Blue Monday

The www.telegraph.co.uk says that today is Blue Monday...who knew? 

Today the sky above Washington DC and area certainly is blue.

but today there is also a lot of red and white too.

 the crowd looks very blue - as seen from my TV screen - I thought hard about going and being part of that blue crowd....

 The two Presidential daughters are dressed to the blue theme.

    Occasionally the flag flying crowd turns white.

    I know that I missed out on the atmosphere, and the cold, but I got the better view sitting here in our very red room.

Returning to Ellicott City

Once upon a time when we lived in Virginia, we had visited Ellicott City. 

a very quaint little town - an unexpected little treat to see the old stone and wooden homes.

It was an early mill town, today the main street is lined with shops, mostly antique shops, a couple of artist studios and places to eat.

We came back to  Ellicott City for one reason...to go to lunch. 

All those years ago we had found a little French restaurant and I had kept their card.

I knew I would one day want to return.

                                the old rustic French pottery welcomed you to your table.

Lamb with a pear tartan, arugula and creamy ricotta with herbs.....lovely, but it is French, where was the sauce?

                            and a rustic little blackberry tart with a white chocolate ganache, and cream

as I walked out the door, I picked up the present day card....hopefully it wont be another 20 years before I need to refer to it again.

                      I will put this little town on the list of places to show visiting family and friends.

A Quick Trip South

Leaving frozen neighbourhood pond type weather behind in Maryland, Frank and I arrived in Florida........

 we flew, and then drove.....other lucky people arrived via this Disney ship.

  No matter how you arrive, this scene is the reward!!

                                                      palm trees and white sugary sand

              Straight off the plane we hired a car and did some Island hopping...first stop Key Largo

                                       from our hotel room we followed a path down to the beach

                   A wonderful sunset and a seafood dinner,  and breakfast with a view

                                               Then we headed southwest to Key West.

                       loved all the tourist traps, the buildings and the laid back atmosphere.

    window shopping was fun, so was discovering this amazing Kapok tree.

 now back in Miami, we just had to check out South Beach. Being early on a Monday morning it was quiet and still recovering from the buzz, the beach concerts, and the nightlife from the night before.

                                                           this is Art Deco central

                                                             

                                                                   Versace's old Villa?

                                                     (Note the flag. ND for Notre Dame)

Part Two of this story......
Football or Grid Iron - as Mandy and every other kiwi knows it.
We were in Miami for one reason....a game! A college match up to beat all match ups. (not talking Pro Football - this is University against University) Two teams that have only played each other six times.

 Hyped as the College game of the century, even before stepping out of the airport..there are signs of what is to come...... and once outside the airport we see the red tide!

                                                      Alabama - the Crimson Tide
                                                                       vs.
                                                      Notre Dame - the Fighting Irish

Fan gear shops have sprung up in hotel lobbies

and this enormous stand at the beach.

                                       The ultimate matchup in College Football
                                       Notre Dame # 1 & Alabama # 2
                                       North vs. South,
                                       Deliver Us vs. Deliverance
                                       Smart Jocks vs. Dumb Jocks
                                       Golden Domers vs. Mobile homers,
                                       Catholics vs. cousins

and Frank has a ticket.....When the line up looked like it was going to be the match made in heaven, Frank decided he was going. He booked a hotel room, most were already gone. He waited on buying his ticket until his die hard Alabama friend decided to go too. The friend was working an angle to get tickets at a "reasonable" price" ..... it didn't pan out and Franks friend decided not to go. So a week later with ticket prices even steeper, a ticket was purchased and the idea of me going along for the ride came up. It was decided, I would go...just for the ride, and what a ride it was!!!

                                     Notre Dame has been his team since he was a small boy. To see Notre Dame play at home has always been on his bucket list. Last year he got to live that dream. We went to South Bend, Indiana to watch a game. We walked around the beautiful campus, saw all the monuments, the golden dome and the touchdown Jesus.

                                                                                                           ( photo from Wikipedia)

                                  And after our years living in Crimson Tide country, and the many games we went to, Alabama is a favourite team too....it was the best of both worlds....but he wanted ND to win.
 
So finally it was game time,  Frank headed to the stadium and I set myself up for a dinner in the hotel, then the game on TV.  To kill some time I enjoyed our view, if it's not a pretty beach view, a busy airport runway is never dull.

Game time.

                                          Those Alabama Cheerleaders were ready!

                 Half time and well into 3rd quarter and the game was ugly!!

    Finally Notre Dame scored.....too little and too late, Bama was celebrating before the clock stopped.

                                                    Nicely done Crimson Tide!!

Now a dynasty...and Franks friend has HUGE regret.