In which we have a beautiful weekend

On Friday afternoon, Jared and I drove down to Annapolis to visit some wonderful friends-- originally fellow Hillsdaleans, but now much more than that. I like watching these friendships grow post-college and widen to include new experiences, jobs, and spouses. Lucky for us that several such friends live in Annapolis. (Sailboats! History! Harbor! Brick! Wrought iron!)

Highlights from the weekend:

1. Sailing. On Friday night, our friend Hannah finagled us a sailboat trip into the Annapolis waterways. So cool. Fortunately, neither Jared nor I tend towards motion sickness; it's actually pretty fun to go tilting over every time the boat tacks. We got to see the harbor both in daylight and darkness, when the only illumination is from the moon and from the colorful lights on buoys and boats.

2. Bricks and wrought iron, as mentioned above, as I adore colonial architecture. The brick-paved streets, brick walls in the government buildings, brick retaining walls on the Capitol lawn, and wrought iron everywhere were heavenly.

3. The used bookstore. On Saturday we were introduced to a lovely local bookstore, where I found John Hersey's The Wall, which is out of print and frustratingly unavailable through my usual book sources. Also O Pioneers! and Love in the Time of Cholera.

4. Lots of pancakes. You can't have too many pancakes. We feasted on Alaskan sourdough on Friday, buckwheat on Sunday (this, after I had made the oatmeal variety on Friday. Too funny).

5. Me getting some of that Alaska sourdough. Our excellent hostess, Laura, is engaged to an excellent Alaskan, through which connection Laura now possesses some sourdough descended from start brought during the Yukon Gold Rush. Yes, I think that is awesome and am geeked out about the combination of New Culinary Adventure and Historical Connection.

6. The Naval Academy. We went to church in the chapel, which offers a impressively solid service for a non-denominational-therefore-we-must-please-everyone-in-our-perpetually-changing-congregation affair. Afterwards we took ourselves on a tour of the Academy. Dang. It's sweet. Copper roofs, fountains, neoclassical architecture, tidy landscaping. Jared remarked that it has a very peaceful aura for a war college-- only broken by the occasional uniformed midshipman strolling across the lawn. I appreciated the atmosphere of honor and responsibility. Statues of legendary naval figures dot the campus, and Bancroft Hall is a memorial to Academy graduates killed in action.

7. Trader Joe's. I'm sorry, to most people a grocery store is not a highlight, but I just love that place!