My Maryland vacation started with Amy picking me up at the airport, running a few errands, packing a picnic supper and meeting up with another facebook Chesapeake friend one that I met before Gina and her dog Gudgeon. We went to Wye Island to do a little hiking and let the pups take a romp on the trails and a swim in the water. We had a picnic supper while watching the sun go down, a truly memorable spot. I can see why Amy and Gina meet there often to let the dogs play. The hiking trails were so neat because as you walked you admired the very cool tree’s that live there. The intertwined limbs and leaves made the trails so enchanting. Of course what I won’t forget is the ticks that decided they wanted to be friends with us and the dogs. We were picking ticks off into the night, a price you pay for time in the woods and all it’s beauty.Taken from the website: Wye Island NRMA is located in the tidal recesses of the Chesapeake Bay between the Wye River and the Wye East River. Of Wye Island’s 2,800 acres, 2,450 are managed by the Department of Natural Resources Maryland Park Service for resource management, recreation and agriculture. A major emphasis at Wye Island is to provide suitable habitat for wintering waterfowl populations and other native wildlife. Thursday’s adventure took place in Delaware at Turtle Creek Retrievers home of Bob and Teresa Tebbens. This was my first time meeting my Facebook friends. Amy goes to Turtle Creek to train Poppy so we planned a day of training so I could meet more Facebook friends. Mel joined us with her Chesapeake’s so we didn’t feel outnumbered with the labs in the majority. It was nice to go to another professional trainers place and see how they train and to learn that they train the same way I do. When training situations came up I would say how I would train for that and it was the same way Bob would train for that. We compared notes, ate lunch, watched the dogs work and I even got to run one of Bob’s labs on some marks. Of course it was a great day because it was spent with friends and dogs, a place I would visit again! Thursday night was a night to meet more new faces that I only have seen on Facebook. I got to meet Amy’s brother and his family. I see many pictures of them and it was special to finally meet them. Brady and Gracie are beautiful children full of life! Friday’s adventure was spent with another Chesapeake friend Mel. We headed to Virginia where Mel took us around parts of Virginia and West Virginia.  Our first stop was the historic Harpers Ferry. I admit I should of paid better attention in history class so I knew more about this town. It was an amazing piece of history to visit. Taken from Wikipedia: Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. It was formerly Harper’s Ferry with an apostrophe and that form continues to appear in some references.^[6] It is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where the U.S. states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia meet. It is the easternmost town in West Virginia. The original, lower section of the town is located on a low-lying flood plain created by the two rivers and surrounded by higher ground. Historically, Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown‘s raid on the Armory in 1859 and its role in the American Civil War.^[7] The population was 286 at the 2010 census. After the Harpers Ferry tour Mel took us to a couple of her favorite vineyards where we soaked in the beautiful county sides and drank some great wine. We finished our wine tour with a brewery tour. The Dirt Farm has a vineyard and a brewery. A nice cold glass of ale and some flatbread pizza hit the spot. After the beer drinking we went into “town” and went into a quaint little grocery store where in season you can buy baby chickens. There were no chickens there that day but I did stop and get some ice cream for dessert. Supper was with Mel and her husband Lex. We went to a “dive” seafood bar where we got to eat on picnic tables in the parking lot. Now this is my kind of dining, the company and food were out of this world. I was in my glory eating the low county boil, cracking the crab legs and flinging the shells all around. All that was missing was the big bib! Thank you Mel for a beautiful tour of your state and Lex for a excellent evening meal.Saturday morning we were up and running to Baltimore for our day with our other Facebook friend Jayne and her sister Jen. We met them at the inner harbor and took our very first water taxi ride. The Baltimore Water Taxi: A proud history afloat -Baltimore is steeped in a proud and rich nautical tradition. For more than 35 years the Baltimore Water Taxi’s blue and white fleet has proven itself to be an integral part of the city’s history and culture. In fact, we’re as much a part of the city’s history as the revitalized Inner Harbor.The scenery was just beautiful and to be on the water was a great experience. The ships we came across were huge. I wish we would of had more time to make all the stops around the harbor to see all the attractions, next visit! We had time to spare between boarding the connection taxi to where we were going so we did some shopping and then checked out the farmers market that was in full swing.   After our shopping we had lunch at Phillips Seafood Restaurant where we had their signature bloody mary, their Hooper’s Island Crab Dip which was so good we had to eat it all and their Fried Seafood Platter where we had so much food I couldn’t eat it all. The clam strips were so ginormous and tasty, I never had them that big before, tender and succulent. It was a fantastic choice for our lunch with friends.We finished our day with Jayne and Jen by going to Jayne’s granddaughters recital. We could only stay for one of Riley’s routines and what a cute routine it was. The girls did such a great job. I was so glad to have gotten to experience my first recital with my friends. Saturday night was my night with Amy’s family, her husband Dave and son Jake. I saw them for brief moments earlier in the week but we were so much on the go I didn’t get to really spend time with them so I will never forget Dave saying “is tonight the night we get to have JoAnn to ourselves, I want my JoAnn time”! For our night together we went to Annapolis to have more seafood for supper. This nights dining was done at Davis’ Pub. I never had a soft shell crab so I was told I needed to try one. First thou we started out with a crab pretzel which was so delish I should of ordered one whole one for myself. Then I ordered their special which was a soft shell crab sandwich. The sandwich was perfect, the crab was picked at prime shedding time, it was a great choice and the coolest part about this pub is that I ate at a place where  Guy Fieri, host of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, visited Davis’ Pub in the Fall 2011.  After we ate we took a stroll through Annapolis to get some ice cream at one of their favorite spots. We walked, ate, sat and then walked back to our enjoying every moment of the night. Thanks to the Wernecke’s for your hospitality and making me feel special with all the great meals. Taken from Davis’ Pub website: In the 1920’s on the corner of 4^th and Chester Ave, George Washington Davis opened a confections and general store, which turned into Davis’ Lounge by the 1940s for the local watermen in the neighborhood. In 1986, the corner building became Davis’ Pub as we know it today. True to its founder, Davis’ Pub has stayed a local, neighborhood joint with good, affordable food.

My last morning in Maryland was spent eating at The Iron Rooster with Amy’s family Dave and Jake along with our friend Gina. We started our breakfast off with a housemade pop-tart, brown sugar was the flavor of the day and let me tell you, it was a huge pastry that was chuck full of flavor with a flaky crust. A must have. Next I had their crab egg’s benedict. Since it was my last meal in seafood county of course I had to eat crab and I wasn’t disappointed with that either. After our meal Amy, Gina and I took Gina’s Chesapeake Gudgeon for a hike through Greenbury Point it was a nice last morning in Maryland.Taken from the Greenbury Point website: Greenbury Point, a 231 acre peninsula at the mouth of the Severn River, provides numerous opportunities to integrate wildlife habitat and education with the training mission of the Naval Academy. Outdoor education planners from the Service’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge are lending their expertise to help shape the Visitor’s Center Environmental Education facility the Navy is currently building on Greenbury Point. Nineteen osprey pairs that currently nest on Greenbury Point’s radio towers will be provided new platforms before the towers are demolished in the coming year.Thanks for following along on my vacation with me. It was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to go back in 2018 for another adventure. I have the best online friends that are willing to take me in and take me to all their favorite spots. It was so nice to be able to meet up with old facebook friends and new ones on this visit. It was really cool to be in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. The scenery, food and company was the bomb and I can’t thank my friends enough for all that went on while I was visiting. Many great memories were made that will last a lifetime.