Places I'd rather be on Monday morning: Above the Clouds

Flying above the rain on the way to Baltimore

Labor Day Weekend in Charm City

Dave relocated to Baltimore for work back in July.  Over Labor Day weekend I was finally able to venture south for a weekend.  Here's that four days off that felt like a big deal.  In addition to Labor Day, it was also the Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix which added a lot of traffic and excitement to the city.

Thanks to an awesome Southwest sale, I flew in Thursday night and flew out Monday night for way less money and time than it would have cost me to drive. Dave had to work on Friday so I was exploring the city on my own.  Walking around the city I felt increasingly carefree and excited to find out what was around the next corner.  I paused to get a map and a snack, and realized that I hadn't felt like this since I was in Europe last summer.  I didn't realize how much stress was weighing me down until it started to lift.When I saw the two-story Barnes & Noble next to the National Aquarium and the Panera across the street I was ready to stay. 

My favorite square in Baltimore.

I found a spot facing the harbor to sit and finish my snack.  The qualifies for Sunday's big race had already started so the harbor was echoing with the revving of racecars.  I could see the jumbotron of cars accelerating back up to race speed after making a hairpin turn.  If I turned the other way I saw sailboats gliding out to the main harbor.  The combination of speed and leisure hit me funny. My everyday life has resembled a racecar as long as I can remember, slowing down only when in imminent danger of crashing.  This weekend I wanted to be the sailboat; to go with the flow and try to keep that weighty stress off my shoulders as long as possible.

If I had to pick one word to describe this weekend;  It would be fun.  We ate good food and wandered around the Inner Harbor.  We watched part of the Grand Prix. Dave even got me to go on the dragon-paddle boats after going to the aquarium.  By my standards, I did pretty well.  Only a couple isolated high stress episodes.  It was so difficult to come back to school and my to-do list on Monday night.

All-You-Can-Eat-Crab-Legs at Phillips Seafood Buffet!

National Aquarium - Still like those stingray

Calypso - The Green Turtle

Paddle boating with tired legs in the Inner Harbor