours and my nephew Scott's Father's Day.
Alan picked us up at Baltimore's BWI airport, and drove us to their condo in Parkville, MD. Abbie was there when we arrived, and we all had a lovely time chatting away.
Since Scott was picking us up to go to his house in Frederick, MD at 7:30 pm, we all headed over to one of the community's restaurants for dinner around 5:00 pm. The food was just great, and we had just a lovely time with Alan and Abbie.
The drive to Scott and Mary Liz's home in Frederick, MD is only an hour from Alan's. They had invited us to stay with them because there's not much room at my brother's. And, one of the reasons for this trip was to cook a huge celebratory meal, and there definitely would not be room for that at Alan's.
Saturday morning Sue was up early, but woke with an infected eye. Mary Liz whisked her over to the local Readi-Care, and they were back just after 8:00 am. While Mary Liz went off for a yoga class, I watched as Sue fixed up a mojito pie for desert and get that into the oven. We had just a little time then to get another cup of coffee and sat out on the back patio. By the time Mary Liz got back, Scott was up and she fixed terrific omelets with feta cheese and veggies.
Then she scooped up Sue, and they were off for a day of adventure, visiting town, hiking at one of the parks, and having lunch in town. While they were off doing that, Scott and I went on our own adventure. He drove me around Frederick to get the scope of the area, and then we went food shopping for my cooking extravaganza that was to take place later that day.
After Sue and Mary Liz got back and cleaned up, we all sat out on the patio until Alan and Abbie arrived around 2:30 pm. I had to get moving on food prep work at 3:30 pm as I just knew it would be at least a 2 hour event. I mean, there was wine to sip and chopping to be done! I volunteered Scott to be my assistant, and together the two of us managed to get the Cornish Game Hens with green beans onto the table at 7:00 pm - about an hour longer than I had hoped. But look, we all had a great time!
I had mentioned to Alan awhile ago that someday I'd have to fix Cornish Game Hens for him as that had been one of my favorite dishes that our mother used to make on special occasions. The difference though was that I fixed them using Master Chef James Haller's methodology and sauce to make the dish just a spectacular success. A terrific meal with some nice wine and family gathered together is my idea of perfection.
To shake off the meal, Scott, Mary Liz, Sue, and I headed off for a walk through the local park after Alan and Abbie headed off for home. It was still light out as we strolled along a beautiful creek bordering the park. I was having some back issues from the car accident back in April of 2015, and opted to just plop onto one of the many benches while the others trekked off down the path.
The sun was just beginning to ease below the trees as they returned to where I was, and we walked back to the house. We sat out on the patio for just a little while until Mary Liz and Sue opted for bed. Scott lasted for about a half hour with me before he then just sort of stood up, and announced that was it for him as well.
Sunday morning, Mary Liz fixed another round of omelets that we enjoyed with coffee, sitting around the dining room table and chatting. Sue and I went upstairs and finished packing, loaded our stuff into Mary Liz's car, and she drove us back to the airport. Too short of a visit! But so nice to have been able to spend that time with Scott and Mary Liz.
