I had a wonderful vacation! The weather was unfriendly on July 4th, it rained and the fireworks were cancelled. I wasn’t overly bothered by this little set back. Rob and I stayed in and watched Kung Fu episodes instead (Did you know that Harrison Ford appeared in an episode?). Thursday and Friday we both took off from work. Thursday morning, through rain and mist, we drove to Rock Hall, MD. This is where Rob spent many summers as a child. It was nice seeing the marinas and the boats. Rob wandered around and kept saying, “I remember it being so much bigger!” We then drove through Easton and on to St Michaels. We stopped at the Crab Claw restaurant overlooking the harbor and ate lunch. I ordered the Sampler Platter. Heaped on the plate were tons of different sea critters, fried a deep golden brown. Yummy! The weather began to pick up and we walked around St Michaels. If I had to sum up St Michaels in just a few words, I’d say, “Corn, Crabs and Tschotke-Crap.” It was getting late and we decided it was time to get a hotel. We got back on the road and started driving toward Annapolis. We found a Holiday Inn Express in Kent Narrows. I cashed in 25,000 Priority Points and got a free room. As is typically the case, when the hotel clerk saw my Platinum Priority Status, he pulled out all the stops! The room we got was unbelievable! Not only was it waterfront, but right next to the bed was a JACUZZI! No lie! I swear! The Jacuzzi sat right next to the bed! And the walls around it were floor to ceiling mirrors. Rob and I just looked at it in disbelief. I asked Rob if he planned on getting into the jacuzzi. “Hell no! Do you have any idea how many people have been in there aiming those jets up their ass?” We decided to rest for an hour before we headed out to the nearby club. Resting was not easy since the people above us seemed to be part of a clog dancing troupe. Rob got on the phone and asked if we could switch rooms. We were informed that if we moved, we wouldn’t be able to get another Premium Jacuzzi room. Oh well, thus is life! The second room was much more quiet and we were able to get some rest. At around 9:00 we walked to the Red Eye Dock Bar. Right before we were about to enter, up in the sky came a roar of fireworks! Perfect timing! The fireworks we missed because of rain the night before were now taking place over the harbor! It was a really nice show. The Red Eye bar wasn’t packed which I liked, a band played Johnny Cash songs and because we walked, we were both able to have a few drinks. The next day we drove to Annapolis. What a really beautiful city! We bought tickets for the Woodwind Sailboat which is the same boat that was used in the movie, The Wedding Crashers. The sailboat ride was really nice although both Rob and I were disappointed because we assumed the boat would go out into the bay. Instead we just zig zagged in the harbor. Regardless, it was so nice being on the water. After the sail we stopped at an Irish pub and had lunch. Rob called his friends who live in Columbia and made plans to meet them for dinner. We finished touring around Annapolis and drove to Columbia. His friends took us to Elicott City, MD. Rob and I both agreed it reminded us of Bethlehem, PA. We ate at a fancy restaurant called Jordan’s. I liked the way it looked more than the food it served. I’m surprised more movies don’t film at Ellicott City. The town really seemed plucked out of the 1700/1800’s. We got back to his friends’ house at 10:30. They invited us to stay overnight but I insisted we drive back home. At 1:30 am we pulled into the farm. My trip odometer read 456 miles.