What do you do when you visit your home town?  You may feel like it’s just ‘going home, so what’s the big deal.  It can be interesting to do things or visit places that you never have, or haven’t visited in a long time.  You’ll feel like it’s not the same old routine.

A few weeks ago, I decided to visit my home town, Baltimore, Maryland.  I wanted to pack the trip with things to do, but not overwhelm myself.  The main purpose of the trip was to spend time with my parents, see other family, and get some good food.

Friday consisted of visiting the Inner Harbor with my parents for lunch.  I’ve been to the Inner Harbor a million times, but not as an adult with my parents.  My cousin suggested some event which was ‘uneventful’, so we decided to have lunch across the street at Blackwall Hitch.  I had the bright idea of eating outside to view the water and people watch.  The flies drove us indoors after 20 minutes.  We all enjoyed our lunch, and the restaurant was really pretty cool indoors.  Afterward, we took a stroll and sat on a bench to people watch for a few.  That was short lived, as the sun was really baking us, but was fun while it lasted.

Next up on the way home was Rita’s for frozen custard.  There is a Rita’s in Atlanta, but I never feel like driving there.  Anyway, there is another custard place closer to me now.

Saturday morning, my parents and I headed to Lenny’s for breakfast.  I had to have some scrapple, so this was a must stop.  Again, I’ve only seen scrapple sold in Publix in Atlanta.  However, when I make it, it never remains in that neat rectangle, just a crumbly mess.  We all enjoyed breakfast, then head out to National Harbor.  I didn’t really research before hand, so we winged it once there.  We walked around, took pics, and stopped in a few shops.  I wanted to take a ferry ride just to be on the water.  After wasting 30 minutes, I finally found the ticket office right in front of me.  We just missed it, so had some appetizers at a restaurant to kill some time until the next one.

An hour later, we hopped on the ferry for a nice 30 minute ride over to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.  I wish I had known beforehand how much I would like it and that there was a festival going on.  We only had enough time to find Ben and Jerry’s for a treat, take some pictures, and take the ferry back.  My parents liked it and really enjoyed themselves.  On the next trip, I’ll just go straight there and enjoy the scene.

That night, I met up with my sister and cousins at City View Bar and Grill.  It’s a cool, chill spot to catch a bite to eat and hear live music.  There is never a shortage of laughing at a family get together.  I was so glad that so many were able to show up, because I don’t get to see everyone that often.  We were loud and clowning, just like all our gatherings.   

On Sunday, I locked my rental car keys in the trunk, so that derailed my breakfast plans.  Once resolved after several hours, I headed to pick up my nieces and nephew and headed to Dave and Buster.  The older kids went off on their own while I entertained the 2 year old, who was in rare form.  I only got to spend a few hours with them, but cherished the time. 

That evening, my Dad fixed one of my favorites for dinner: liver and onions with rice and gravy.  I request that he make it on every visit.  My Mom not so secretly hates on me because he only fixes it when I visit.  Sorry lady.  There were even leftovers to freeze and take back to Atlanta.  I did regret not buying crab cakes to bring home (and so did my husband) .  However, I did get a chance to eat all the other food that was on my list.  

Visiting my home town is always fun.  I’m glad I got the chance to spend time with parents and hop around town with them.  It’s always a blast with my sister and cousins, and I definitely came away from Baltimore a few pounds heavier.

What do you do when you visit your home town?