Autumn in Maryland

We had a wonderful visit with Esther and Shad and their family last week. We saw so many interesting, beautiful things, the most interesting and beautiful of which, of course, are Harrrison, Marlie, Bridger and Soren. If you get the chance to visit them while they are in Maryland, it will be well worth your while to do it. There is so much to see and so much to do, but the best part, aside from the family, was the fall landscape. Amazing!
First of all, take a look at some of the fall colors we saw. And these are not even approaching as beautiful as they really were.



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The Brown kids, in front of their house.









This type of bright red bush, which is right by their house, is all over the place...in rows, usually, making a red slash down the landscape.

We took a trip to DC, 20 minutes from their house. However, it took us 2 1/2 hours to get home because we got stuck in a huge traffic jam.
At the Holocaust Museum







The White House

The IRS Building


It was a cold, rainy day in DC.





Halloween




We visited Annapolis, which, surprisingly to me, was just a nice, small town that just happened to have a huge stadium in the middle of it. The town hall, here, is the oldest continuously used town hall in the country.



We visited Gettysburg, stopping first at General Pickett's Buffet to eat. Gettysburg is a not-to-be-missed experience. Remember how we saw it in 1985? Through the car windows? In the rain? Go at the end of October. It's not so busy and the weather is glorious.






These pictures are just a tiny fragment of a huge painting, done just after the Civil War, depicting Gettysburg battle scenes. In reality, it is as big as our house! If you visit Esther and Shad, you have to see it.











Dad and Shad and Bridger visited Inner Harbor, just a few minutes from Esther's house, and went aboard a ship there. They also ate seafood (we ordered pizza) and had a great guy time.



Of course, we had to make a trip to Hersey. It was great, and it even smelled like chocolate!






We took this picture for you, Rebecca! But it was a huge candy store! Every type of Hersey's had it's own little secion. Oh my goodness. It was so hard to choose.











Esther and Soren at an Amish market, admiring the pumpkins.
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The Amish country was fascinating! Such a blend of old and modern. Notice the horse, patiently waiting while his master uses the ATM! And the old, bearded guy using a gas powered wood chipper. They can't use electricity or drive cars, but they can obviously figure out a way to do what they want to do.