Enjoying some R&R: Baltimore by the Shore

For those of you who know anything about the Gilmores, you understand that it's all about "quality time." That's what we've been enjoying these past three days with our dear friend Shawn Young. Shawn moved to Columbia, Maryland, two years ago from Fresno. We've been getting a sneak peak on his life "back east" - as they say in California.

Today Shawn took us to Baltimore, which is about a 30-minute drive from his condo in Columbia. Baltimore is a great city that has spent considerable time and money in recent years building up its downtown. We packed sandwiches and snacks and drove down to the Inner Harbor and citywalk area for some hanging out time and shopping. It's a great spot for people-watching and the weather was actually pretty mild.

One of the coolest places we saw was a huge Barnes & Noble bookstore with this inspiring quote about books. Meilani's favorite part of the day was watching duckduckducks floating in the water and even a real-live Maryland crab that came up to the shore for a hello. We got the lowdown on Shawn's personal life while we walked the streets of Little Italy and the fancy shmancy shops in the Gallery.

After hours of walking, we ducked inside Whole Foods (yes, we're almost home!) for a Hibiscus Sorbet. This new delectable treat was exactly what Dorina needed to distract her from her tired tootsies. Ericlee helped do the deed of eating the pint of sorbet but Shawn passed on eating anything that "flowery."

We concluded our day with a short nap and dinner at Bertucci's, an Italian place back in Columbia. Meilani was really into Daddy's calzone. We remisced with Shawn about funny memories and goals for the coming year. He has spoiled us royally on this vacation! Tomorrow we head for North Carolina to see cousins Shawn & Amy Bennett and Whitaker.