Last week we were able to sneak away for a little getaway. Josh was doing two weeks of training for work so we joined him for two of those days at his hotel for a change of scene and a little fun.
The kids had never stayed in a hotel before, so this alone was fun for them. (Well, Sophia did when she was a baby, but that hardly counts.) The first day we spent our entire time at the pool. We almost had it completely to ourselves for most of the day. I even got a lot of reading done while the kids splashed!
My novel of choice was The Language of Flowers. It completely riveted me. I’d heard a lot about it from various blogs and it interested me, as it intertwined with the Victorian’s “language of flowers” into the plot. The language of flowers had always interested me too, and the use of this language throughout the book was captivating, as was the story of the main character, a foster child who ages out of the foster care system and must make a life for herself and confront her past actions and her fears.
After our day of swimming we got dinner at Grilled Cheese & Co. Josh got the Crabby Melt with was loaded with crab claw meat and melted monterey jack cheese. I got a limited special, The Philly, which had thin slices of philly steak with roasted peppers and American and Provolone cheese. Each meal had a side of crunchy sweet potato fries. Total yum. If you’re ever in Catonsville, Maryland, check them out!
Day two took us to Patapsco Valley State Park. We played at the playground, explored some trails, and ate a packed lunch there. The most fun by far was the Swinging Bridge. I discovered one of my sons has a fear of heights when we tried to cross it! The bridge was once used daily by workers to get from their homes on one side of the Patapsco river to work at the Orange Grove Flour Mill on the opposite side. All that’s left of the mill are some ruins. However, while we were checking out the ruins the kids were quite excited to see an CSX train roll by on the tracks that once would have had a stop at the mill, many years ago, to add flour cargo to their freight cars. So often when visiting a historic site I wish I could go back in time–even for an instant–and experience the place in it’s prime. Do you?
The Swinging Bridge at Patapsco Valley State Park
so fun! that grilled cheese place sounds delicious! but I am NOT a fan of swinging bridges…or rather, they are tolerable if you are crossing by yourself, but if there are people behind you making it swing and sway like crazy, EEEEEEEK!
Actually this bridge was a bit not like I imagined, Amy. It was more like a “bouncing” bridge vs. actually swinging, which didn’t make it that bad.