Trip to DC, more fun on the trip home, new house next door

Wow!  A week-and-a-half has gone by since I last posted here.  So you know I've got a LOT of pictures and stories to share!  I'll start with a collage of autumn foliage pictures I took around here last week.  The color is disappearing as the leaves turn brown and fall down and blow all over the place.

So after a couple of weeks of nothing happening on the lot next door, last week things got active again.  Holes were dug in the ground and filled with cement.   The two halves of a new house were sitting next to the office for a few days, and I assumed it would be our new neighbors' house.

As I mentioned in my last post, Jeremy had told us that he and Mike would be in DC the last weekend of October and invited us to come down to be with them.  I was SO excited!!  DC is so much closer than Portland, and we have such fond memories of fun weekends with them when they lived there.  We were also eager to spend time with their community of friends and former neighbors.  So by 7:30 last Friday morning Dick and I were on the road toward DC.  It was not a sunny morning, which was nice for driving, but not so nice for picture-taking.  I tried taking pictures of the beautiful foliage as we drove, but without the sunshine they just were not beautiful.  Here's the best shot I got on Route 99 toward Bedford.

We got to their friends' house where they were staying right around 12 noon.  I was so happy to see them!!!

Soon after we arrived we piled into the van to get lunch at Union Market.  Finding a place to park was so impossible that we ended up driving almost the whole way back to Tim and Heather's place and walking to Union Market instead.  We didn't use the van the rest of the weekend.  

There are so many places to choose from at Union Market.  We decided on a seafood place because they had seating, which a lot of smaller places do not offer.  Jeremy and I shared a wedge salad, Mike and Dick shared a chopped salad, and we all shared a crab cake.  Everything was exceptionally delicious. 

Then we walked around the whole market and finished off at DC Doughnut for the most incredible donuts we have ever eaten.  We had fun watching how they glaze the icing!

Then we walked back to Tim and Heather's place.  They have a a new screened-in back porch which we thoroughly enjoyed relaxing on.

When it was time to move our van again before another two-hour parking limit was reached, we drove a few blocks to Jeremy and Mike's old street and found a spot where we could park all night.   Then we went to Joe and Lauren's place where Dick and I would be sleeping.  Their house is directly across the street from the house where Jeremy and Mike had lived (the white end-of-row home on the  bottom left.)  Sadly, the landscaping that Jeremy had done in front has been seriously neglected.  Joe and Lauren's is the gray one on the bottom right.  They have such a wonderfully comfortable place and their warm hospitality is the best. So is their dog.  The sweetest!!

For dinner we just walked to the corner to Indigo, the best and most authentic Indian food anywhere.  This first picture is owner and chef, Nhidi.  I wish I had also gotten a picture of her husband, young adult son, and preteen daughter, each of them very involved in this family business.  

Just six years ago, on Labor Day weekend 2013, we were visiting Jeremy and Mike and they took us to an outdoor market where we ordered food from Indigo.  The guys had become friends with the owners.  They were telling us that they would soon be opening a restaurant on Jeremy and Mike's block.  

Soon afterward they did!  They were a HIT immediately and were slammed with business.  The first two weeks Jeremy and Mike were there every evening after work helping them to prep food, take orders, wash dishes. So they are definitely considered "family."

Here's a collage I made.  I took the top photo in May 2015, the bottom photo this weekend.  They have turned the whole corner into a delightfully friendly, beautiful place.  

It was a wonderful evening with former neighbors and friends.  Also, Mike's best high school friends, Jim and Colleen from Pittsburgh, were in DC celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary.  They could not believe it when they found out that Mike and Jeremy were in DC also.  So they joined us too at Indigo.  

Then we all went back to Joe and Lauren's place to watch the Nats baseball game on TV.  Sadly, they lost in their hometown.  

On Saturday morning we walked for our brunch.  Joe had recommended a new place near Union Market called St. Anslem.  Once again I loved checking out all the beautiful townhouses along the way.  Their friend Christy, also from Portland, joined us.

We LOVED the restaurant.  Jeremy especially liked the decor and design.  We all loved the food.  They started us out with freshly made biscuits on which we could put a cheese spread or syrup.  My breakfast choice was very Pennsylvania Dutch!  Reading Terminal Market Chipped Dried Beef over thick toast.  Everything was so delicious.

When we got back to Joe and Lauren's place it was time for Mike to leave.  He was catching a train to the BWI airport.  They had not come together because Jeremy had been at High Point Market in NC the week before and had come to DC from there.  So we said our goodbyes to Mike.  Union Station, where he would be catching his train was just a few blocks away.  Jeremy and Christy walked there with him.

Lori and the boys were on their way down to see the guys.  When she realized they would miss seeing Mike if they came straight to DC, she decided to go to BWI first and catch him there.  They got to spend about 15 minutes together before he had to go through security!  

We had a lazy afternoon at Joe and Lauren's place.  I even caught a nap.  We knew that Lori and the boys were on their way.  Don't think for a minute that Anthony doesn't care about his brother, haha!  He just doesn't care much for adventurous road trips, especially last minute ones.  Lori thrives on them!  Anthony and Jeremy talk on the phone a lot, so they didn't really need to catch up!  

It was a dreary day outside, but Joe and Lauren graciously let us hang out at their place.  The boys loved that precious dog.

We ordered in pizza, and Lori went down to the corner to get herself some take-out Indian food.  We had a really nice time around that big table.  Some really good, even deep, conversations.  That's Lauren (our sweet hostess) at the one end of the table. 

Around 8 PM Lori and the boys left.  They would be driving to a hotel part way home for the night.  We all went over to Kevin and Shauneen's house to watch the Nats game.  Another LOSS!!  But we all know how the series ended this week, so it's all good!

We said our goodbyes to Jeremy that night.  His flight would be leaving early in the morning.  I don't know why I didn't think to get a last picture together. 

We left Sunday morning around 9 AM.  It was just starting to rain when we left.  The worst of the rain storm occurred when we got onto the 695 beltway around Baltimore.  Truly horrible!!!   We were so thankful when we were on 83 and the rain stopped and the sun came out!  What a switch!  It was the start to a really warm, beautiful day.

Our first destination was Columbia to eat lunch with Destiny and Alex.  We were making good time, so after we got off 83 at York onto Route 30, we took a little detour to go by a place that holds many good memories for me.  My uncle and aunt Roy and Miriam Witmer had lived at this place and often hosted Witmer family events in my childhood and early adulthood.  

Soon we were at Destiny's place.  That's her window up there on the 3rd floor.  She has two other windows facing the back.  She keeps her apartment neat and clean.  We hung out there a while first.  Grandpa helped her to figure out an electrical issue in her kitchen, a printer cartridge problem, and a bathroom door latch problem.  We took her and Alex to the Black Olive Diner for lunch.  I snapped a picture of Dick while telling a deer hunting story.  I promise he was not telling them off, haha!

Our next stop was Duncannon.  They had just finished their Halloween parade when we got there.  The kids wanted to show us some of their favorite outdoor spots.  First of all we went through a little tunnel to the Susquehanna River.   What a VIEW!!!   We had so much fun there.  Grandpa showed off his stone-skipping skills.

Bianca was sharpening a stone.  Sammy posed for what looked like a senior picture!  They climbed the "stairs" to the railroad bridge on top of the tunnel.  

Next they wanted to show us the "crick." 

There was a park along the creek, and it had all these unique gnome houses!  How FUN!!

We had the greatest time exploring everything.  The weather was absolutely perfect.

The sun setting on the mountains, and river was spectacularly beautiful.  We had gorgeous sunset views for a long time on our way up 322 toward State College. 

We got home shortly after 7:30 PM, and guess what was sitting next door!  A house!

I was thankful on Monday morning that I could see the sunrise, not from my sink window anymore, but from my front porch.

It's going to take some getting-used-to, having someone's front door right there.  I'm sure the owners will add things for privacy eventually.

On Tuesday workers were there putting the two halves together, but there's more work to be done.  No one has been there since.  It's a slow process. 

Unfortunately, Hunter had a fever when they got home on Sunday.  So he stayed with me on Monday afternoon.  I met Lori to get him from her, and on the way to my house we talked about a number of things like playgrounds, naps, the lack of books in my car since our weekend trip.  Then he said, "When we get to your house I will first play for a little while, and then second I will take a nap, and then third I will pick out some books for your car, and then fourth I will go to the playground."  Hahaha,  I think he is a list maker like me!

So we did everything like he said, even the playground, although he had no energy for it and soon wanted to go back into the house.  

We were at church the past three evenings.  Wednesday was choir practice, changed from Thursday because of Halloween.  On Thursday the church was planning to hold Trunk or Treat in the parking lot, but we got hit with rain and wind, so it was held indoors instead.  Of course attendance was way down due to the weather.

Friday evening was the monthly spaghetti supper.  That's one meal these picky eaters like!  So they came with us.  Austin likes the meatballs the best, Hunter prefers the spaghetti noodles. 

So I think I'm all caught up now.  If you stuck with me the whole way through, congratulations!!

Have a good rest of the weekend!