Lexington Park, MD

My last entry was as I was on a train to Baltimore. Well I arrived, and can wholeheartedly endorse Amtrak. The seats were roomy, the train was in time and there was lots of room for my unwieldy baggage.

Alison picked me up at the station and had her two little boys on board. Ari is now 4 years old, and has the cutest smile, mop of hair and is a real charmer! I got to meet little Baxter, who is 16 months old and gives great cuddles.

We headed to the local mall to grab a bite to eat and let the boys run free before commencing the 2-hour drive to Lexington Park. I managed to get a great photo of the boys on a ride at the mall, in an American school bus.

How wonderful it was to chat with Al pon the way home and to hear what she has been up to, since I last saw her nearly 3 years ago!

We arrived at their HUGE home, and I was shown to the basement, where I had my own bedroom, bathroom, sitting room and indoor trampoline. But the special welcome came from Ari, who had decided to make 'Miss Ngaira' a necklace. Too special!!

Well I could tell you about the plans we had for my week in Maryland, but we soon realised that Hurricane Sandy was also visiting Maryland that week. So plans changed and we stayed at home for the week. But here are some of the highlights from my time with the Starks.

Annapolis, MD.
John looked after the boys for the day as Al and I drove to Annapolis for the day. This used to be the capital of Maryland and is a cute coastal town, housing a HUGE naval base. We pottered around and had a lovely lunch of crab cakes by the waters edge.

The town was preparing for Sandy's arrival too. The local council dump a whole heal if sand and empty bags, for locals to make their own sand bags for defence against unwanted guests.

Halloween
Now I know this is a controversial topic, but we had soo much fun. Ari decided to dress up as Mr Incredible (he is at the age when he doesn't need a reason to dress up... And wore a costume of some sort every day I was there!) and Baxter went as Nemo.

We converged for dinner at a friends house and all the adults took 7 or so children around the local streets to meet the neighbours and obtain sweets.

I was surprised how friendly everyone was, and how it was a great opportunity to meet neighbours and enjoy the creative costumes the children were wearing. Some of the home owners were also dressed up as they gave out their sweets.

After an hour or so, we returned to the house and continued to celebrate the 5th birthday of Ari's best friend, Sam.

It is a shame that such a fun, innocent, neighbourly activity has such dark origins. The only scary aspect for me was 7 small children high on sugar in a confined space!!

Hurricane Sandy

I have now lived through a hurricane, and I will openly admit that it was fun! We got off very lightly, with only a power outage for 30 mins. We spent the evening with John and Alex and their 5 year old Sam (Ari's bf). The wind howled, he rain lashed and we were tucked up indoors. We did play a game of hide and seek with the lights turned off... Which was fun! The Americans have such huge houses that it is fun, there are so many spots to hide in! I recommend this game to anyone on a stormy night. I found the best spot and would never have been found if the game had not been interrupted by the loosing of power, which sent the two fellas outside to start the generator.

Sock Hop

John and Alex are known for their parties, and an invitation was extended to me to join them. So I jumped at the chance to attend my first Sock Hop. Al and I went shopping and found clothes, and even sewed a petticoat for my skirt to be transformed into a poodle skirt.

The party was fun, with lots of dancing, limbo, a bonfire, hot apple cider, hula hooping and the children hot-rodding it down the driveway. I think we looked the part and had a wonderful night.

Cooking and Craft with Ari

Ari is the sweetest thing. So I asked him if he would like to help me make a fall wreath. He agreed, we shopped and then he sat with me for hours as we made it together. I took a break at one stage for 2-minutes and I was even ordered back to work.... He wanted it done, so he could put it up in his room!

We also made some pumpkin shaped cookies for Halloween. I have a feeling Ari enjoyed eating the mixture the most!

On Saturday morning 3rd November it was time to depart. I packed up my gear and we squished into the car to drive to Washington DC. We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way... An experience to have in the USA I am told. John navigated the streets of DC and handed me over to the Fletchers.

It wasn't until about an hour later that Al realised I had left my handbag their car :-( Poor John had to drive my handbag back up to DC on Sunday (4-hour return trip......ouch!

My week with the Starks was precious. Brilliant conversations, special moments and an overwhelming sense of blessing to know the Starks. They return to Australia in December as their 3 year RAAF posting concludes, so I feel just so lucky to have visited them in the USA and to have been able to share this season of their lives with them.