It's a wrap! To June 10th, 2026

 

Well, I'm home already from my visit to my sister in Maryland.  A week isn't very long when you're visiting someone you love, be they friend, spouse, child, parent or sibling.  In our case, Nannie is my only remaining sibling, and we are two peas in a pod, always have been.  Why, even the other day, someone in her town asked us if we were twins, a question we've been asked many times.  Yes, we are twins, tho I'm seven years older and she's three inches taller. 

We continued our Maryland EXplore, as Pooh would say, firstly to Ward Farm Recreation Area on Friday, the 6th, more new territory for us. And we walked our little feets off!

Ward Farm was a great find for us, a mere 15- or 20-minute drive from Nannie's house. This is both a working farm and a nature park with trails that wind through woods, to Muskrat Lake, a tiny creek and up on a ridge. We just "followed our noses" as we hiked, appreciating the entire experience. The sign above reads that the farm was established in 1654 ... can that be true? Wow.

Nannie on the bridge over the dinky creek.

We practically had the trails to ourselves.

We spied lots of little critters, as you see above.  A teensy green frog on a water lily leaf, and a painted turtle we nearly stepped on near the lake.  Blue dragonflies hovered and landed on leaves, and then on the trails we spotted what we initially thought was a spider.  Nope.  There'd been a hatching of frogs? toads? and they were all over the forest trails -- we had to dodge 'em repeatedly so as to not crush anybody.  Bottom right photo shows Nannie's fingers corralling one.  See it?  Look how small it is!

Beautifully green and serene.

These were neat.  Called Ebony Jewelwing, a type of dragonfly. 

Mountain Laurel flowers were just finishing up for the season.

One of the barns on the property.  While the day grew too warm to be Out and About in the sun, we really enjoyed our hike here.  We put many steps on the ol' fitbit.

After dinner we walked to the North Beach pier and boardwalk, a few blocks from Nannie's house.  The evening was too fine to stay indoors.  We were amazed to see a young man catch a Skate (a type of ray) from the pier.  Top left he was trying to bring it in.  The lower pics shows him hauling it up onto the deck and releasing the hook/lure.  Top right, he flung it back into the water.  Apparently they're not good for eating.

His name is Echo and he was savoring the Chesapeake Bay evening breeze, as were we.

* * * * *

On Monday, the 8th, Nannie drove us to Annapolis, approx 45 minutes north.  My main goal for going this year had to do with my stomach.  Last year we ate lunch at Chick & Ruth's Deli, and the sandwich was so good, I hoped to repeat it this year! 😄 Nannie obliged!

Our first stop was the Visitor Center.  We didn't ask for info this year; we just needed the loo.  Fantastic triptych in the lobby.

On the way to the waterfront, we paid a visit to St Anne's Episcopal Church, one of the oldest in the country, founded way back in 1692.  This is the third church on the grounds -- the first was built around 1700, the second church building burned down in a spectacular fire on Valentine’s Day evening, 1858, and services were held in this new church beginning in July 1859. It's a lovely structure. Above is the tracker organ installed in 1975. The church is part of the Colonial Annapolis Historic District, which is itself a National Historic Landmark district.

The Capitol building as seen through an alley.

We didn't go in, as we were there last year.

Aha!  Here it is.  It might contain a few calories and a lot of cholesterol, but we split the sandwich, each eating half so we only got half the calories and cholesterol!  Hah!  It was delicious all over again!

Still walking, we made our way to the harbor cruise boat, another redo from last year.  We like being on the water and this suits us to a "T."  The cruise was very refreshing.

I asked a young lady assistant to "take our picture," and you see what happened.  My sister accosted me!  More shenanigans!  She'd taken off her visor cap so she wouldn't lose it to the wind.  I held onto mine.  We sure do have a good time, whatever we're doing.

Petting the kitty.  Pretend.

A section of a fabulous mural.

We could see the golden dome of the Naval Academy Chapel on our travels today.  We asked if we'd be allowed on the academy grounds and the answer was yes, but we'd have to go through security.  Believe it or not, we were allowed in!  Our aim was to tour the chapel.  More new stuff!  (And we didn't get into trouble, except getting yelled at by a Navy guard [with a gun!] for trying to cross the street in the wrong spot! Scowling, she escorted us to "the proper crossing." Geez.)

Lucky us, the chapel was empty while we were there.  You see Nannie proceeding toward the altar (red checkmark, left.  We couldn't access the main aisle, the pews or the balcony.  This magnificent building was dedicated in 1908.  Two monumental stained-glass windows flank the altar.

The organ is controlled by one of the largest draw-knob consoles in the world (whatever that is) and I'm sure would make some mighty stentorious music. Hanging from the ceiling above the organ is a votive model of a 15th‑century Flemish carrack.   See below.

This model is part of the chapel’s decorative and symbolic elements, designed to remind visitors that God protects those in peril from the sea. The carrack, a type of medieval sailing ship, is a historical vessel that reflects the long maritime heritage of the U.S. Navy and the Naval Academy.  Thanks, Wiki.

On January 26, 1913, the remains of John Paul Jones were interred in the crypt beneath the chapel, inside a sarcophagus made of 21 "short tons" of black and white Italian marble with bronze fittings, very impressive.  John Paul Jones, often called the "Father of the American Navy," is celebrated for his naval victories during the American Revolutionary War.  This crypt does him proud.

Back outside, Nannie stands near the entry.

Stay there, I said.

And if you look closely, you will see she did, indeed, stay there (enlarge the pic).  What an amazing chapel.  What a day we had, and we were beat when we got home to North Beach.  Tuckered out, for sure, but happily so.

* * * * *

Early Tuesday morning, we headed for Baltimore's airport (BWI) for my journey home.  I had a nonstop flight this time to Sacramento (SMF or Smurf).  Good thing I had a book to finish, 'cause looking out my window was like peering through a long white tube sock!  Nuttin' to see here, honey!

Lastly, here's a picture of our completed 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle.  We dumped it out of its tube on Wednesday evening, painstakingly righted each piece, rounding up the border pieces, and so on.  As the only pieces left on Sunday were white with green hints, we said phooey on it and quit here.

Ah, yes, we had fun, a terrific, albeit short, week.  So glad I came, as one week is better than no week at all!  See you in the fall, Nannie. 💕

Annapolis, 5/16/25

 

Spending a week with my sister, Nannie, at her new home in a new town and a new state (North Beach, Maryland, on Chesapeake Bay), suited both of us to a tee.  We're not people who sit around much, though in-between outings we happily parked our booties in her living room easy chairs.  North Beach is very walkable, to the P.O., a coffee shop, farmers market, and so on ... plus a terrific pier and half-mile boardwalk along the bay.  And walk we did!  Most days the weather was fine, albeit more humid than I'm used to.

One day we drove to Annapolis, about an hour north, where we explored the historic area, including the capitol building.  Raise your hand if you knew that Annapolis was Maryland's state capital.  School groups were also touring, probably end-of-year field trips, studying up on their history.  No problem for us.

Nannie worked at the Louisiana State Capitol her entire career,

so the photo is a requisite!

The building is impressive.

Always learning!

On the left is the Senate chamber; on the right is

 the House of Delegates.  Nicely done.

Nannie, schmoozing with Mark Twain.

And here she's checking George Washington's speech.

After thoroughly exploring the state house, we walked a block or two to venerable St Anne's Episcopal Church.  It's impressive, but not overly ornate.  Founded in 1692, the first two churches burned to the ground, and the third and present church was built in 1858.  We may have said a prayer or two ....

We inquired at the Visitor Center about a favorite lunch spot.  One lady said she really liked eating at Chick and Ruth's Deli, within walking distance and on the way to the harbor.  (They were really helpful, supplying maps and assorted pamphlets.)  Well, we said, let's give the deli a try.  As you see above, it's certainly a colorful place!  Let me tell you, we split a crab-cake-and-shrimp-salad-on-rye-bread club sandwich.  The Best Ever!

We continued walking toward the harbor and decided a harbor cruise would be a neat addition to our day.  Above is the Harbor Queen, our ship for 40 minutes.  The narration provided us with details about what we were seeing.  We motored past part of the US Naval Academy.  Wind in our faces kept us kind of cool; out of the wind, the sun felt hot.  It was lovely being on the water.

I don't remember what these gray boats were called,

but we saw a slew of them lined up.

Lots of small white sails dotted the bay.  Also in the picture is a huge radio tower, one of three remaining out of 18 (I think) at Greenbury Point in Anne Arundel County across from the academy.  The US Navy (NSS Annapolis) operated these local landmarks.

Having fun!

Speaking of having fun, we had a blast tootling around Annapolis, neither of us had ever been.  BTW, wind plays havoc with a perfect hair-do!  I think this was Friday, and -- lucky us --we had a few more days to see whatz cookin' in and around North Beach, Maryland.

On the road ...

 

Maybe it's time to catch up on our itinerary!  When we left my sister's in Baton Rouge on October 30th, we pointed Tergel west on I-10, and the interminable trek through Texas.  Definitely not our favorite thing, but traveling further north is risky this time of year, weather-wise.  As it was, a cold front was approaching with big north winds and cool temps.

Our second overnight stop was at the Kerrville Elks Lodge, which we've done before, where we stoked in some of Bill's yummy BBQ, which we've also done before.  The next morning's low temp of 27 surprised us!  Time to get out of town and get warmer!

Driving all day like this, we usually change drivers every 2-3 hours, so neither of us tires too much.  We made it to Van Horn the next night, and were glad to get out and go for a walk after setting up.  Didn't know Ocotillo's would have a second bloom in autumn if they got water/rain, as this one obviously had.  We still had a far piece of Texas left to travel, but we made it to Columbus, New Mexico the next afternoon, and a state park that's been on my bucket list for a very long time!

Pancho Villa State Park sits almost on top of the border with old Mexico.  Driving in from El Paso, we took Hwy 9 to the park, paralleling the giant wall our country's erected to separate New from Old.  Most of the landscape along this area was bleak, no villages or communities.  But, what do animals do; how do they cross this partition to intermingle?

From the campground, we drove Smartie down to the border to see the wall in person.  It's massive.  Like a colossal cage to confine people on both sides.  Like the Berlin Wall.  We came back to the park to explore.

Quite a history here, all of it surrounding Pancho Villa and his raid on Camp Furlong and the Town of Columbus on March 9, 1916.

We walked the state park grounds and visited the museum (above).  Lots to see, including a few adobe structures that were just hangin' on.

This strange-looking tank was parked in front of the museum.

I parked on it for a few minutes!

Headquarters Building, Camp Furlong.

Camp Furlong was established in 1912 as a US Army border camp amid rising tensions along the United States-Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution. The Camp was the site of the first tactical military airfield in the US with the 1st Aero Squadron and Curtiss JN3 Jenny biplanes providing observation and scouting.  Housing more than 5,000 troops at one point, Camp Furlong was discontinued in 1918, but used intermittently until 1924.

 

The beginning of the panel, above, states, "Site of the last hostile action by foreign troops in the Continental United States."  Much speculation about why Pancho Villa attacked, none of it confirmed.  In fact, some don't believe Pancho Villa was even involved.  100+ years later we'll never know the truth.

So much cactus, different kinds, too.  Sorry to say, I was disappointed in this "Mickey Mouse" park.  I was anxious to get here early so we'd be sure to get a space.  At arrival, the campground was empty.  We found out why.  The restrooms were closed, as well as the dump station.  I looked on their website before coming here and didn't see that notice anywhere.  Obviously I looked at the wrong site.  We saw signs of neglect, too.  Such a shame that states can't take care of their terrific resources.

Jimmy at the Old US Custom House, built in 1901.

Across the road leading to old Mexico, was this cute caboose.

Also not open.

However, we saw plenty of birds and hundreds of White-winged Doves.  A cornfield was located behind the park boundary; the corn, of course, long gone, but those doves flew there the following morning, and probably every morning!  We also heard Sandhill Cranes and saw them soaring above a different field.

So, now I can cross Pancho Villa State Park off my list.  Been there, done that.  We moved on the next morning.  The good news is that we learned some new things, and that's always a plus.