Weekend Fun

My folks came to town this weekend for some rip-roarin’ good Maryland fun. I had the day off on Friday, so for our first task -- Mom and I introduced Dad to the fun that is Ikea.

He thought it was pretty amazing as well, although thankfully we didn’t spend an entire day there like the first time I went. Instead, we went in knowing what we were looking for (a desk hutch), let dad run around and look at things, pushed my mom up and down the home office section in a wheeled desk chair, raced the big shopping cart dollies in the self-serve furniture section (I won on style points because I would push mine, jump on, and then strike the George-Washington-crossing-the-Delaware pointing pose), and then found what we wanted and left.

Then it was off to Frederick, Maryland, for a fun tour of that lovely historic town. I do enjoy the city, it’s very old and has some great history. We had lunch at a diner that served really good hamburgers. Then we wandered around looking at old houses and rummaging through antique shops. From there we headed home.

Saturday we all went to Ellicott City, which is another nearby historic town. It’s full of antique shops as well, and a railroad museum. My dad loves trains, so we set him loose in there for a while. I think my favorite part of that museum was the caboose that they let you crawl around in. In the rail station, they had guys dressed up in civil war garb walking around and chatting with you about the museum’s history. I can now say that I’ve seen the first indoor water closet in Ellicott City. Phew! I thought I’d never be able to mark that one off my list of things to see and do during my lifetime.

That night we went on a ghost tour in the city, which was led by a hyperactive teen whose misuse of large words was hysterical. He was a great tour guide, though, with lots of energy and quirks. He had this funny habit of stopping to tell a story about a particular building, and once finished, he would just quickly dart off to the next destination without motioning us to follow him. You’d turn to look at the building he was talking about, then turn back to him – and he’d already be halfway down the block.

Sunday was Mother’s Day, so we took mom out to a nice restaurant and then lazed around the house all day.

So it was a nice weekend, all in all.