Another Baltimore Weekend

I am the worst storyteller. As I was drafting this weekend's recap, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was unsure what it was I was writing about. This is my storytelling life--losing my point in the midst of embedding each tale with tangent after tangent.

I'm trying this again, with fewer tangents.

The majority of my weekend occurred in Baltimore, Maryland with my dear friend, K.A.B. Having visited Baltimore recently enough, the agenda wasn't overly ambitious. Though, I was happy to be back. After this trip, I'm pulled more towards Baltimore. And I have narrowed the reason slightly. I mentioned Baltimore reminded me of Detroit, Michigan previously, and while that's still holds true, it's the slower paced lifestyle I'm attracted to. The atmosphere is a conglomerate of both a 'harbor town' and a Midwestern one. A win, win. Further, and perhaps more importantly, all Washington, D.C. lacks in culture, Baltimore makes up for over-and-over again. Even in D.C.'s various neighborhoods, the populations are homogenous. This city, D.C., will always hold a special place in my heart, but the more I leave, the more my lust for this city wanes.  

Onwards.

Friday, I got off work a little early after attending an all-day Intro to Big Data Workshop. I usually dread conferences because, this early in my career, they still tend to fly over my head. And this one did not disappoint in that category, however, the first half was fabulous; I absorbed as much as I could as I was flooded with good information. I walked away with a much clearer understanding and increased interest in Big Data, a nice change of pace from the day-to-day office grind. I raced home, though I took the long route because hello fall weather. Please, pretty please, stay forever. And then some. After an hour with the television, I dressed for K.D.S.'s Light the Night Walk fundraiser at a bar conveniently located in my front yard, yet a bar I've never before ventured in to. 

I essentially showed my face, since I was sound asleep before 9:00 pm (in order to be awake at 5:00 am). Long run Saturdays, I will not miss you. After a 22-mile run, I stretched and rolled and iced. But mostly celebrated surviving. After which I showered and proceeded with my half-finished day.

It could be I'm so fond of Baltimore because I'm also fond of eating. We started with a late lunch at Shoo Fly Diner, where a chicken fried biscuit did not satiate my runger (i.e., running hunger). From there, we picked up K.A.B. and headed directly to the Cross Street Market for The Pretzel Twist's pretzels and Berger Cookies. Then, we watched the Boston Red Sox lose to the Baltimore Orioles in a not at all close game. We had time to taxi to Fells Point for loaded hot dogs at Stuggy's while the Clemson Tigers/Florida State University game paused for halftime. When the game concluded, in the most unfavorable way, I wondered why I'd forced myself to stay up and engage. 

On Sunday, we continued eating at City Cafe, where I devoured a juicy burger. And before the burger, this heavenly cinnamon roll appeared right before my eyes. I clearly had to eat that as well. I thought my cinnamon rolls were the best ever. This might have been better. There was also some incredible iced coffee served. And I'm a sucker for a good iced coffee, obviously. Who knew this paired so well with the burger?

Be forewarned, this is a vaguely relate-able tangent: On the burger front, who is aware that milkshakes are now featured on select Five Guys' menus, including the one near my office? Boyfriend and I have been pining for this for years. If only all our wishes were granted. The verdict is still out as to whether the quality is up to that of their burger. I will let you know, for sure. Though I'm running all the miles and burning all the calories, at this point I've mentioned my fried chicken biscuits, pretzels, cookies, Crab Mac Dog, and burger. I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at some point in between all the other eating. Needless to say, I need a few vegetables before my next Five Guys outing. Lame.

We headed home shortly after brunch, arriving in D.C. in exactly half the time it took us to get to Baltimore the day before. I was quite appreciative all the dreaded highways were so cooperative on this sunny Sunday afternoon. I evaded all the chores and watched football, while taking care of a few menial computer tasks, the remainder of the day.

This weekend was both long and short. Long in that lots happened at a relatively relaxed pace throughout the weekend. Short in that the agenda was back-to-back, so that when 5:00 pm on on Sunday came, I could hardly believe it was time to prepare for another work week. The weekend was sadly over, and seemingly, quick.

It's a new day. Though this new day is a Monday, an ever dreaded Monday.