Baltimore Inner Harbor

For Kip's spring break we had planned to go snow tubing at Ski Liberty, but it was raining, so we drove to Baltimore, to the Inner Harbor. Yes, it was raining there too, but we were inside mostly, so weren't too miserable. Saw the USS Constellation, the sister ship to the Constitution, then went to the National Aquarium. Lon and Kip loved the sharks! (oooh, scary!) I liked the seahorses, but the pictures didn't turn out well. This was the jaws of a megalodon, a type of giant prehistoric shark. Kip would be like Jonah...

Surprise!!

I threw a surprise party for Lon's 50th birthday, and along with our closest friends, people came out of the woodwork that we hadn't seen in years! Bilbo actually flew in from New Mexico just for the weekend! Hadn't seen Skip since he retired from AAA Potomac, Brian in about 10 years. Marla drove up from NC, and Colby brought the whole crew from north of Thurmont, MD. Anyway, Lon was SO surprised, it was great! He kept shaking his head and saying, "I can't believe you got me AGAIN!" (I did it for his 30th birthday, 20 years ago. He apparently didn't learn from that... ha ha)

Bungalow Billy's

Lon's friend Chad came to town, so we met him for dinner, along with James & Shirley (see July'07 wedding). After a 2-hour wait (and a few drinks) at Sweetwater, we went to Bungalow Billy's to shoot some pool. After a couple warm-up games (and a few more drinks) things got hilarious. I haven't seen that much scratching since my last bout with poison ivy! Pretty funny... I learned a new game where you get assigned certain numbers, and you try to sink everyone else's balls while keeping yours on the table. I typically suck at pool, but promptly won the first game! Woo-hoo! We had lots of fun, and stayed out late, just like in the olden days.

Kip's Guitar

Promised Kip that if he got good grades he could have guitar lessons. Well, his first report card this year was good enough to land him on the Honor Roll, so he got his lessons. His second report card was just as good, so I bought him a guitar. Wish I'd gotten a shot of the look on his face when he saw it! I tried to upload a video of him playing it, but I got an error message, darn it. I'll try one more time and then just post it like this.

Merit Badge Day

This past Saturday, Kip's Boy Scout troop hosted a Merit Badge Day for the troops in the National Capital Area Council. He earned his Art merit badge, and Leatherwork. He came home with a hand-decorated neckerchief slide and a coaster. Here Kip is using the leather punch to make holes for lacing, with the instructor, Mrs. Hoitt, in the background; and Mr. Hoitt gives him a pointer on keeping the rawhide straight while lacing.

Winter Camporee

The Boy Scouts go camping or hiking at least once a month, and winter months are no exception. Yes, they camped overnight in January! (Better them than me!) I dropped Kip off on Saturday morning, with his friends Paul & Sam, and stayed to watch them lash together snowshoes and a backpack frame. They invited me to stay for lunch, which Kip helped cook (beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches). Then I supervised and motivated the boys while they broke up firewood, stacked it, and cleaned the scrap wood from the area. They had quite a pile, and very little was left when I returned for them the next morning, so I suspect they were glad they had gathered so much of it. The weather was warm enough on Saturday, while the sun was out, maybe 50-55 degrees. But the temperature dropped that evening, and was in the 20's when I picked them up Sunday morning. Everything was coated with frost, and no one wanted to do much except get into a warmed car. But there were tents to fold and duffel bags to pack. Kip said he had a good time despite being cold in the night. So it's all good. And he got a chance to use all the camping gear he got for Christmas. Thanks Uncle Colby and Grandad!

Past and Present

The house that Lon, Marla, and Colby grew up in has been razed, and a McMansion built where it once stood. We drove by one day and were amazed. Compared to the smaller, older houses in this long-established neighborhood, the new house is a behemoth. Instead of two rooms deep, it is 3 rooms from front to back! It is a whole room wider than the old house, and you can tell that it towers above the modest homes around it. Plus it's an ugly color! The back yard hill that sloped up to the woods and the playhouse has been chopped out and a retaining wall built. We'll have to come back in the spring when it's finished and landscaped, and take more photos.