Many happy returns

I am waiting to board a flight to England. My grandma is turning old (when you are in your eighties, whether you are old or not is debatable. However, nobody can argue with 90 being old.) and I am headed to her birthday party.

I have noticed lately a lot of inefficiencies with airlines. Why board the front of the plane first? I mean, first class-sure. But everyone else should be boarded from the back of the plane to the front. It seems like the most efficient way to get everyone on as fast a possible.

Second, if you need to request a seat belt extender, you should have to buy two seats. I shouldn’t have to share my seat with you when I paid for a full seat.

Third, Virgin Airways has the best name.

Fourth, I love flying and airports and don’t mind security. Really, the only bad thing about traveling, for me, is that I have to say goodbye to the people I love most-Conner, Oliver, and hazel. And that makes me cry.

Finally, I hope I can come back from the UK with a British accent.

Happy birthday, Grandma!

Reasons to Love Maryland

We’ve lived in Maryland for more than three years now.  I never would have guessed that I’d have ever lived in Maryland (or Illinois, but that’s another story), but over the years I have grown to love it.  Here are some of the reasons:

1.  The annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival:  a party where people bring their yarn and sheep?  I’m totally in.

2.  Blue is my favorite color.

3.  The different towns that I’ve visited within the state all have a distinctive flavor.  Just in our county, you can tell when you move between Bethesda and Chevy Chase and Kensington and Rockville.  I like that a lot more than suburban sprawl (which seems like a strip mall wasteland to me).

4.  We get to experience all seasons here, without any of them being so extreme that it dominates the others.  We have a nice hot summer, a distinctive fall, a cold and snowy winter, and a flowery spring.

5.  The city called “Havre de Grace” is pronounced like it is spelled “Haverty Grace”, instead of something French sounding, like one might assume.

6.  It is relatively close to most of the places we might travel.  New York City is an easy drive (even with two little ones in the back!), we just drove to Connecticut this weekend, I’ve driven to North Carolina from here.  There are a bunch of airports near here, which makes flying further out easier and less expensive.

7.  Beautiful children are born here.  Case in point:

Hazel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  Rock Creek Park is beautiful and has been the source for some of my favorite photos.

9.  I get to experience DC whenever I want without losing my right to vote, or having to live in DC.

10.  We have amazing friends here, without whom we would be lost.

11.  And, finally, there is a bit of a feud between Maryland and Virginia.  People in Virginia think that Maryland is dirty and gross, people in Maryland think that Virginia (northern VA, at least) lacks character.  I love a good feud, and fuel it whenever I can.

12.  Maryland has the highest median income in the US, and who doesn’t love rich people?