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Annapolis stuff
Dec. 6th, 2007 10:32 pmI expect the bottom to drop out some time tomorrow afternoon when I may have to fit in a nap, but I'm trying to stay awake a bit longer and try to get a solid night's sleep tonight in a different time zone. Our story so far: I was supposed to leave Oakland at 3:40 on Wednesday, necessitating a great deal of hasty chores and blowing out of work early. My flight didn't board until after 6 PM due to weather delays further east. Arrived in Baltimore at about 3:15 AM local time, got stuck at baggage claim for an absurdly long time, probably because at that hour they only had one guy unloading baggage or something. Elaine (my youngest sister) and I got to bed some time around 4:30 or so - and were up at 9:00 when the guy came to install her new garage door opener thingy.
I got the nickel tour of Elaine's new house, a very roomy ranch thing with a kitchen the size of a ballroom and way too many doors to the back yard. Anyone who knows Heinlein's The Door Into Summer will understand why E's dog Casey can never figure out how to get back into the house after being let out.... She stayed home from work, we ran a couple errands and did lunch at the Main Ingredient on Forest Drive. Killer rosemary potato soup. I sat on the sofa for a bit and read while she did some on-call consulting stuff, then we went over to Miriam (my other sister) and Alex's. Nicky and Brian have grown, as expected, and had to be cajoled through finishing their dinner. Boy-feeding done, I presented them with the carabiner-flashlight-whistle things I'd found in Portland. They loved 'em. (Brian, 4, was really impressed with the concept that I was able to go to a store and buy things that happened to have HIS name on it. Nicky liked his better than the flea market binoculars I gave him as a belated birthday present. Go figure.)
My birthday dinner was attended by myself, Alex (Miriam opted to stay with the boys and she and I will do something later this weekend), Elaine and my Mom at an uncomfortably noisy restauraunt called Yellowfin. I would've been perfectly happy with something less expensive and less pretentious. The so-called "sushi" dishes bear no resemblance to anything Japanese, having too many nouvelle fusion ingredients to even pass for subtle Japanese cuisine. I opted for their filet mignon and seafood combo. The filet was excellent. The much touted crabcake was good, but not as good as the filet - I've had just as good down at some pub on City Dock. The chocolate mousse was worth saving room for, being layered with creme fraiche and fresh strawberries. I'm not saying it wasn't good, but at those prices, the noise level was so not worth it.
I got the nickel tour of Elaine's new house, a very roomy ranch thing with a kitchen the size of a ballroom and way too many doors to the back yard. Anyone who knows Heinlein's The Door Into Summer will understand why E's dog Casey can never figure out how to get back into the house after being let out.... She stayed home from work, we ran a couple errands and did lunch at the Main Ingredient on Forest Drive. Killer rosemary potato soup. I sat on the sofa for a bit and read while she did some on-call consulting stuff, then we went over to Miriam (my other sister) and Alex's. Nicky and Brian have grown, as expected, and had to be cajoled through finishing their dinner. Boy-feeding done, I presented them with the carabiner-flashlight-whistle things I'd found in Portland. They loved 'em. (Brian, 4, was really impressed with the concept that I was able to go to a store and buy things that happened to have HIS name on it. Nicky liked his better than the flea market binoculars I gave him as a belated birthday present. Go figure.)
My birthday dinner was attended by myself, Alex (Miriam opted to stay with the boys and she and I will do something later this weekend), Elaine and my Mom at an uncomfortably noisy restauraunt called Yellowfin. I would've been perfectly happy with something less expensive and less pretentious. The so-called "sushi" dishes bear no resemblance to anything Japanese, having too many nouvelle fusion ingredients to even pass for subtle Japanese cuisine. I opted for their filet mignon and seafood combo. The filet was excellent. The much touted crabcake was good, but not as good as the filet - I've had just as good down at some pub on City Dock. The chocolate mousse was worth saving room for, being layered with creme fraiche and fresh strawberries. I'm not saying it wasn't good, but at those prices, the noise level was so not worth it.
