My team dubbed the retreat center "The Compound," but I thought the area and the serenity were quite nice. You could learn to love the armed guards.
Every year for the past three years I've taken my team to Baltimore in February for an annual conference. It's not the nicest time of the year to visit, but I enjoy the trip regardless. :)
My team dubbed the retreat center "The Compound," but I thought the area and the serenity were quite nice. You could learn to love the armed guards.
Any place there's blue sky is a good place in my book. Well, maybe not any place, but this place was pretty. Frozen lake, frozen trees, frozen fighting couples along side the road looking for any privacy they could find.
It was covered in snow and ice, but was nothing compared to the "Storm of the Century" we got caught in last year over President's Day weekend when our flights were all canceled and we were forced to stay longer than planned. I was glad to get out on schedule this year since I'd arranged a side trip before heading back to Seattle.
After a week in Baltimore, I flew to the Twin Cities to visit Jens. It was the first time I wasn't working Valentine's Day or President's Day in 3 years, and was the first time I'd seen Jens since we said our goodbyes in India. Hanging with Jens (and his sidekicks/roommates Luke and Lucas) was much fun. I even got to see Captain Mike and Elizabeth! It was a lovely weekend and I hope to visit again sometime soon. :)
This patriotic wall complete with ice daggers was a pre-show of what's inside: a scary coffee shop with scripture quotes and hunting pictures all over the walls. (Not all folks in the Twin Cities go to places like this... and it wasn't all bad. Their bay window was full of excellent sun and I quite enjoyed sitting there with my chai). :) On a side note: Minnesota was just as snowy as Baltimore, but was much, much colder. It was about 5-10 degrees most of the weekend. I think that's probably why my parents never opted to move back to MN after we moved from there to TX.
Mike and Eliz said they were "tickled pink" that Jens and I "hit it off" at their wedding back in October. :) The happily married couple invited us over on V-Day for a little crème brulee party! I wonder if they knew crème brulee is one of my three favorite desserts? (Tres Leches and Ice Cream are the other two). I wonder if I was a bad guest since I was the only person in the room not wearing read on V-Day? I wonder why they were the only two people I took pictures of in the whole room?
I don't get too excited about plain custard or pudding or flan, but flaming anything before eating is always much fun, as is breaking the burnt top afterwards! :) I think I might have to start using my own crème brulee blow torch again sometime soon. Haven't used it in a long while. :)
Jens had to ditch me for an hour while he went into work, and Lucas was super sweet and took me to a recording of "Talking Volumes" with author Neil Gaiman that was to be aired the next day on NPR. (Run on sentence, anyone?) On the way to downtown, we passed by the Ice Palace... the first one they built in a couple of years. It closed to the public earlier that week, but I got to see it in all of it's glory before they tore the main structure down. (I have fond, though fuzzy, memories of the Ice Palace and Winter Carnival from when I lived in the Twin Cities as a kid).
Some lipstick graffiti artist left their mark on the bus stop outside Jens' apartment. Nice idea for civic engagement. It gets their point across without permanently defacing public property. :)
Al's Breakfast is a 50+ yr old dive known for their surly service, long waits, and oh-so-yummy breakfast foods. My feta & spinach omelet was quite fabulous. As was our surly waiter. :)
Among the many reasons Jens rocks: he was a sweetheart and cooked vegetarian, gluten-free Brazilian food for me! (Pretty impressive since he's someone who eats both meat and wheat!)
Self portrait of me and Jens before I flew home on Monday...
Many thanks to my work for buying my airplane ticket, and many thanks to Jens for the lovely weekend. :)
The End