Day Two - A Visit to Downtown Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy

As usual, I was up early, but Adrian and Myra were still asleep. Adrian likes to sleep in, like till noon or later if you let him, but Myra is an early riser like me, so it wasn't too long before I heard her up and moving around upstairs. Maybe it was the music I had playing in the living room, or maybe it was the smell of the coffee brewing and the bacon and sausage cooking. Either way, she was up and I knew Adrian wouldn't be sleeping for long. She came downstairs and we had some coffee, chatted while I started frying up some potatoes and we waited for Adrian. Once he joined us, I fixed omelets for the three of us and we talked about what we would do today.

            After seeing what a nice day it was going to be, it didn't take long for us to decide to take a walk around Historic Annapolis, the city dock area and a walk through the Naval Academy grounds.

We finished up breakfast, and headed downtown to the city dock parking the car in one of the parking garages there near the dock. We took a leisurely stroll up Main Street checking out the different shops, then walked around the State Capital building. During our walk, we discovered the William Paca house. I knew this Georgian mansion was here somewhere, but this was the first time I actually walked by it. William Paca was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a governor of Maryland and this estate was built between 1763 and 1765. There is also a two-acre garden which features parterres, herb/vegetable area and fish-shaped pond. We decided to just walk by and not take the $8.00 per person tour, but if you are into historical sites, this would be a place I recommend you visit.

            We eventually made our way to the front gates of the Naval Academy grounds and after a quick ID check, we started our walk starting at the very nice visitors center.

Next we walked along a quiet tree line street where all the high ranking officers lived and made our way to the chapel and the tomb of John Paul Jones. The larger part of the chapel was closed for renovations, but we did go inside the smaller side of the building where most of the weddings performed here are held. Next we visited the tomb of John Paul Jones, which is located under the chapel. John Paul Jones was Americas first well-known Naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War and called the father of the American Navy. He also is known for have stated during a battle with the British, "I have not yet begun to fight!"

            After our visit with John Paul Jones, we made our way back to the main gate and headed to the city dock to find some lunch.

We decided, or I decided, on Middleton,s Tavern which has been here since the mid 1700's and hosted many of our nation's most revered leaders during the period following the American Revolution. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were numbered among its prominent patrons.

            After a very nice lunch, we walked around the dock area just taking in the beautiful scenery of the water and all the boats, then found our way to a little Italian cafe for some yummy gelato. With our bellies now full, we walked back up Main Street a bit and headed back to the parking garage. It was time to head back to the house and relax a bit before Lena got home and we headed out for dinner.

            Once home, Myra headed upstairs to do some computer stuff, or nap, while Adrian & I took control and secured victory during World War II playing Call of Duty 5 on my XBox360! This man risked life and limb to save my ass many times and if we ever have to go to battle again, this is the man I want at my side!! HURRAH!!

            Lena got home from work and her boxing class around 7:30pm and we got ready to head to a local crab house/seafood restaurant called Cantler's Riverside Inn. This place is one of our favorite places for Maryland Blue Crab's and service is always good.

We first ordered a dozen large Maryland Blue crabs to start with so we could show Adrian and Myra how we eat crabs here in Maryland.  We all also ordered a dish of crab dip and bread along with regular entrees to have after the crabs. Adrian and I had beer, which they brought out in a bucket of ice for us and the girls had soda and iced tea...someone had to be able to drive us home ;) It was a beautiful night eating outside by the water, and we had a great time beating dead crabs with a wooden mallet and trying to eat all the food we ordered.

            Tomorrow is the last day we will have with Adrian and Myra, and we are planning to visit Baltimore's Inner Harbor before we have to take Adrian to the airport. Hopefully the weather will be nice like it was today!