I’m talking THE Garths – SOB Royalty, and as I have come to learn, very down to earth normal people, but wonderful all the same.

Still in the Baltimore area – Severna Park to be exact. I had to kill a bit of time, so I was cooking in a parking lot, and somebody walked by and said “Chuckwagon’s Open!”. I thought that was pretty funny considering that’s probably what I looked like.

So, meet the Garths:

That’s Laura, Lia and Jacob (son not pictured). I met Laura and Jake on a few SOB vacations, and I honestly think they are the living definition of FUN! Again, I didn’t know them that well, but they opened their beautiful home to me, and I left after a couple of days feeling like I have new great friends! It was a very memorable Memorial Weekend.

We went boating

It was fun and I always love being on the water, but it was a little chilly, so we bailed to spend some time here instead

Not a bad backup plan. These are the neighbors – Liam, Mark and Allison. I didn’t get to know Mark very well, but really enjoyed talking with Allison – more great people!

I told Jake I was going to post a picture of the front of their house and he may have some SOB travelers show up on their doorstep. He told me to go ahead, but for privacy reasons I am only going to give you a couple of inside highlights (trust me, if you know them and they have invited you to visit – GO! You should see the whole house.)

This chandelier hangs over the living room, and you get a nice view from both up and downstairs. I think Laura hung all the strings and crystals while standing on scaffolding! Lot of work. We watched Wild Robot in their theater – it made me cry.

Did you know Kuerig made a Cocktail Machine?! I have proof!

It made a pretty dang good Old Fashioned, but Jake said the concept never caught on, so when supplies are gone, this will become a collectors item.

The next morning we went to brunch. I’ve had some good Bloody Marys, but this one takes the cake

And then we toured the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

That was our tour bus on the right. We had a very good guide (please help with his name! Everett?), and I loved it! I was amazed how interesting it was and how much I learned. Do any of you know where the term ‘learning the ropes’ came from? I do! We saw so much – here are some highlights:

This is their mascot – a Ram. He has a name, and again I can’t remember, but I think they are on number 37. (Jake and Laura – you are welcome to help my memory here! Geez)

There were a bunch of jets. One of these is a movie star – it appeared in a Maverick movie. I think it’s the blue one, but again, my memory fails me. There were a lot of statues too, but this one really sticks with me.

This statue is dedicated to Submarine sailors who were lost at sea. In the close up, you can see faces and dolphins. The symbolism is that these sailors are still on patrol and in the company of dolphins. If you are in the area, I would recommend this tour – and make sure to ask questions! I think Laura is the best question asker I have ever heard, and it really made the tour even better!

We also wandered the streets of Annapolis. It was busy!

These are just a couple of random pictures, but I wanted them on the record.

We finished the day off around the pool. I got my kid fix – loved it! I honestly don’t intentionally try to get my toes in these pictures.

And watched a movie in the gazebo that night.

Thank you Laura, Jake, Lia and all the neighbors for making my stay so awesome!!! I loved getting to know you better and seeing the ‘parent’ side of you – it was beautiful. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please ask!

Some of you also are my Facebook Friends, so you know I am no longer in the Baltimore area. I have moved on to Maine with a couple great stops along the way. I will share that next time. At the moment, I am typing this outside and it is getting COLD!

Tip of the day: There are a ton of toll roads along the east coast. Cliff is set to avoid them, which has lead us on some very interesting side road tours through lovely country. My tip is, try not to turn your Cliff off if you are on a highway on the east coast – we got caught on a toll road because I turned him back on too late and it was too late to take a detour! I have now donated $1.50 to the state of Maine. Oh well.