Baltimore welcomed us back with a huge hug! We booked an Airbnb in mid-town (Mount Vernon) where we had stayed before and it felt a bit like coming home. We kept very busy during our 11 days seeing friends and reconnecting with Rick’s daughters and grandchildren.
Our first evening we had dinner with Beverly & Ginny (and Jon, Emma & Clark) at Ginny’s house and ended our visit with all of them at a new (to us) food hall in Remington called R. House. Fun food in a family-friendly space and great company.
On our first weekend, we reconnected with the Wine & Food Society, whose leaders had planned a ‘Past Presidents Dinner’ to coincide with our time in Baltimore. What a joy to share wine and food with so many good friends!
Two days later, our most enthusiastic blog readers and long-time friends, Joe & Phyllis Johnson, invited us to lunch where they shared wines from their cellar accompanied by an awesome meal prepared by the incomparable Jerry Pellegrino at Schola, his downtown cooking school. What a wonderful welcome home!
Two other special connections: first with my mother and all her wonderful caregivers, and then with The Larks. Leo even invited me to sing with the group since I still knew most of the songs in their current repertoire.
Roy & Paula Mason took us to the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Annapolis after which we shared the quintessential American meal…Ina Garten’s meatloaf, thoughtfully prepared by Paula.
Before leaving for Oregon, we had one more opportunity to be with good friends. Ernie & Donna Kovacs hosted a dinner at their house. Rick & Elaine Born brought cheeses and a delicious crab dip (we missed Maryland crab!), we made salad, and Livio & Diane Broccolino contributed an array of wonderful desserts (apple tart, pizzelles, and biscotti) to go with Donna & Ernie’s extraordinary lamb shanks. These were all accompanied by (lots of wonderful) wines brought by all…sorry I didn’t get pics of the wines…
Now we’re off to Oregon to see my kids and grandson(!). Then Rick will spend a week skiing in Beaver Creak with good friends before we head back to Paris.