Labor Day Weekend 2009 - Part 4

Alas, I must come to the end of my journey. Sunday, 9/6, was my last full day in Baltimore. We did achieve our goal to sleep in, waking around 10 am and venturing once again to Ellicott City for breakfast at Sarah & Desmond's. We watched the many people and their dogs come and go during our meal, and Matt asked one of the other guests where he might find a good bike shop. We drove over to the store that he recommended and browsed for a while before heading back to CCBC for an afternoon nap in the sun before Matt had to go to work again. I tried to sleep but couldn't - so I amused myself taking pictures of Matt sleeping and various other things within my view while he slept. Eventually we did have to leave the serenity of nature so that he could go to work. I amused myself by talking on the phone and playing on facebook while he was at work - once again unable to take a nap to pass the time. Picking him up from work proved to be an adventure, as downtown was a maze of people and police cars after the Orioles/Rangers game had ended at Camden Yards. However, I successfully evaded both in my meandering, and still have no idea how I happened across Matt - but I did, and he took over the driving as we headed to Diamondback Tavern in Ellicott City for one last hurrah. When we arrived, Matt's friend Brandon and the bartender, Mike, were the only people there - but by the end of the evening the place was quite crowded. Apparently Midnight Madness is quite popular :) Prior to the crowd's appearance, Mike entertained us by mixing his concoctions very creatively (think Tom Cruise in Cocktail). Definitely a first, but hopefully not a last, for me!

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We played a round of shuffleboard, which I officially suck at(even after Matt and I tried to fix the leaning table), until we had to leave due to the 6am flight I had to board at Reagan International in D.C. the next morning. We bid adieu to his friends, and I held back the tears as I realized that the most wonderful weekend of the year was truly coming to an end.


3:30 am came REALLY early, and before I knew it, we were outside the terminal saying good-bye. I managed not to cry this time - a first I think, and probably only because it was 4:30 in the morning, and I was hardly conscious enough to realize what was happening. I passed through security and boarded the plane without incident - and by early afternoon collapsed onto my bed exhausted, but blissfully happy, having had a fantastic weekend. Though I knew it would inevitably end, the weekend could not have been more perfect - nor could my summer have ended and my student teaching semester began with anything more amazing than seeing my beloved friend.

Thanks to Miss Fu for making the weekend possible - I can't possibly thank you enough! And thanks to Matthew for allowing me to come visit and keeping me around for 11 years! I love you both dearly!!