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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

We spent the last Friday of our vacation by driving over to Baltimore, Maryland. It has always been an interest of mine to visit this city, (don't know why) so off we went. The first thing we did was to take a tour. Baltimore is loaded with history. Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe is buried there and that Babe Ruth grew up there? We also saw Ft. McHenry, were the Star Spangled Banner was inspired by Francis Scott Key. One of the oldest navy ships in the nation - the USS Constellation - is there. The city was once known for its industry but they have revamped the waterfront and it is now a tourist destination with shops and restaurants. They even run a water taxi so people can get from one side of the bay to the other. We also took the elevator up to the 27th floor of their World Trade Center (you can see it in the background of the photo of the Constellation) where we walked around the building and got a bird's eye view of the city.

After saying our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts, Laura and Stan on Saturday, we caught our 3:30 p.m. flight and flew to Chicago where we had an hour to make our connection to Portland. As it turned out, the one-hour layover turned into a four-hour layover due to delays caused by thunderstorms in the Midwest. We finally left Chicago at 9:30 that night - which was the time that we should have arrived in Portland. It was almost midnight before we got home and Lara was good enough to pick us up. We spent the night at her place in West Linn.

Sunday, after reacquainting myself with Stanley (he was glad to see me), I visited with my sister Judy who has been in a rehabilitation center getting treatment for a staph infection. After that, I took my eight-year old granddaughter out for a delayed birthday shopping excursion at the mall followed by lunch at Red Robin. She had a birthday while I was gone and I always take the grandgirls out on that special day. After all that, we loaded up the car - including Stanley - and headed for home. It was sure good to be home after being gone so long. The yard looked a sight as the weeds had multiplied since I had left. It is going to take some serious weed pulling to get this place back into shape. I was also worried about my house plants as they hadn't been watered since I left. But to my surprise, my African Violets were bursting with blooms. Maybe I shouldn't water them so often.

On Monday it was back to my usual routine. I went to water aerobics first thing and I left early so I could re-claim my usual spot in the pool. There are so many people in the class now that I have to really fight for a place. But I managed to win the battle. I was a little tired from all the exercise after being gone for a month but it felt great to be back.

I am still trying to get into the right time zone, but each day it is a little better. The first day back, both Dave and I were awake at 3 a.m., and were up for the day at 6! I have still been waking up at 5:30 a.m. and need a power nap later in the day. I am ready for bed by 10:00 p.m.

They're back! I had taken down the bird feeders when I left because the raccoons trash them when they're left unguarded. So the poor birds flew somewhere else for their food while I was gone. I started putting the feeders out again and by Wednesday, the little Finches were crowding around the feeders. I also spotted a couple of squirrels looking for a bite to eat. The two feral cats were glad to see me too, even though my sister-in-law did a good job of feeding them while I was away. There has been a raccoon hanging around and he manages to steal his share of the cat food. Dave has been using his BB gun to discourage him but he still comes back for more.

We have had pretty good weather while we have been home. On Wednesday a bunch of us did some work in Waterfront Park. Some of the plants have overgrown their spots and it was getting too crowded, so we dug up stuff and planted new stuff in their place. After working in the park, I came home and worked a few more hours pulling weeds in my own yard.

Thursday, I had to work at the Extension Office for the Master Gardeners. There wasn't much going on and we solved most of the problems that people had submitted, so I got to come home early from there. I usually have to work 4 hours but only worked half that time. So I got back home early and gave Stanley a bath.

We are headed back into town today. Our oldest granddaughter, Ashtin will be graduating from middle school tonight and we don't want to miss that. I can't believe she'll be in high school this fall. Dave has a post-season dinner with the guys he works with at the Blazers on Saturday night so we won't come back until Sunday.

Friends are asking me what I liked best about my vacation to Washington, D.C. and my comment is "Everything". We literally experienced history from the 17th century to the 21st century. How could we pick any one thing out of a menu like that? It was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation that I will always remember.