Adventures in Annapolis

Exploring a new place is one of my favorite things to do, especially in a state as historic as Maryland. I did a lot of sight-seeing as a resident of Massachusetts, from the Freedom Trail to Walden Pond, Harvard Yard and the Harpoon Brewery. The best thing about moving is definitely being able to add a whole list of new places to the territory I can explore!

I am about 30 minutes from Washington, D.C., Annapolis, and Baltimore. And I definitely plan on visiting them all as thoroughly as possible. By chance, a good friend of mine, Jake, came to visit me this past weekend and I was in the mood for seafood. Luckily, so was he! I asked my aunt and uncle for suggestions and they came up with a couple but none as appealing as Carroll's Creek in Annapolis. So with Jake in tow, we headed off to the state capitol.

We had no trouble with traffic or find the lovely harborside restaurant and within 40 minutes we had arrived and were seated on the patio overlooking the wonderful array of sailboats. Now of course I had looked at the menu before coming so I had an idea of what I wanted. But with several new microbrews to choose from, that became the more difficult task. I eventually settled on one called "Nugget Nectar" which was light with a slightly bitter hops finish, but refreshing and simply flavored. Which ended up pairing nicely with the almond encrusted mahi mahi (tuna) that I ordered for my meal. Jake got the filet mignon, which also looked amazing.

For dessert, I had the flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, crushed macadamia nuts and raspberry sauce. It was basically heaven in my mouth. Jake ordered the New York style cheesecake which was a cute little round bundle of delight...or at least that's what it looked like.

 After we finished eating, we decided to take a walk. Unfortunately we didn't make it very far because we were completely distracted by the spectacular view from a bridge around the corner from the restaurant. We stood there for hours looking into the harbor, people and boat watching and generally enjoyed the warm, breezy, lazy summer day.


Interestingly enough, Jake had also never seen a draw bridge before. For those of you who are in the same boat, a draw bridge raises so that ships that are too tall to fit under it can pass through the middle of it. We happened to be in the middle of the bridge when it first raised which scared me to death. Luckily the operator knew we were there and waited for us to be on the safe side of the barrier before he lifted the bridge. What a nice man!

The weather was beautiful, the water was stunning, and the company was wonderful. Annapolis has a lot more to offer I'm sure (we definitely saw some of it on our drive through town) and I can't wait to go back and explore some more of it :)

What I'm reading: The Magicians
Progress: About three quarters done
Thoughts so far: Narnia and HP meet Fifty Shades of Gray,