East Coast Trip Day 4: Downtown Annapolis, MD

Tom and I wanted to take the girls to Downtown Annapolis today so last night I set the alarm on my iPad for 8:00am. We could get to Annapolis before it got too crowded and be back around noon, missing the hottest and busiest time of day.

Great idea, right?

Yeah, we thought so too.

What I failed to realize was that my iPad was still in airplane mode and the clock was running three hours behind still. Tom woke me up at 9:23.

I've just about given up on getting up any earlier.

We headed out for Annapolis around 10:30. Google Maps has been our go-to for directions. Tom searched for the Maryland State House and we were off. It only took about 20 minutes to get there. A few turns and we found a first level spot in a parking garage one block from Main Street.

Our good friends, Doug and Katie, told us about a few places that I wanted to make sure we went to.

1. Storm Brothers Ice Cream Factory: Doug worked there in high school (right, Katie?)

2. Chick and Ruth's Delly

Lunch was our first priority so we made our way to Chick and Ruth's. It was a fun place. They have quite a few food challenges; including a 6 pound milkshake!

No, we did not participate in any of them. We all wanted to be able to move for the rest of our vacation so we will leave the challenges to the professional eaters.

Waiting to place our order.

More proof that I'm on the trip, too. :)

The aisle is so narrow that it's hard to move through the restaurant.

Alora had french toast and I had a chicken Parmesan sub. Yum!

Tom had a double pastrami on homemade rye. Kylin ordered homemade biscuits and gravy. We all shared an order of colossal onion rings. We could not eat it all.

After lunch, we walked up to the Maryland State House.  On our way, we stopped in a few shops.

I was smiling the whole time.

This tree is dedicated in memory of MLK, Jr.

I love seeing the spires above the tree tops.

The first public house in Maryland.

This cannon was brought over from England with the first settlers. How. Cool.

The whole cannon.

Storm Brothers Ice Cream Factory was our next stop. We meandered in and out of shops on our way back down to it.

So many choices!

Waiting in line...it went very quickly!

Alora chose rainbow sherbet in a waffle cone, I got a hot fudge sundae, Kylin just had a Pepsi (she had a milkshake with her breakfast. It's vacation.) and Tom had Black Raspberry in a waffle cone.

The girls were on a mission to spend some of their vacation money. Alora found a t-shirt with the Doughboy on it that says, "Poke Me and Die." She laughed when she found it. Honestly, it sums up her sense of humor lately. Kylin decided she wants to collect a magnet for each state she goes to. She got one for Maryland today. We'll have to make a stop in DC again so she can get one for Washington D.C. One of the shops we went to had really cute t-shirts with a whale on it and the name Annapolis underneath it. I really liked it but decided against copying my daughter. I got a sweatshirt instead.

During our visit, we had to have a little story time.

Here are a few more pictures from Downtown Annapolis.

We topped off the day with dinner at Severna Park Taphouse Bar and Grill. It is a great place that Dad and Janice like to go to. Literally, it is 3 blocks from the house and the food is SO, SO good.

Dad and Tom sat in the chairs right below the air conditioner saving me from becoming an Popsicle...brrr!

Yum, mozzarella sticks!

Tomorrow, we head to Massanutten. Kerrie's family went today. They want to go to church at their former church when they lived in the area in the morning. Janice left for her family reunion this weekend and will meet us there on Monday.