Tuesday 12th – Saturday 16th November 2019
Being a tourist in the Big Apple is hard work, as is being a Mum, but somehow as I slept off an epic weekend, Katie was up and at it getting the kids off to school. With Jules off early on a work trip, I felt like a bad lazy friend for not helping! When I eventually emerged it was to lay on the couch and watch Fleabag while Katie went on one of her massive 18km runs. No idea how she does it. Especially since the weather in Maryland was bordering on snow, quite literally.
To not be a complete waste of space for a day, I joined Katie on an excursion to the local crafts place and Target for groceries (Target is soooo much more in the US). Every day I’ve marveled at their gorgeous neighbourhood, this time I actually remembered to take some footage to prove my point!!
Once back at Katie’s for coffee (the best since leaving AUS), it was time to commence my new hobby of cross stitching! The hobby choice had nothing to do with the extra gray’s I’ve been finding in my hair, not ready to be a grandma yet but like colouring in has been the new zen, as is cross stitch. Having watched Katie work away at a gorgeous unicorn and rainbow cross stitch for the last few weeks, I was keen to join in on the fun. The only thing that could pause our determination, SNOW!!!! Yep, white flakes of pretty were falling from the sky for the first time in Maryland, while the Costa’s were there at least.
So it’s a rule in Maryland that if snow is forecast for the day, kids don’t have to go to school. Unfortunately this snow made a surprise appearance so the kids were to experience their first snow while at school. Unfortunately the snow didn’t stick and was well and truly over before the school bell. While I did more of nothing, Katie picked up Drew and to keep him entertained, it was cooking time. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it a million times more, this kid is hilarious. A funny little personality that can be oh so serious for when it’s time to cracks eggs into the bowl, little dude can cook too, definitely showed up this old lady!!
After getting my arse kicked AGAIN at monopoly, it was an early dinner and bed for this grandma!
More ready and kicking than my previous days effort, we were off on a day trip to Alexandria, not Alexandretta like in Indiana Jones and as I kept thinking in my head. Heading in the general direction of Washington D.C., the closer to the capital, the more epic the highways and bridges, and weird planes in the sky. I wasn’t quick enough to get a pic, just have a solid memory of a helicopter/plane/hovercraft/stealth jet in my head, didn’t the Avengers relocate their headquarters to DC????
Anyhoo, loved getting a glimpse of the monument, the capital building and picture perfect city of Washington D.C., having been there once before, it’s pretty high up on the list of cities I love. But once we hit the town of Alexandria, it was proving to be as equally picture perfect, tree lined streets of beautiful old 3 story houses all dressed in their autumn best, with each house it’s own character. Think more like London townhouses or brownstones in Brooklyn, would have loved to knock on a few doors and look inside but apparently that’s not done here.
After Google took us on a scenic tour trying to find the car park, we finally hit the streets of Alexandria, the cold nearly floored us both! Was definitely in the minus but when the sun is shining and the sky is blue, you almost believe the cold is a figment if your imagination, surely it can’t be this gorgeous and this farkin cold???
After wandering around the harbour and streets until our toes were icicles, we settled in for a Thai lunch with a view. God I love Thai food and did not expect it to be this good in a little town in the US! Fed to the brink we braved the cold again and went in search of the littlest house in the US, or was it the skinniest, either way, given Katie’s arm span was nearly as wide as the house, dare I say it was both!!
Have to say, Alexandria is as cute as a button, if a town can be. All these terraced houses, coloured doors with their autum wreaths, red and orange trees and hot as hell muscle cars. Reminded me of Georgetown in D.C. and I wanted to live there too!!
With gorgeous shops to explore and also to get a reprieve from the cold that was definitely no longer my imagination, we explored the shop Anthropologie which gets a mention cos the clothes are gorgeous, the home wares unique and I could have spent a plane ticket home in there but tried to show some constraint, there is such a thing as excess baggage! All walked out, shopped out and freezing, we did what any normal person would do, had icecream!! Now this isn’t just your run of the mill scoop of gelato or soft serve, this was Nicecream. Take fresh cream, chocolate and of course sugar, pour it into a churner (not sure what the hell its called), mix the yummy up then pour over liquid nitrogen, looks a little something like this:
And tastes like the yummiest of yums you’ll ever taste. Best icecream I’ve ever had and you know that’s a big call, love me an icecream more than I love me a castle, ok, maybe not. With time NOT on our side on account of focusing on icecream rather than the time, it was scoff, leg it to the car and head for Drew’s pick up. This time I was ready to snap pics of D.C. Look there it is:
Ok, shit pic I’ll agree with that. The spin home was once again a beauty, and this time I saw the deer Katie had been telling me about. Ok it was dead on the side of the road but proof they exist!! Didn’t get the deer in this pic but here’s the general look of cruising the highway in Maryland…
Once home I finally remembered to capture the daily school bus drop off, still feels like I was watching a typical American movie about the perfect suburban neighbourhood…
Aware that I was quickly running out of time in Maryland, I savored the games of monopoly and goodnight hugs. It was the next day that I like to call “get shit done day”. Having decided to head back to AUS at the end of Jan, I was no longer on the prowl for a job or place to live in London, rather it was head down to work out how to fill the short time I had left OS with my bucket list of adventures. Right near the top, Jordan, or more specifically, Petra. Never heard of it?? If you’ve seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, that epic place in the crescent moon canyon with the buildings carved into rocks, yeah, that’s Petra. If that doesn’t work for you, google it. Using the day to plan my next adventures and also get off my lazy arse and join Katie for a run, ok, lag behind but try my best, it was Katie’s home made schnitzels that made pounding the pavement worth it. I’ll add her cooking to all the things I’ll miss about being in Maryland. And the thing I’ll miss the second most (after Katie!), are these three. They are all such different personalities but all so smart, loving and a lot of fun to be around. And another hobby I might take up once home, building train sets!!
Friday was another day to get our arses into gear and enjoy the Maryland sunshine. What was supposed to be a leisurely stroll with the neighbour Casey ended up being a 10km walk around the burbs and main stretch. No complaining here, exercise yay! Chatting with friends yay! Sunshine yay!! Laughing your arse off cos Casey is hilarious, yay!! With Jules having been away since Tuesday, it was at the Friday night pub dinner with all the expats community that he returned home to a family that really missed him, many many hugs. Defs made the right choice to go back to AUS, I want little kiddlywinks to have my own little family, that hopefully love me enough to miss me. Was also awesome spending my last night colouring with the kids, chatting to Katie’s new friends and seeing the local town of, crap, can’t remember the name, where all the fancy people live apparently. Unfortunately being the last night meant I had to get packing, 2 weeks of an ever expanding pile of my mess in the basement was not gonna be easy to get back into one case.
With cuddles, goodbyes and hopes to see them all soon, it was at the airport giving little Drew bear a cuddle in the back seat the tears in the eyes welled up then hugging Katie goodbye was what nearly broke me. Being part of her family for the past few weeks really was one of my greatest experiences. And yes, the tears toppled for a few minutes when checking in but I guess it was off on my next adventure, in more ways than one now that the decision was made to return home. You realise that in life you can see amazing things, be in beautiful places but what you remember most is how experiences made you feel, and my two weeks with the Costa’s was what real love and friendship is all about. Tears welling again…and an unusual amount of snot, have a feeling that Moroccan flu was just in hibernation….
Holly vs the world 