Six weeks ago, I left Connecticut and I didn’t know when I’d be able to see Mari again. She has a tough time finding time to visit. I understand… I’d rather her pass her classes than see me. Anyway, Mari spent the extended weekend in town. What a great time!

We started off the weekend in DC on Friday. It just so happened to be President Lincoln’s birthday. I didn’t realize until we were there. I guess I’m going to have to send a belated birthday card.

A nice brisk walk up and down the National Mall allowed us some time to do some people watching. What is it about joggers in winter? Don’t you realize it’s 40 degrees out and you should not being wearing shorts? 

On our way back to the car we saw a presidential motorcade. About twenty motorcycle cops clearing the streets for President Obama. It was quite a sight to see.

An hour or so of shopping in Georgetown and dinner at Clyde’s wrapped up the day. 

We spent the morning hours of Valentine’s Day shopping in Gettysburg, PA. There is an outlet mall there so we did some major sales shopping. After we shopped til we dropped, we decided to stay in for the night and just cook dinner at the house. 

Before we did that, I wanted to take Mari golfing (or at least to hit golf balls). One of the benefits of having a golf green as your front yard is unlimited access. Mari and I made our way to the 12th green. She actually didn’t do bad but has a long way to go to beat Anika Sorenstan.

Dinner time! Mari took charge of the homemade lasagna while I tackled the crab bruschetta. It was a dinner comparable to any restaurant at one-tenth the cost. 

We did decide to go out for a night cap at a bar/restaurant called Libertoire’s. Pino Libertoire is the owner and family friend. I actually got ID’d at the bar, and nearly didn’t get served. As a joke, I said to the bartender, “Those were my younger days… back when I had hair.” He asked me my zip code, and I failed. In my defense, I hadn’t used that address/zip code for about eight months. Luckily, Pino was there and he gave me the ok.

I was excited to take Mari to Baltimore. She had never been there before. I gave her the VIP tour of the Charm City. I took her to the Tremont Hotel, my old stomping ground way back when. Some of my old co-workers were there and suprised to see me. It’s always fun catching up with old friends. We did whole Inner Harbor thing. ESPNZone, shopping at Harborplace… just enjoying downtown Baltimore. Our last stop of the day was to the Brass Elephant. I introduced my co-workers and showed Mari around the restaurant. “It looks like an old house”, she said. Well you’re right Mar, it used to be a house.

Her trip covered four days but was done before I knew it. She is now back in Connecticut and I won’t see her (in person) for another five weeks. 

Can you just graduate now Mariolina? Imagine how many weekend trips we could have then…