Good Times!

Last week I did something that I've never really been able to do due to a hectic work/ travel schedule, I took my wife and daughters "on the road" with me. We had a great time driving through Northern Virginia and Maryland. Tuesday they were able to hang out at the hotel while I went on my appointments. Wednesday we ate lunch at The Shamrock, a restaurant owned by Mike Fitzgerald, a good friend of mine in Thurmont, Maryland. There's nothing better than a bowl of fish chowder at The Shamrock (although they do have a fine pub in the back I need to mention)!

After a great lunch we drove up to Gettysburg and were able to tour the battlefield for several hours! Over the years I've been able to visit every major Civil War battlefield and numerous smaller ones, and Gettysburg was the only one missing. CHECK. This is the 150 anniversary of the war so that made it even better. If you were a Confederate soldier in Pickett's charge, you had a suitcase full of courage (or a knapsack at the very least). Gettysburg, Antietam, and Shiloh are great places to visit if you ever get a chance.

Thursday we had a chance to stop at Mayorga Coffee! Mayorga is a regional coffee that we buy at Costco and their based in Rockville, Maryland. It's our favorite and we were able to buy some different coffee that's not sold at Costco! If you want to buy some I recommend the Cafe Cubano or the Nicaragua, you won't be disappointed. That night I scored a room at the Crown Plaza for dirt cheap, so we slept really well!

Friday I took a vacation day at we spent several hours at the US Botanic Garden in Washington DC. All I can say is WOW!! We've been to several gardens over the years including Bouchart Gardens in Victoria, BC. The USBC is one of the best and we'll being going back whenever we visit DC.

Over all it was a great week and it was nice to have some company "on the road".