Maryland

We left PA and headed to Maryland, our next stop, to meet up with the Dewees, old friends we met while we lived in San Diego. Unfortunately Cecil is on a short deployment, but we did meet up with Laura and daughter Paige. They were in the middle of PCSing so we opted to meet up for a day of sightseeing and Laura suggested Butler's Orchard.  It was such a great suggestion. It was such a great experience for the girls (and the adults).  We had a picnic lunch and the girls enjoyed the homemade slides at the farm. Cherries and blueberries were in season so we got our fill.



Mia needed some assistance picking cherries

It was very hot so we had to keep the kiddos hydrated.

Makaela and I blueberry picking. They were delicious.  My mouth was blue by the time we left (one for me, one for the bucket).

Laura and Paige

We left the farm with two very full buckets of fruit. 

The farm also had a country store, so we loaded up on pies, homemade sauces, cobbler mix and apple salsa (yum).  When we got home, Candace made homemade cherry pie- AMAZING!!

After the farm, we went to visit Matt's uncle and aunt (Robert and Lori) and met their son Max for the first time.  Unfortunately, I don't have pictures, but it was a great time to catch up.  Max taught Makaela and Mia some logic games on the iPad and we had fun with his art blocks. 

 

Wewere supposed to head to the Outer Banks to meet up with the Steinmetzs and the Ducotes but there were a string of tropical storms moving into the area and we didn't want to make the long drive to the beach if we were going to get stuck inside and be an imposition.  We were also worried about driving back to FL in the rain so we opted to pack up the kids at 9pm and Matt drove all night until we got back to St. Augustine at 8:30am.   I have to say, our kids are great travelers.