Autumn!

It's finally here!  Well, mostly.  Well, a little.  Well, so far, it's a monsoon.  But I am optimistic that my favorite season won't let me down.  I even changed the look of my blog in honor of the season!  I will have a lovely favorite fall photos celebratory post next week to encourage crisp weather, crunchy foliage under my feet, and lots of hot cider.  I am so excited!

Anyway, yesterday was all about finding the perfect venue (that I still have to send a booking email out for).  Today is about the other stops we made on Monday that further add to the perfect nature of the venue locale!

Firstly, I do not live in a very beautiful area.  I mean, the farm is very nice, and the little downtown area of the town is mildly historic and cute, but generally we are in the "we live right outside of a major metropolis and it's bleeding into our cute little towns through overpopulation and overdevelopment" zone.  Which is not very picturesque.  We are an awkward adolescent metropolis I guess... not quite developed into an artistic and historic area, but not quite as rural as we once were either.  We have a bad case of hypothetical acne and a major overbite, even though we were a pretty cute no-frills kid and may blossom into a sophisticated adult.  I am not sure if this analogy makes sense.  I don't know why I am comparing my hometown to a human.

So, generally, our area has a lot of run-down motels mixed with upscale hotels that are plopped between Applebees and mom and pop diners.  All our wild areas are really wild and strewn with rubbish, and all our developed areas are overdeveloped and strewn with humans.  Solomon's isn't completely one or the other, but it's not so schizophrenic as our hometown, in terms of aesthetics.

Not even a five minute drive from Annmarie are two hotels, a Hilton swanky one and a middle-road Comfort Inn type.  The Hilton offers a free shuttle service to and from the venue, which is a major bonus!  They also have this cute and kinda tacky towel wedding cake they put out in the lobby with the names of the bride and groom on it.  Literally across the parking lot from the Hilton is a lovely micro-brewery called The Ruddy Duck, where a family friend sometimes sings with her band... which means after the wedding, people might catch some live entertainment at the bar if they want to!

Since most of my family and a few friends are out-of-towners, there is a ton to do there!  The Calvert Marine Museum is minutes away and offers things for kids and adults alike, as well as boat rides!  Not to mention most of my dad's side of the family are either Coasties or SeaBees, so the museum is kinda up their alley.  Pretty rad... and better than a town made up almost entirely of cheap chain restaurants.

Anyway... pictures, of course!





















Aren't my parents cute?!?!  I had a blast Monday with them and Bear!

Happy Thursday!  Xo