A family gathering in Baltimore

After a busy few days in Washington DC, we headed to the Baltimore area where we would spend a few days with Justin's uncle David, his wife Andrea and their two children, Caitlin and Andrew, in Fallston. Whereas our time in Washington was characterized by busyness and a lot of walking, our time in Fallston was very relaxed with slow morning starts and lots of family time mostly on the porch and whilst enjoying some beers or good wine. 

Our luck of good weather continued as we arrived in Fallston after a short bus trip from Washington DC. We had more beautiful sunny days to enjoy while we visited with the family. Our first day was very relaxed and chilled at home as we caught up with Dave and Andrea on family news and as we got to know the personalities of their 3 dogs; Gus, Skippy and Kylie. Gus and Skippy are Whippets and Kylie is a Greyhound. The youngest of the 3, Kylie is very energetic and playful and is always keen for a game. We really miss having pets and it was great to fill up on dog loves while we were there. 

Walkies time with Gus!

Kylie playing in the river with Andrea

Skippy!

After a slow start on Saturday morning, Dave, Justin and Dad Cross took a drive to downtown Baltimore and joined Andrew at a car show. Andrew is a car enthusiast and takes great care of his BMW. Cars that they saw included many BMWs but also a McLaren, Ferraris, and a Ford GT. Bron went with Andrea and Caitlin to Towson Mall for a spot of shopping. In the evening we had a lovely leg of lamb done on the braai with roast veg and finished off with a lovely chocolate cheesecake for Dave's birthday. Dave and Andrea's one neighbour Chester joined us for dinner as well.  On Sunday Caitlin had to return to University. It was really nice to have met her and it was a pity she had to go soon. But we know what it's like being a student at university. Good luck for the rest of your course Caitlin! 

Braai master Dave

Toys for boys at the car show! 

View of Baltimore

A ship in Baltimore Harbour

Dave took us for a drive to the Susquehanna State Park. The park lies right next to the Susquehanna River which eventually feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. A tributary stream was used to drive a waterwheel which in turn was used to grind corn, wheat and barley. The old mill is still open and in the summer they do demonstrations and give away the flour. It was interesting to walk around the massive old mill admiring the building and old equipment. 

We walked along the old rail tracks right next to the Susquehanna River to a small bridge. The river is dammed further up and here the river was really low. We took our shoes off and waded in the river amongst the rocks. We were privileged and lucky to see some American Bald Eagles flying around overhead. There are a lot of State Parks in the area and it is really beautiful with all the greenery and rivers. But I imagine it must be quite bleak in the winter when all the trees are only twigs. 

An unusually low Susquehanna River

Wading in the Susquehanna River

The old Mill house

An interesting sign in the mill house! 

The flour used to be ground directly onto the floor and they figured people would be unimpressed if they found a clump of chewed tobacco in their flour so chewing and spitting of tobacco was banned in the mill! 

Bron and Dave in the river

On Monday Dave took us to Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. Annapolis is right on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay and is where the Susquehanna River feeds into the Bay. Annapolis is well known for it's Naval Academy. We had a short boat tour of the area on College Creek during which many of the Naval Academy buildings were pointed out to us and we learnt some of the history of the area. For lunch we tried the local rockfish and chips. After lunch we headed home via the Bay Bridge, a 5 mile long bridge crossing the Chesapeake Bay, and Chesapeake City. We really enjoyed seeing Annapolis, it is a lovely quaint old town. 

A statue in Annapolis. 

Annapolis is rich with slave history. This statue pays tribute to the oral tradition of keeping stories from home alive and passing them on generation to generation.

It was suddenly our final evening with Dave, Andrea and Andrew. We went out for a lovely last dinner together. In the morning Dave dropped us at the White Marsh Mall where we caught the Megabus to New York City! 

Thank you Dave and Andrea for hosting us! It was lovely to meet and see you all again! Thank you for hosting us in your beautiful home and for looking after us so well, we had a great time! All the best with the wine business Andrea, we hope it keeps growing and you can teach Americans to enjoy wonderful SA wines! All the best for College this year Andrew and for applying to study engineering next year! We wish you a successful and happy time at university. Cuddles to Gus, Skippy and Kylie! 

More on our 4 days in New York next time! 

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