Back from Balmer, Hon!

Last week, Cole had a conference in Baltimore for NRPA (National Recreation and Parks Assoc.) I was able to go with him, so we left the kids with their Grandma and Grandpa S., and went on a much needed get-away! Apparently, "Balmer" is how the locals say it, and "hon" is just one of their colloquialisms , kinda like we say "you guys".

I really had no idea how much history is out there! It was really cool to visit some of the historical spots...

We were able to go on a bus tour down to D.C. called "Monuments by Moonlight", and saw the Capital, Jefferson Memorial, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Vietnam War Memorial. Some were just from a distance as we drove by, but the Lincoln, Washington, and Vietnam we were able to walk around and see up close. It was a very overwhelming and somewhat spiritual experience to think about what they mean and represent in our country's history. There were a number of times that I got a little teary eyed, and noticed Cole did, too!

Of course, it was just my luck that our camera battery died just as we got down there! (I was enjoying my "do nothing time" so much that I forgot to charge it that day in the hotel room.) So we got one blurry picture of the Capital, then it died! So one of Cole's co-workers took some pix for us, but she hasn't sent them to me, yet. So, here are some pictures of our trip!

This is Camdan Yards Stadium, home of the Baltimore Orioles.

That's Cole in the red shirt.

I danced with the Orioles' Mascot at the welcome party for the conference!

Eating "real" seafood at "Phillipes" in the Inner Harbor. The Hard Rock Cafe- Inner Harbor.

This is a clock tower right outside our hotel. We could see it out our window.

Union Station

The blurry Capital Building!

On the "water taxi" in the Inner Harbor.

Behind me is an actual ship (not a remake) that was built in the early 1800's.

A jelly fish right off the dock where I am standing.

This my friend Becky (room-mate at BYU) that lives in MD. We hadn't seen each other for 11 years! I'm just sad that I didn't think to call her before we got out there... It didn't even cross my mind 'til thurs. so I called her friday and she and her husband were able to get a sitter and come into Baltimore from Fredrick (40 min.) and we went to dinner. It was so good to see her... I consider her one of my best friends EVER!

This is a model of Fort McHenry. It is also located in the inner harbor. This is where Francis Scott Key saw the flag still standing after a huge battle with the British Fleets in the war of 1812, and wrote "The Star Spangled Banner".

This is Cole standing out by one of the cannons in the fort.

This is the view of the flag from the harbor.

This is a shoe that was found in the fort that dates back to 1840. There was a whole glass case display of artifacts that were found in the fort. Fort McHenry was really neat and brought an overwhelming feeling of Patriotism to our country...an interesting place to visit if you're ever out that way. We're glad we decided to go out there Saturday before we flew home!