Peaches: A Summertime Treat

August 1, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

PEACH SALSA

I’ve made this salsa with nectarines and plums as well as with peaches and a variety of stone fruits, depending on what is in season, at the farmer’s market or available for U Pick. Its great with grilled pork chops, prawns, or rockfish.

INGREDIENTS

2 peaches, pitted and medium diced

1 firm and ripe red or yellow tomato, seeded and medium diced

1 firm and ripe tomatillo (optional), seeded and diced

1 firm and ripe avocado, diced

1/4 cup red onion, small dice

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced

Juice of one ripe lime, about 2 tablespoons or to taste

1 TB honey

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

Place the fruit, tomato, tomatillo, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and red pepper flakes in a bowl; toss to blend.
Gently fold in diced avocado.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

PEACHES, FRESH AND WARM

As perfect for dessert as for the main course, or for breakfast as for any meal, this recipe is easy, basic and equal parts rustic and elegant.

INGREDIENTS

3-4 whole fresh peaches, pitted, pith removed, and cut into ½ inch or so slices, or 1 bag frozen sliced peaches

1 vanilla bean pod or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cinnamon stick, or ½ teaspoon cinnamon

2-3 whole cloves

pinch nutmeg

¼ cup honey

METHOD

Cover the peaches with water to cover in a medium saucepan.
Add the spices and honey.
Simmer until the peaches are soft and tender, remove with a slotted spoon.
Reduce the leftover liquid slightly, to maximize the sweetness of the honey/juice/water mixture and to bring the flavors of vanilla and spices forward. Remove whole spices and use the reduction as a sauce for pie, ice cream, or grilled meats.

PEACH SIMPLE SYRUP

By Mike Archibald, Executive Chef, Herrington on the Bay A recipe I’ve used for various preparations throughout August and even into September with a variety of stone fruits, here Chef Mike Archibald uses his peach simple syrup recipe to make fresh Peach Soda. We love this recipe because its so fun and family friendly (Grilled Peach Ice Cream Floats anyone?) but can be made into an adult treat with just a dash of this or that.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

4 each, fresh peaches, pitted and roughly chopped

METHOD

In a saucepan, heat the sugar in the water until it dissolves.
Add the peaches and cook until the peaches are tender.
Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the mixture.
Pour through a mesh strainer to remove any pulp.

Peach soda made with peaches from Swann Farms in Calvert County, just across the line from Herrington on the Bay.

PEACH SODA

8 ounces crushed ice

3 ounces Peach Simple Syrup

5 ounces club soda

fresh peach slices for garnish.

METHOD

Put the ice in a 16 ounce chilled glass.
Pour the cooled simple syrup and soda over the ice. Stir. Garnish with the fresh peach slices and a fresh herb like lemon verbena, lemon thyme, pineapple sage or mint.
*While Chef Mike Archibald didn’t include a hit of gin, vodka or bourbon, we think these would work nicely here.

PEACH UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Based loosely on my grandma’s pineapple upside down cake, this dessert has a cake with a light crumb, vanilla flavor, slight, not cloying sweetness, and those sugary, hot, delicious baked peaches!

INGREDIENTS

TOPPING

¼ cup butter

½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

¼ cup raw turbinado sugar, real maple syrup or floral honey

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the scraped seeds from 1 vanilla bean pod

3 peaches, peeled, pitted, pithed, sliced

Local walnuts or southern pecans, cut into halves

For the Cake

¼ cup butter

1 large egg

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cup flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup milk

¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9″ round cake pan.
To make the topping: Melt the butter in a sauce pan or the microwave. Mix in the brown sugar, turbinado, syrup or honey, vanilla and honey. Spoon the mixture into the prepared 9” cake pan.
Space the peach slices on top of the sugar mixture. If you need to go retro, you can place a fresh or maraschino cherry decoratively around the peach slices, in a pattern. If you’re using nuts, scatter them in any spaces.

To make the cake:

Beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, then the salt, baking powder, almond and vanilla.
Add the milk and yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk. Loosely blend.
Add the flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, blending gently to not overwork the flour and scraping down the bowl as needed.
Spoon the thick batter over the peaches, making sure to get it to the edge of the pan. It make not fully cover the fruit, but that is fine, they will bake together.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn the pan over onto a serving plate. Wait 30 seconds to a minute more, then lift the pan off. If anything sticks in the pan, just lift it out and place it back on the cake.
Serve warm or at room temperature. My family loves it with fresh whipped cream. This cake overnights well and is perfect for a picnic…or breakfast….brunch…a gift…..

BOURBON PEACH COBBLER

One of my readers, Barbara Pease, turned me on to this delicious cobbler originated by Tyler Florence of The Food Network, which I have tweaked a little and play with depending on what’s at the market, in the fridge or on my mind.

INGREDIENTS

For The Fruit

8 cups fresh peaches, nectarines, or plums, pitted and sliced into ½-1 inch slices.

¼ cup bourbon (optional)

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Seeds from ½ pod of vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For The Cake

1 ½ cup all purpose flour (I use King Arthur White Wheat Flour)

Scant ¼ cup sugar

¾ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks cold butter (I freeze my butter, cubed)

½ cup plain whole milk yogurt or ¾ cup cream

½ cup heavy cream for brushing the cobbler

1-2 tablespoon white or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Method

Heat your oven to 375F.
In a large bowl, add the peaches, bourbon, ¼ cup sugar, cornstarch, spices, vanilla and lemon. Toss to mix well, coating the peaches evenly. Set aside. Can be made in advance and refrigerated, but only for a short time before the fruit releases its juice and starts to turn color. Releasing the juices isn’t necessarily a bad thing—make sure to keep them in the final cobbler preparation.
Prepare the cobbler: Sift together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add 1 ½ sticks cubed butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry blender, a few (10-15) pulses in the food processor or with your hands until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs or peas. Add the yogurt or cream and mix just until the dough comes together. Don’t overwork; the dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.
In a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, melt the remaining butter. Add the fruit mixture and cook gently until heated through, about 5 minutes. Drop the dough by mounded spoonfuls over the fruit. Brush the top of the cobbler drops (also called dumplings) with heavy cream and sprinkle with white or turbinado sugar. Place the cast iron pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips that might overflow. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbling.

Feel free to share...

An Ode to Peaches

August 1, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

“Just Peachy”…”Sweet as a Peach”… “You’re a real Peach”…

There’s a reason peaches are mentioned alongside terms of endearment, in honeyed words of sweet sentiment – even, dare I say, amidst flights of juicy rapture. So round, so soft, so beautifully colored and sensuously textured, the peach is so delectable a summer treat that in 2015, it earned its own emoji ????. That emoji is evocative. Provocative. Imaginative. It is, actually, an apropos ambassador for peach as sweet fruit, as opposed to peach as socio-cultural icon (ahem Kardashians).

Kent Fort Farm pick your own peach adventure

While a just-picked peach is a sort of luscious, juice-dripping down-your-hand-and-arm kind of summer dream best lingered upon because you know the moment and the season are fleeting, a hot-from-the oven peach cobbler with homemade whipped cream is like pure August sunshine with mellifluously floating clouds all around. A peach pie is like God’s gift to anyone lucky enough to live in that wide latitudinal swath from Penticton, Canada in the north and west to Atlanta in the south and east. And of course, while I can’t advocate for eating peaches before July or after September, canned peaches in winter are a lesson in romance amplified by nectar as nourishing to the soul as any soup.

While Maryland lies inside that great band of American farmland ideally suited to growing peaches—the trees need hot summers, mild winters, and safety from spring frost—it isn’t the most prolific crop grown in the state, a statistic owned by apples. Nevertheless, Maryland is home to almost 1,000 acres of peach orchards owned by 105 commercial farmers who last year harvested nearly 7 million pounds of the fruit.

Swann Farms

Swann Farms is a 300-acre operation in northern Calvert County. While much of the farm’s land is devoted to sweet corn, twenty acres are used for growing a variety of peaches. Joe-Sam Swann and his family took over the farm when his father, Allen “Sambo” Swann, a fifth-generation farmer, passed in 2016. A fulltime farmer, Sambo, alongside his Uncle Bid and nephew Jody, made a success out of a farm that was –way back in colonial times when valuable land in Maryland was largely used to grow tobacco– given to a Tasker daughter, the youngest of seven children, surely a nod to her place in the family line up and her role as a female. Situated along the Patuxent River, the farm has light and sandy soil that drains quickly. Not great for tobacco, and in those times considered poor land for farming. With a little love and some modern irrigation, Swann’s agricultural inheritance is great for peaches.

photo courtesy Swann Farm by photographer Edwin Remsberg

Joe-Sam says Sambo worked tirelessly on the farm, almost to a fault. But it’s Sambo’s, Bid’s and Jody’s endless toil, along with Joe-Sam’s contemporary farming methods and his wife’s marketing skills, that make those 20 acres famous for peaches that are sold wholesale to places like the Anne Arundel County Public School system, Whole Foods Market and Harris Teeter, as well as to caterers committed to supporting local farmers, such as owner Anna Chaney and Executive Chef Mike Archibald at Herrington on the Bay.

Peaches take an extraordinary amount of work to bring to market. It takes two months alone of pruning in the bitter cold of February just to get the trees ready for bloom. Springtime means frost danger: the peach tree’s gorgeous pink blooms, heralds of deliciousness to come, can be wiped out overnight with one windstorm, one snow fall, one late frost. Last year, Swann Farm’s eight orchards, all with trees between seven and twenty years old, lost three entire plant varieties to a freeze; luckily, they managed to harvest more than 3000 bushels of other types. Then there is, of course, the picking and packing. Consumers want peaches at the peak of ripeness. Unlike many other fruits, peaches can be picked just short of peak ripeness. They won’t grow any larger or denser, but they will ripen off the tree. Even at this stage of almost-but-not-quite though, their skin is delicate, their flesh susceptible to bruising. It’s the policy of Swann Farms to send fruit to market within 24 hours of picking. “But still, its like threading the needle”, says Joe-Sam. “To get as close to ripe without going too soft.”

This year Swann Farms is opening their peach orchard to the public as a U Pick operation. The farm is already an established and popular site for U Pick strawberries. Three to four hundred people a day fill the six acres of farmland given over to that crop. “We’ve had such tremendous success with strawberries, so we are excited about opening up the peach orchards. We really enjoy having people down to the farm. It helps our customers understand how we produce foods they love and it provides transparency into our growing practices”, says Joe-Sam. You can check the Swann Farm Facebook page for updated information on picking times.

Choosing the Perfect Peach

Regardless of color (peaches are generally yellow, blushed pink or tones of red), the fruit’s skin should have an even color all over. There shouldn’t be any green or white near the stem. The flesh should be firm but give to slight pressure. And of course, you should be able to breathe in that delicious, memorable peachy scent. When you take your peaches home, if you are going to use them right away, put them in the fridge. A not-quite-ripe peach might last on the counter for two to three days, but should be refrigerated to enjoy at its best. If you pick a peach that isn’t quite ripe, put it on the counter at room temperature for a couple of days, put it in a paper bag with the top rolled down, or if you must, use it for jams, jellies, canning and baking.

This article originally ran in the August, 2018 edition of What’s Up Annapolis Magazine. You can find peach recipes here and a list of U Pick Peach orchards below:

Pick Your Own Peaches

U Pick operations confirmed at press time. It’s very important to check these farms’ Facebook pages before planning your trip to confirm picking dates, times and prices.

Baugher Farm 1015 Baugher Road, Westminster, MD 21158 Hotline for daily picking updates: 410-857-0111. Alternate Phone: 410-848-5541. www.baughers.com Weekends, 9am-5pm. Directions: about three miles west of Westminster, Maryland on Route 140.

Larriland Farm 2415 Woodbine Road (Route 94), Lisbon, MD 21797 Phone: Hotline for picking updates: 301-854-6110 or 410-442-2605. www.pickyourown.com

Homestead Farm 15604 Sugarland Road, Poolesville, MD 20837 Phone: 301-977-3761.
www.homestead-farm.net

Rock Hill Orchard 28600 Ridge Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771 Phone: 301-831-7427 Email: rockhillorchard@gmail.com. www.rockhillorchard.com

First Fruits Berry Farm and Orchard 8416 Harmony Road, Denton, MD 21629, Denton, MD 21629 Phone: 410-310-3906 Daily updates are posted on Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstfruitsorchard

Lockbriar Farms 10051 Worton Road, Chestertown, MD 21620 Phone: 410-778-9112
www.lockbriarfarms.com

Godfrey’s Farm 302 Leager Road, Sudlersville, MD 21668 Phone: 410-438-3509 www.godfreysfarm.com

Kent Fort Farm 135 Eastern Lane, Stevensville, MD 21666 Phone: 410 643-1650 www.facebook.com/kentfortfarm

White Marsh Acres 515 White Marsh Rd, Centreville, MD 21617 Phone: (410) 739-8649. Alternate Phone: (410) 490-6137

Feel free to share...

What Would Wendi Do? #3 on Rallying for a Cause

July 28, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

By Ray Feldmann

Ray Feldmann is the President & CEO of Feldmann Communications Strategies. He was a journalist with several community newspapers before starting his PR career. Email: ray@fcstrategies.com

I had heard about the anti-gun violence rally to be held in downtown Annapolis earlier in the week. But as Saturday approached, the weather forecast was ominous. The app on my phone said 100% chance of rain. Even taking into account the unreliability of weather apps, precipitation seemed inevitable. Would I attend the rally, even in the pouring rain, I wondered?

Then I read the letter-to-the-editor in The Capital.

Entitled, “Our mother would have been with students rallying against gun violence in Annapolis,” it was signed by Wendi Winters’ four children: Winters, Phoenix, Montana and Summerleigh.

“Our mother, Wendi Winters, would have supported the demonstration organized by students from St. Mary’s County calling for reforming gun laws being held Saturday in Annapolis,” the letter began. “Either she would have covered it, or shown up in solidarity. Instead, she was murdered by a coward on June 28 along with four other of your colleagues.”

Wendi was murdered that horrible Thursday afternoon along with Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Gerald Fischman, and Rebecca Smith. Those who survived that horrific Capital attack credited Wendi Winters with saving the lives of several of her colleagues by rushing the gunman as he opened fire. Who among us would have been able to demonstrate that type of courage and bravery if similarly confronted?

In my mind, I owed it to Wendi, Rob, John, Gerald, and Rebecca to attend Saturday’s rally, which was organized by Students For A Safer Maryland. So, my wife Christine, our 10-year-old twins, and I piled into our family SUV, drove downtown, parked in a nearby garage, and walked the short distance to Lawyer’s Mall, nestled between the State House and the governor’s mansion. It wasn’t just raining; it was a deluge. Despite the torrential rain, a hearty group of young people and adults gathered under a sea of colorful umbrellas.

Almost immediately, I was grateful I came. I spotted Rachael Pacella, whom I’d first met when she was a reporter for the Towson Times, before she’d moved to The Capital. She had been injured during the June 28 rampage, and in the weeks since, had written with great emotion and passion about it. I hadn’t spoken with her since that fateful day, and seeing her at the rally brought a great sense of relief mixed with sadness. We hugged, and I clumsily fumbled for the right words to say to her.

A few minutes later, the first of several speakers began shouting into a megaphone. Among them was a young woman wearing a white summer dress and sandals. She introduced herself as Selene San Felice. I knew her byline. Like Rachael, Selene was a Capital newsroom survivor.

“I know a lot of you have felt loss and grief in your lives,” Selene said to the rapt audience. “I want you to try grieving for five different people at once. Try doing that when the last memory you have of them is their violent deaths.”

I tried to imagine what Selene was thinking and feeling at that very moment. I couldn’t. I couldn’t even pretend to.

About 45 minutes later the rally concluded, and the attendees slowly drifted away to resume the rest of their weekend.

As I write this, 29 days have elapsed since I watched with an overwhelming sense of dread as dozens of emergency vehicles rushed past my neighborhood along Bestgate Road, responding to a report of an active shooter at the offices of The Capital newspaper. Like so many others, I have struggled to put this senseless tragedy behind me, not only because it impacted my community, but because I, too, was once a journalist at a community newspaper. I feel a bond with the victims and survivors.

I told a friend recently, “I’ve always ascribed to the theory of wondering what people would say about you when you died. So, live your life in such a way that you’d like what you hear” (realizing the fallacy of that line of thinking, of course).

I’ve thought about that theory a lot over the past three weeks.

Over dinner at Galway Bay this past week with a friend who is a Capital alum, we talked about the silver linings.

“What possible good can we find from this horrible incident and five deaths?” we asked each other through tears.

I’ve learned, from reading about Wendi and her four colleagues over the past three weeks, that my silver linings are about passion and purpose. About being your true, authentic self. About gratitude and taking nothing for granted. About caring and giving. About following your dreams, even when they seem scary. (Especially when they seem scary!) About stepping outside your comfort zone. About living your life to the fullest, not merely existing.

Sadly, I didn’t know Wendi Winters, but I believe she would have been standing beside me at Saturday’s anti-gun violence rally, getting soaked to the skin, cheering loudly for the students, hugging survivors, and vowing to take action to help prevent another mass shooting.

“Either she would have covered it,” her children had written, “or shown up in solidarity.”

We can all learn something from the way Wendi lived her life.

Feel free to share...

What Would Wendi Do? #2, On Living Your Passion

July 18, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

East Tennessee sunrise

On Living Your Passion by Jessy Oberright

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

– Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

When I was a young girl, I remember my dad telling me that if I was really lucky, one day I would have a job that felt like playing all day. This memory sparked in the back of my memory as I sat listening to speaker after speaker eulogize Wendi Winters at her memorial service. Her family, her friends, her colleagues, her fellow volunteers all spoke of her boundless energy both in her work as a reporter for the Capital Gazette, and in the many pursuits she followed outside of her career. Everyone, it seemed, had been touched by Wendi somehow. It was obvious that her work and other interests gave her a profound and contagious joy. She was passionate in everything she did.

I was acquainted with Wendi through one of those pursuits. She was a fellow member at my church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis. She was a tireless volunteer for the church. She was always there on Sunday, often as a greeter or an usher. She was a youth group advisor for my daughter’s youth group. I would see her on many of the field trips the kids took, despite the fact that all her own children were grown and gone. I once found myself wondering what kind of person voluntarily spends that much time with kids that were not even hers? And teenagers no less! She was at every special event, often serving in some volunteer capacity or other. She was so much a part of the church that I found myself unconsciously seeking out her flowing red curls bobbing above the crowd at her own memorial reception. There was a palpable hole in the congregation that day without her presence.

I knew Wendi was a prolific reporter, and a dedicated church volunteer, but as I listened at her memorial service about her work with the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross and the many other causes she supported, it dawned on me that Wendi Winters had managed to achieve something remarkable and rare. Wendi had embraced her passions. Wendi had not only found herself a job that felt like playing, as my dad had once told me about all those years ago, but she had managed to create a whole life in this fashion.

During the memorial service, Mayor Gavin Buckley jokingly commented that at one point he thought the Capital must have cloned Wendi because he couldn’t figure out how she could be in so many places seemingly at the same time. It’s more likely that the reason Wendi could work so tirelessly was because she was truly passionate about what she did. She was passionate about her work of telling the stories of the people of Annapolis. She was passionate about mentoring young people. She was passionate about her church and the work of affirming the worthy and dignity of every individual.

In positive psychology, as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one reaches a state called “flow” where work ceases to be draining and become sustaining. The work energizes and leaves the worker in a deeply satisfied state. Sometimes it is described as being “in the zone”. I imagine that this is why Wendi was able to be seemingly everywhere at once. This is why she seemed to have boundless energy. One would imagine that someone who kept her schedule would be exhausted and dragging, but she was joyful and warm, and her outfit always looked fantastic. Wendi followed her passions in life, in both her work and personal pursuits, and she found flow. Not only had Wendi found it, she imbued everyone she met with her enthusiasm and joy, as well.

There is a gaping hole in the fabric of Annapolis without Wendi Winters. She was so ingrained and entwined within our community that nearly everyone has been touched or knows someone who has been touched by her loss. I know I will continue to look for her unruly red mane towering above the congregation on Sunday for a long time.

I believe that Wendi Winters has left us a duty to fulfill in her absence. It is to find our personal passions and begin to actively follow them. What are you passionate about? How can you make it an active part of your life? Whether it be art, music, writing, beliefs, causes, etc. these are the vehicles through which we can affect humankind. Wendi has given us a great example to follow, of how living one’s passion spills over to the next person, and the next person, and the next, like water. When water moves, more water flows in to take it’s place. Maybe this is how we can begin trying to fill up the void left by her unbelievably cruel and senseless death.

It is easy to fall into the drudgery of day to day life. It is easy to become victim to the daily grind. Wendi gave us a template for not being that person. By following her example of living passionately, perhaps we can find the renewed energy and the rejuvenated spirit to go beyond ourselves, to touch people, to initiate change, to make the world better for us all. It’s what I think Wendi would do.

More information about positive psychology visit this website.

About the writer: Jessy Oberright is a member of the Unitarian Universal Church of Annapolis, as was Wendi. She is also a local teacher at Montessori International Children’s House in Arnold and has long been passionate about her family, long treks, and enjoying the outdoors.

If you’d like to submit some words on how Wendi impacted your life, or made you think about life in general, please comment with your email address.

Feel free to share...

What Would Wendi Say?

July 12, 2018 By Diana 4 Comments

By now, no matter where you live in the world, you’ve probably heard about my friend Wendi Winters. She’s the woman who saved the lives of six of her fellow newspapermen when she threw her office garbage can and recycling bin at the monster who attacked the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. While she saved lives, she sacrificed her own by taking a shotgun shell to the chest.

When we lose people, especially in such a heroic and horrible way, we tend to sort of beatify them; to amplify or exaggerate the best of their character and traits. In the case of Wendi, this would be hard to do. In life Wendy was outsized. She was tall, slim, with the most –unusual– red hair dye job and boundless curls. Her physical traits defined her persona. She had a penchant for wearing lots of eyeliner but no mascara, which always threw me for a loop. She was a force of nature. Truly incredible. Her heart was the size of the entire world.

Wendi’s headshot for her work as a columnist at the Capital Gazette newspaper

When I started my chemo treatments, I was pretty sick. Physically and mentally, I wasn’t in an ideal place. I didn’t tell many people about my sickness–I didn’t want to have to explain the details, or listen politely to their inane advice, or see their clumsy attempts to hide an unpleasant reaction to my rashy, reddened spots. Around that time, Wendi called me up to try to convince me to take over a weekly column for the Capital, where she was a features writer. I wrote for the Baltimore Sun Media Group/Capital Gazette as a Food and Travel columnist and a long features writer for more than ten years, so she thought I might like a new and regular gig writing Food Reviews. I wasn’t super thrilled about her idea, but I agreed to meet anyway.

On the day of our rendezvous, I felt horrible and tried to cancel but Wendi convinced me to meet her in the building’s foyer. “Wow, you really don’t look yourself,” she said. We both lived at one time in New York City and we both loved fashion and being “put together” so she was more than a little surprised to find me in baggy sweatpants and running sneakers. I may or may not have been wearing a bra.

Here is what Wendy did not do when she saw me on that bench, trying to be as invisible as possible:

She didn’t ask to see my spots
She didn’t try to touch me or my spots
She didn’t ask a single busybody question clothed in sympathy
She didn’t make me feel pathetic, less than valuable or physically repulsive
She didn’t shrink away when she saw how sick I clearly was

Here’s what she did do:

She simply said, “I am here”.

Implicit in those three little words was the very definition of humanity. Implicit was everything she didn’t need to say out loud, or put into words: I care. I offer heartfelt and genuine sympathy. I offer comfort. I simply want to help. I am a true friend.

When I told her I really didn’t feel like talking, there wasn’t a point and anyway I just wanted to get back home where no one could see me, she gave me a friendly scolding. Wendi was very good at offering advice. Essentially she reminded me that when someone reaches out to you, and you don’t let them in, the person you are hurting the most isn’t you. It’s them. You aren’t depriving yourself of the hand offered. In fact, you are cutting off the hand–you are taking away an essential part of that person. Wendi reminded me of a universal fact I know to be true: people come into our day, or into our life for a purpose. When you shut someone out, you deprive them of their purpose.

I didn’t take that assignment. I was so nauseous back then, I don’t know how I would have managed. But I’ve thought often about that visit with Wendi. Now that she is gone, I’ve been reflecting on her purpose and gifts. Not the embellished ones, but the important ones she could be counted on for always pulling out of her Mary Poppins-like carpetbag right when you needed them.

Wendi Winters, photographed in spring 2018 on the deck at Annapolis Maritime Museum. Photographer: unknown (please let me know who you are!)

Wendi Winters, photographed in spring 2018 in Chesapeake Beach by Joshua McKerrow

At her memorial, her daughter ended the eulogy by saying, “Ask yourself, what would Wendi do?” It was meant to lighten the moment, but actually, its my challenge for you today, or this week, or this month, or whenever and however you can. What could you do to open yourself even a little to your loved ones, your neighbors, your friends, your community, your world?

Could you

invite a friend who otherwise might avoid socializing for a walk or a run or a sunset paddle?
send a friendly text out of the blue when you might have hesitated before?
send a long lost friend or someone you know to be suffering an old-fashioned handwritten card or small gift?
bring a sweet treat to a housebound new mommy or perhaps a dish to an elderly shut in?
make a connection with someone you know to be struggling but who has sort of disappeared from social media, neighborhood events or workplace gatherings?

I’ve had all of these happen for me from my friends and from fellow My Peak Challenge Peakers. The receipt of these gifts of love has changed me for the better and forever. Anyway, the idea –the challenge– of remembering What Would Wendi Do is appealing to me, and it’s a way to keep Wendi prominent in my heart and mind. I hope you will accept the challenge of reaching out to others in a genuine way, and let me know in the comments how it went.

Feel free to share...

Places to Go: Romance in Philadelphia

July 6, 2018 By Diana 1 Comment

My inbox was overflowing. My husband’s work seemed to be never-ending. School events in April and May came crashing down on us like an endless set of oceanic waves. Home repairs loomed, as did twelve weeks of endless summer with an energetic nine-year-old and a moody pre-teen. I was one moment short of tapping out.

And then I heard those wonderful three words: “Let’s Get Away”. And then these four: “Just You and Me”.

But where to? We had a small sandbox to play in: a long weekend was the maximum amount of time to spare, close to the children was imperative, things to do that we both enjoyed and that would take our hearts and minds off our everyday dramas was paramount. Romance was high on the list. So was good food. A field trip to Philly fit the bill!

Philadelphia, known as the City of Brotherly Love and ground zero for Cheese Steak sandwiches, is often overlooked as a cultured city and a romantic destination. Perhaps this is because folks in our area think of Philly in terms of elementary school history lessons, or within the scope of a fierce sports rivalry between “our team” and theirs.

But Philadelphia is just a hop, skip and a jump away, and the perfect city for a long weekend getaway. Whether you are seeking quiet strolls through leafy parks and long afternoons exploring Monet and Tiffany, or if you’re looking for cosmopolitan restaurants and notable lounges, Philadelphia should be on your radar. Philadelphia is a fantastic city to visit with kids of any age, but today’s post is for the adults.

View from a corner room at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel in the city's historic district.

View from a corner Grand King room at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel

Getting there

Philadelphia is located about two hours from Anne Arundel County, via Route 95 through Delaware. If you drive, beware the gridlock traffic is no bueno during peak hours, so try to avoid the typical times. Commuter bus service Metrobus offers transportation from Rowe Boulevard in downtown Annapolis to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. There is train service via Amtrak from BWI. Public transportation in the city limits is easily accessible and affordable via bikes you can rent by the hour, the Philly Phlash trolley bus, commuter bus and commuter rail, Uber, Lyft, and taxis. Check out Rome2Rio for transportation options.

Where to Stay

Getting to Philadelphia is easy. But deciding where to stay is more complicated. Do you prefer the heart of American history, or would you prefer to be closer to cultural landmarks? Do you like a contemporary space with easy access to tourism, or do you prefer a sophisticated ambiance that puts romance at your fingertips? Two hotels fit the bill for either of these concerns.

The Loew’s Philadelphia Hotel (1200 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 215-627-1200) in City Center is close to Independence Hall (the Liberty Bell), Reading Terminal Market, the Delaware River waterfront, and exclusive Rittenhouse Square. Although this hotel is best appreciated for its location in the heart of the historic area and for amenities like underground valet parking, proximity to public transportation, free wifi and pet friendly accommodations, Loews also offers some of the most romantic views in the city.

Grand King rooms and suites are spacious corner units with sweeping 180-degree views over the rooftops of two hundred-year-old churches, the iconic statue of William Penn and modern skyscrapers to the suburbs beyond.

Cozy lounge in The Logan foyer. The gardens and fountains are just beyond the bar.

Cozy lounge in The Logan foyer. The gardens & fountains are just beyond the bar.

The Logan (One Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA 215-963-1500) is a restful and posh property characterized by a picture perfect lobby (it’s actually the site of many wedding photos), The Commons– a hip bar and lounge, a gorgeous grotto-like spa, and Assembly, a swank rooftop bar overlooking Logan Square’s tree-lined boulevards, parks and fountains. A member of the Hilton Curio Collection, The Logan is situated in the heart of Museum Mile and is across the street from cultural destinations like The Franklin Institute, Barnes Foundation, Free Library of Philadelphia, Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Disclaimer: its one of my favorite Philly properties and I could go on and on about it.

In an effort to be a destination for visitors and for locals alike, The Logan’s staff thought about how to bring Philadelphia’s culture and unique heritage to life inside the hotel. They achieved an authentic connection through art and education. A professional curator was hired to source more than 1600 pieces of locally produced works of art that are exhibited in the lobby, meeting spaces, rooms and throughout all public spaces.

The staff places significant emphasis on forming lasting partnerships with the nearby cultural attractions. There is no concierge: every staff member should be able to help visitors find the perfect way to spend the day, from tourism to entertainment, to meals and certainly to dreamy destinations. Exclusive partnerships mean special pricing, entry times and exclusive perks for Logan guests.

Rooftop view. Photo courtesy Philadelphia Magazine and The Logan

Our stay at the Logan was punctuated with romance. After checking in, we started our quick slide into R and R over cocktails at The Commons. As a wedding party took over the lobby space, we moved through a set of doors to the gardens, an expanse of green lawn with beautiful landscaping and cascading fountains that screen the din of traffic from the city just beyond. After dinner and a visit to Eastern Penitentiary (more on this later), we enjoyed champagne under the stars at Assembly. Just watching my husband’s handsome profile as the sun set over the gorgeous gardens, with the river in the distance, made me feel like I was eons and not a simple car ride away from the drudgery of everyday life.

The next morning we reserved a couple’s massage in the spa and enjoyed a delicious brunch at Urban Farmer, an adjacent, award-winning restaurant. The spa area has a great gym with everything you need and a pool (note: the pool lights up in an array of blues and purples. Trippy romance.) Do you and yours need to leave The Logan at all? The answer is no. But as long as you are in town, you might not want to miss all the city has to offer.

What To Do- Historic District

If you are a great lover of history, Philadelphia is the place for you. Start in the historic district for a walkable tour of America’s most iconic colonial landmarks: Benjamin Franklin’s home, the Betsy Ross House, Independence Hall, the Independence National Historic Park (location of the Liberty Bell) and the recently opened Museum of the American Revolution.

A visit to this area of town should include a stroll through Spruce Street Harbor Park. Named by Huffington Post as one of the World’s Best Urban Beaches, this warm weather pop up park boasts hammocks, twinkling lights, games, floating barges, food, beer gardens and a carnival-like atmosphere. If you get hungry, walk a few blocks to Reading Terminal Market for a plethora of great eats, including farm fresh foods served diner-style, international foods, Amish specialties and plenty of picnic-worthy grab and go options. If you are dying for a cheesesteak, try Sonny’s, Jim’s Steaks, Pat’s King of Steaks or Campo’s. Quiet nearby strolls include Rittenhouse Square, one of the cities original five squares and the site of some of Philadelphia’s most exclusive homes, not to mention many top restaurants.

Cupcakes at Reading Terminal Market make a great snack or treat. Also try the famous cookies, ice cream and international delicacies.

Romantic dining destinations include Bistrot La Minette on S. 6th St. Bistro Romano on Lombard Street, and Moshulu, a four-masted ship docked on the Delaware River, but of course, there are many others for every palate and price-point.

As mentioned above, if you don’t want to walk Philly (which I vastly recommend), try the very affordable and convenient Philly Phlash or a bike you can rent by the hour.

What To Do- Cultural District

If you are a great lover of architecture and art, a stroll down Market Street toward the Museum Mile should scratch your itch. Start at Philadelphia City Hall on Market Street. Pass under the gorgeous arch of this enormous and ornate municipal building that is capped by a giant clock and the statue of William Penn. Just beyond is the first of many city fountains to be found in renovated public spaces. Pause to watch amorous couples strolling and picnicking, energetic children racing through the synchronized sprays and elderly folks resting at the many tables spread throughout the plaza.

Continue past the LOVE sculpture, stop for a ride up to One Liberty Observation Deck, where you can canoodle with views across skyscrapers and down rivers. Take a right turn on 17th Street toward Benjamin Franklin Parkway, heading toward Logan Square and the many romantic green spaces, fountains, and museums to be found there. While not necessarily a lengthy walk, there is much to be seen on this stroll. Be sure to stop to enjoy quiet places, pretty views, interesting works of art or architecture and perhaps a cappuccino or latte at any of the street-front cafes.

The parks near Logan Square have beautiful tucked away nooks, park benches under leafy trees and plenty of fountains, cultural attractions and beautiful views.

Other Romantic Destinations

It’s nearly impossible to curate a list of all the romantic places you could visit in Philadelphia. But if romance to you means quiet moments of reflection, beautiful vistas, and the opportunity enjoy and reconnect with your partner, here are some other places to consider:

An unusual destination that we enjoyed immensely is the Eastern Penitentiary Historic Site. It’s reasonable to overlook this attraction when planning a weekend for two, but believe me, you will be holding on to each other, laughing, and maybe even screaming. Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world. Its vaulted cells, now in partial ruin and a not a little eerie, held many of America’s most notorious criminals, including “Scarface” Al Capone. There is no doubt that Eastern is creepy—its considered haunted actually, but it’s also unusual, reasonably priced ($12-$14) entertainment that will give you memories to last a lifetime.

Eastern is located near the Fairmount neighborhood, another area with plenty of bars, lounges, restaurants, and tucked away parks.

Sister Cities Park, near Logan Square, has a café and benches under leafy trees perfect for a break before venturing into the museums. This park is near a Swann Memorial Fountain, the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and the AMOR statue, the quintessential selfie spot.

The Azalea Garden is opposite the Rocky steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. You can see over expansive landscaped gardens and down the river to Boathouse Row, a line of gloriously colored Victorians mansions right on the water. Boathouse Row is illuminated at night, an especially romantic sight.

The beautiful grounds of The Barnes Foundation are worthy of an amorous stroll, but once inside, you will be awestruck by the private collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings. Since this is a private museum, the art is interspersed in eclectic ways that you won’t find in a more typical space, an effect that makes a visit here even more special and unique.

Race Street Pier on the Delaware River waterfront offers gorgeous sunset views and an opportunity to stroll hand in hand with a view of yoga in the park, occasional street music and fantastic people watching.

Fairmount Park is your chance to get away from it all, yet stay close to urban amenities. Much like Central Park in New York City, Fairmount offers frequent summer outdoors music and symphonic performances. A trolley runs through the park if you are too tired to walk.

Much like the Whispering Dishes on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, your lover can sit on the stone bench near the Smith Memorial Arch while you sit on a bench across the street. When you whisper terms of endearment, it will magically be heard as if you were seated next to each other.

Other Sources

A1 and I have taken a field trip to Philadelphia twice, in our moments of need as a couple and as a parenting unit. Both visits have been enormously restorative; nevertheless, there is always more to see, to do and to learn. For other ideas, visit Thrillist.com’s list of Top Ten Philadelphia Date Ideas, PhillyMag.com’s Field Guide: 28 Romantic Date Ideas in Philadelphia and USA Today’s 10 Best list by Sharon Rigney, a local Philadelphia area expert.

Feel free to share...

Chemistry for Kids: Cinnamon Sticky Buns

June 25, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

Over the summer I am especially conscious of not letting my children’s brains whither. I am also especially (can I say aggravatingly) aware of how much they abhor my couching this in terms of “schoolwork”, “homework”, “homeschool” “workbook” or “learning time”.

I have to be subtle. And creative.

Lesson: compare and contrast sticky buns to cinnamon rolls.

Conveniently, cooking is a wonderful way to teach kids how to follow directions, work in steps, understand measurements, memorize fractions and begin to understand chemistry. Food is your child’s first biology, chemistry and even geology lesson.

These cinnamon sticky buns, based on a recipe from Cooks Illustrated All Time Best Breakfast & Brunch Recipes, currently available for sale in grocery stores.

Let me tell you, of the many, many delicious things made in my kitchen, these buns were perhaps the very most delicious. Ooey-Gooey, soft, cinnamon-y, sweet (but-not-too sweet), with crunchy nuts on top and swirls of sugar inside: these buns are very special and utterly repeatable. We also made cinnamon rolls, from the same magazine. They were subpar but an excellent way to spend a rainy afternoon, and a lesson in comparing and contrasting. I had the kids write up their cooking experience, as well as a chart comparing the two recipes, and considered it a successful school day.

INGREDIENTS

Flour Paste

3/4 cup water
1/4 cup bread flour

Dough

2/3 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cup bread flour
1 packet (2 1/4 ts) instant or rapid rise yeast
3 TB granulated sugar
1 ts salt
6 TB butter, softened

Topping

6 TB butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 ts salt
2 TB water
2 TB vanilla
1 ts pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

Filling

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 ts pumpkin pie spice

OK Lets get to Work

Measure and Set Aside all ingredients, in order of use
Clean up everything, put away ingredients
Turn on the light in your oven and fill a pot or kettle with 5+ cups water that are heated to a boil and reduced to a simmer. Have a glass oven safe container ready that the water will be poured into (ie Pyrex loaf pan).
Prepare two large-ish metal mixing bowls by spraying with non-stick spray. Set aside with some plastic wrap nearby.
Prepare a 13 x 9 metal baking pan by spraying with non stick spray. You need to use a metal pan as a glass pan conducts heat differently.
Prepare a countertop area by lightly dusting with flour.
Adjust your oven racks to the bottom and the lower middle positions.

To Make the Flour Paste

Whisk the water and flour together until smooth and no lumps remain.
Microwave, about 20 seconds at a time, stopping to whisk, until the mixture thickens into a stiff pudding like consistency that drops mounds when dropped from the whisk. The recipe said 50-75 seconds, as every microwave is different My GE Advantium achieved the appropriate consistency in 45 seconds.

For the Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk and set on medium low (ie #2 on my Kitchen Aid), combine milk and flour mixture from microwave until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking until fully incorporated. Add flour and yeast.
Switch out the whisk for a dough hook and mix on medium-low speed until until all the flour is moistened, about 1 minute. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Add sugar and salt and mix for five minutes.
Add butter, up the speed to #3 and mix for five minutes longer, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
Remove the dough to one of the prepared mixing bowls. Lightly spray with non-stick spray. Cover with plastic wrap. Set dough in the oven and let it rise for about an hour.

Meanwhile, Make the Topping

Whisk the melted butter, sugars, salt and spices in a bowl until smooth. Add water and vanilla and whisk until incorporated.
Pour mixture into the pan, tilting the pan as needed to make sure it is evenly and throughly spread.
Sprinkle with the nuts, if you are using.

Make the Filling

Mix the sugar and spices until well incorporated and set aside

When the dough is ready

Point out how the yeast caused the dough to rise. Very cool. What fed the yeast to make it grow? CARBS! (sugar)
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface
Press the GENTLY dough down to remove air bubbles, then start pressing out into a large rectangle, about 15 x 18. Press evenly and be careful to not cause air pockets holes by spreading too thinly.
Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, pressing it down lightly into the dough and creating a nice smooth surface.
Beginning with the edge nearest you, roll into an even cylinder. Be careful to not roll to tight or too loose. Press the seam on your last roll to seal it, and turn your roll so it is seam side down.
Mark gently with a knife to create equal portions of about 1 1/2 inches width.
Slice (the recipe called for dental floss, but a good sharp kitchen knife is perfectly fine). Transfer the slices to the prepared 13 x 9 metal pan.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap.
NOTE at this stage, the dough can be refrigerated until you are ready to use it. We were baking in the afternoon but wanted the buns hot out of the oven for breakfast, so I just set the pan in the fridge overnight. Easy Peasy. When you are ready to bake them, they will need a little longer to rise, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When you are ready for the second rise and to bake the buns

Set the Pyrex loaf pan on the lower rack of the oven. Pour the boiling/simmering water into the loaf pan. Shut the oven door and let rise another hour.
Remove water and dough from oven. Set oven to 375.

To Bake

Bake the buns on the upper rack, still set in the lower middle position, about 20 minutes. Tent the buns with foil or parchment paper so the tops don’t burn, another 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes.
Place a rimmed baking sheet, or any flat surface (I lined a baking rack with parchment paper), over the top of your buns and flip to invert and remove from baking pan. This sounds difficult but is very easy, b/c you used a metal pan and were sure to spray it!
Scoop out any remaining ooey-gooey toppings onto the buns.
Wait as long as you possibly can (we topped out at the recommended 5 minutes) then gently slice the buns to pull apart. The recipe calls for waiting about 10 minutes before eating, but my bet is you won’t be doing that. We certainly didn’t.
Our recipe made about 12 buns. I froze 6 after letting them cool and they were fantastic warmed in a low oven about a week later.

Bon Appetit! We hope you enjoyed this little lesson in food chemistry, that your kids had a blast measuring, whisking, sticking their fingers in the yeasty dough and leaving trails of caramelized sugar all over your table. Life is short. Don’t sweat the brown sugar sprinkled in every crack of your kitchen!

Feel free to share...

Places to Go: Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Gatlinburg, Tennessee

May 31, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

I’ve just returned from a fabulous trip to East Tennessee. How I ended up there is a story unto itself. Regardless of that, and keeping in mind my reticence to go in the first place, I was very pleasantly surprised by–well, pretty much everything. If you are thinking of some athletic personal challenges, or if you just need a great place to consider for a family vacation, this little corner of the world is ground zero for everything you could want.

East Tennessee is nestled betwixt Kentucky and West Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the East and the hill country of northern Georgia to the South. I learned about all this from my flight companion on the one hour or so plane ride from Reagan National ($300 on to McGhee Tyson Airport on American Airlines). He wore a “Make American Great Again” hat, and sported an unashamedly southern drawl. His last name was Armstrong, pronounced Ahhmstrong, as in from the Scottish Armstrongs who came over the Treaty Line in the mid-1700’s. When he told me he was a “rabid right wing policy wonk activist fighting for the rights of unborn babies at all stages of life”, all I could manage was a polite “Oh. Well how do you enjoy DC?”.

Having discovered a sort of common ground in our mutual love for history, I soon learned about his great excitement for the Starz TV Show Outlander. He watches each new episode with his wife (Who would’ve thought? I blushed thinking about this elderly gentleman taking in some of the scenes Outlander is so famous for, but then thought to myself “Kudos Mr. Armstrong. Kudos!”. There is alot of history depicted in the show. I get it….) We shared an animated conversation from take off to touch down that had little to do with ’45 and everything to do with how the Scots made themselves at home in the American heartland.

It was Mr. Ahmstrong [sp] who taught me the proper way to pronounce “Appalachia”, and who schooled me in the culture and geography of Tennessee. Tennessee is divided into three distinct regions. There is the comparatively flatter side of the state, with Nashville at it’s center, called West Tennessee. There is Middle Tennessee, an obvious situation. And then there is heaven-on-earth, East Tennessee. These are official terms, written into state law. You need to know them.

East Tennessee, the land of beautiful mountain mornings.

East Tennessee, anchored by Knoxville but perhaps best known as Dolly Parton’s birthplace and the location of her namesake Dollywood, as well as Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is characterized by the most unusual and beautiful mountains. Steep, with deep hollows and sharply outlined ridges, the endlessly rolling hillsides are covered with a soft blanket of leafy deciduous trees. The color of the trees marks the change of seasons, and by association, the flow of tourism: acres upon acres of mountainside covered with pink and purple blooms in spring, a thousand shades of green in summer, a million shades of red, orange, yellow and brown in autumn.

The forest floor is a fairy’s emerald kingdom: wild rhododendrons, mountain laurel, ferns, trilliums, and grasses appear everywhere, as if spread in a magical carpet of soft green. Huge ancient rocks and twisted roots protrude as if fortresses and battlements. Waterfalls spring from hillsides as if the mountains are weeping. Rivers and “criks” rush down the hollows, singing their timeless songs of peace and tranquility.

What struck me most about the Smokies during my recent visit was that their glory, their beauty, is superfluous. In fact, (as should be the case in our everyday lives) the beauty of just one flower, one tree, one river, one facet of any given view, is secondary and even relatively meritless compared to the complicated, interwoven majesty of the forest as a whole.

Roots cling to rocky riverbeds. Limbs bend with the wind. Forest creatures creep and crawl in an endless parade of color and texture. Flowers blooming in impossible places are the most stunning reminder of rebirth and renewal. How anyone can walk into these forests and not want to conserve and protect them is beyond my comprehension.

Nevertheless, two years ago, Smoky Mountains National Park and especially Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, were threatened by a terrible fire. A deadly blaze, it killed 14 people, injured scores more, damaged more than 2000 structures and burned through 16,000 acres. It was reportedly caused by two boys dropping lit matches along Chimney Tops Trail during a period of extreme drought. The reason I mention this fire is because this region of Tennessee is 100% reliant on tourist dollars. In fact, visitors to the area bring in around $700 million in revenue annually. The people who live here largely work in the service industry. They are the waiters, the servers, the hotel clerks, the amusement park operators who feed their families on an hourly wage. When news of the fire hit, tourism dropped off and these families suffered.

Chimney Tops, the site of a deadly fire caused by juveniles playing with matches. Please, don’t play with fire in the woods. This photos was taken in May-you can see the miles upon miles of charred forest.

But guess what! Dollywood was untouched. Gatlinburg was untouched. Only a small percentage of the park was burned. There is so much to see and do here, that fear of a lack of amenities shouldn’t hold anyone back! The cities of East Tennessee are working hard to make sure folks know they are in business and ready to welcome visitors. During my visit, hotels were sprucing up, new ones are being built, the airport was humming right along and everyone was primed for a successful summer.

If you haven’t been to East Tennessee, especially with kids, here are some good reasons to visit:

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park– I have already mentioned how beautiful it is. Take my word for it, you NEED to go. Listed as the most visited park in the USNP system, Great Smoky NP still doesn’t feel crowded, especially if you don’t mind getting off the beaten path.

2. The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, Christ in the Smokies Museum and Gardens, Hollywood Star Cars Museum and of course, Cooters Place (home an indoor family fun center, putt putt golf, go-karts and a General Lee, may she never die) and the Arts & Crafts corridor between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinsburg: these are just a few of the unusual things to see in Gatlinburg. Don’t be afraid to try something new and unusual. At worst, you may groan. At best you might learn something new. I guarantee you will make memories for a lifetime!

3. Dollywood– How can you not? Perhaps Tennessee’s most famous attraction excepting Nashville, Dollywood offers amusement park rides, a waterpark, fantastic music festivals and besides all that, the opportunity to support the local economy. Dolly Parton herself frequently visits, you never know, you might get lucky enough to hear her sing. Her version of #Jolene with goddaughter Miley Cyrus is something indeed!

4. Take a hike- If you can get through East Tennessee without taking even a short walkabout, you are made of steel. If you are in the Gatlinburg area, I suggest Porters Creek Trail. At about 5 miles roundtrip if you go to the waterfall, it is flat, well groomed and has plenty of points of interest for the entire family: a gorgeous creek with stops for picnicking, a historic homestead, two hundred year old foundations of former farm sites, swarms of swallowtail butterflies, log bridges over rushing water, bowers of blooming rhododendrons and fairy kingdoms for miles. A tougher and equally beautiful hike is Chimney Tops. A bit tougher and longer still is Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park and highest mountain in Tennessee (elev 6,643). You can drive to that one, if you must.

5. Dip your toes- As already mentioned at least five times, there are many places to simply sit, relax, dip your toes to cool off or settle down. Porters Creek where it meets the Parkway is perfect for this activity, as is the Chimney Tops trailhead, the picnic area at Cades Cove (very popular), the Little River Trail near the Elkmont campground and Deep Creek, where you can also go tubing.

6. Take Flight– There are twelve zipline companies doing business in the Gatlinsburg area. It’s a popular past time. I recommend Smoky Mountain Zip Lines, a US Navy vet owned small business that’s long on good humor. Seriously, some of the funniest jokes I’ve ever heard, and they don’t stop for the entire 2 hours you are up in the trees. They work hard to create an experience that is fun, comfortable, and hospitable. ($70 pp, coupons available online).

7. Eat a pancake- there are approximately 1 million flapjack houses in the Gatlinburg area. Highly rated is Crockett’s (doesn’t it seem appropo to eat at a place called Crockett’s whilst in the area? I think this is half the panache. There are always long lines at this campy spot). There are so many pancake houses, I guess it would be tough to tell you where to go. In this case it’s best to ask a local.

8. The cabins, hotels and resorts- Look, Gatlinburg, and the surrounding towns, are not fancy. I jokingly referred to Gatlinburg as Ocean City in the Mountains and my friend Mr. Armstrong warned me it would feel like a carnival. Forego an expensive spa for a reasonably priced independent hotel or motel that’s been owned by the same family for generations. I stayed in a rented home for the week, and believe that is the way I will always visit the area. There are multiple rental companies for this option. Our cabin was managed by Cabins For You and I was happy with our choice. There are numerous resorts, RV parks, mobile home parks, VRBOs/AirBnBs, and tent camping spots.

9. The drives– There are many glorious drives in our great country, but few are so grand as the Parkway through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Traffic is often slow on the Parkway–people are gawking, jockeying and stopping at overlooks. Speaking of overlooks, don’t miss the steep drive to Clingman’s Dome. Driving through the Blue Ridge and Smokies are a favorite past time of bikers and bicyclers. Please be cautious and polite while sharing the road.

10. The gateway towns– I would be remiss to not mention nearby towns like Maryville, Sevierville and Bryson City. Often times, you can find more lodging options at these outliers. My favorite is Cherokee, Tennessee. Located on the Cherokee reservation, this little town has numerous educational attractions like Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Oconoluftee Indian Village and the Unto These Hills outdoor theatrical production.

11. I have to add an 11. Sorry. It’s the music. Classic country, new country, mountain music, R & B, roots. Dolly, Roseanne, June (well, that’s a short bit away in West Virginia, but still…) Chet, Aretha, Dottie. So much music here. So many places and festivals where you can find it. The bonus of this area is colleges in Knoxville and Maryville where you can hear great acts before they ever hit the big time. Check out the Bijou Theater and Scruffy City in Knoxville. Also the Rhythm and Blooms Festival and the Sugarlands Mountain Festival. If you are in town in early May, check out the fierce competition between school aged musicians at Smoky Mountain Music Festival.

Getting There

There are multiple ways to drive to the Gatlinburg area from Maryland. Most of them are about 8-11 hours travel time and all of them end up off the main highway on gorgeous, twisting roads. I especially like the drive via Asheville, NC, preferably with a stay at the Biltmore on your way home, just to bring some posh into your mountain vacation.

You can fly from Reagan Airport in Alexandria, Virginia into Knoxville. Parking at Reagan was $25 per day. There are limited airlines and flights to Knoxville from the Chesapeake region, so be sure to research your options. Knoxville is a small, friendly, efficient airport that is very easy to get in and out of. There is a Hilton attached to the terminal if you need a place to stay coming or going. You can also fly into Atlanta and drive through the lovely hills and mountains of northern Georgia. The cheapest option may be flying into Nashville and driving East. You will definitely need a rental car to get around if you fly in, and you should plan for slow, twisty roads that invite extreme caution and manners.

Summary

OK, this post has been a long one, but as I am sure you can tell, I was thrilled with my time in East Tennessee. I am planning a return trip in July and will let you know the difference between a spring and summer trip. Have you been to the Gatlinburg area, or do are you looking for information you don’t see here? Let me know in the comments!

Feel free to share...

Gun Violence in the News: How to Talk to Your Kids

May 30, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

Many of us have watched with horror as gun violence in America has erupted across our television screens. The student shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County and the recent March four Our Lives has brought the issue of guns and gun violence squarely to our backdoor, indeed into our living rooms or wherever the news can follow us.

While adults are able to understand and process terrible events in peer conversations, on the radio, in the news and online, our children are not. As a parent, you might struggle with the idea of talking to your child about guns and gun violence. Despite the uncomfortable nature of the discussion though, it has never been more important for parents to lead by example, to help their children feel safe and to mitigate the natural distress and anxiety we all feel.

Dr. Tim Herzog is a counselor practicing in Annapolis, Maryland and the father of a nine-year-old public school student. He says that foremost, parents need to gauge what their children actually know about what they’ve heard or seen on the news. This can be difficult to analyze especially for children already reticent to talk much or younger children who may not understand what they’ve seen or heard. He suggests asking open-ended questions that allow children to express for themselves what they know and what they think and feel about it. “Try not to “plant seeds” to guide your conversation one way or the other. Letting your child express their own thoughts and really being a guide will help you as a parent learn more,” he says.

1) Ask open-ended questions. Let your child know you are interested in their reaction and feelings without stamping the conversation with your own viewpoints and opinions.

2) Get your child talking. Don’t interrupt, and be respectful of their point of view.

3) Identify what they are trying to communicate Define aloud what you hear your child saying so they know you are listening and relating.

4) Confirm what they are feeling and let them know you are available to talk or to find help.

5) Don’t try to be your child’s therapist. If they need more help than you can provide, reach out to your school’s social worker, a counselor or physiologist specifically certified in working with children and incident trauma.

Dr. Herzog says questions that both promote communication and create a channel to help your child alleviate anxiety might look like: “So what have your heard?” “Oh really, where did you hear about it?” “Huh, well tell me more about what you are thinking and feeling.” Then “If I hear you right, you are saying….” “Well you say that when you hear this stuff on the radio and even when you are away from the radio its really got you worried. Lets talk about how we can help take that away.”

It’s important to listen to your child’s fears and concerns. But it’s even more important to remember that our children look to us to make them feel safe. This is true whether you have a toddler or a teenager. Once you’ve established what your child knows and how they feel about it, you may find that your family needs outside help to manage irrational fears or anxieties. “If your child’s worries have mounted from “I feel scared about guns” to “I am not going to school because I might get shot”, or if your child is exhibiting unexplainable and atypical behaviors like withdrawal, nightmares or outbursts, its time to contact a counselor or psychologist”, says Dr. Herzog. To find a professional near you, visit www.psychologytoday.com or www.marylandpsychology.org. If you think your child needs help, but you can’t afford a therapist, visit http://probonocounseling.org/.

For more information from Dr. Herzog and additional ideas about how to talk to your kids about gun violence, visit www.foragingforflavor.com and search “Gun Violence”.

Feel free to share...

Blue Angels in Annapolis: The Details

May 16, 2018 By Diana Leave a Comment

The following information is courtesy USNA and my own experience attending these performances for the past 15 years. Learn more information about where to watch the show and what to bring at my blog post here.

The Blue Angels fly past the USNA’s Hospital Point in Annapolis.

May 16, 2018- The Blue Angels will perform above the Severn River, Tuesday, May 22, 2018 and Wednesday, May 23, at 2 p.m. as part of the Naval Academy’s Commissioning Week. The Tuesday event is a practice day. The Wednesday event is the performance day. Viewing of these events is free and open to the public.

The Blue Angels are the U.S. #Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron and fly a team of six Navy #F/A-18 Hornets. Two Naval Academy graduates are part of the Blue Angels team. Lt. Andre Webb is a graduate of the Class of 2008 and will be the show’s narrator and Cmdr. Matt Kaslik, Class of 1995, is the team’s executive officer.

The Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibits the choreographed refinements of Navy-trained flying skills. The audience will see the graceful maneuvers of the four-jet Diamond formation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of the two Solo pilots. The team concludes the demonstration with a performance of maneuvers together in the well-known Delta formation. The team will perform a variety of high-speed, aerobatic, precision-maneuvers during their approximately 45-minute long, narrated air show.

Viewing areas for the show are noted on this map.

Tuesday, May 22, the Blue Angels will perform circle and arrival maneuvers between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. followed by a rehearsal of their flight demonstration between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Wednesday, May 23, the Blue Angels performance and flight demonstration will begin at 2 p.m. Spectators in the Ingram Field viewing areas will be able to hear the show’s narration. Spectators in other viewing areas can tune-in to WNAV radio on 1430AM and 99.9FM to hear the broadcast of the narration.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians are invited to walk through USNA Gates 1, 3 or 8. All persons 18 years of age or older are required to present a valid Government-issued photo ID for entry into the Naval Academy and all personnel and vehicles are subject to search.

Guests are permitted to bring daypacks, diaper bags, camera cases, and purses. Larger bags and large coolers are prohibited. Also, they are not needed, as the demonstration is about 1 hour long. Delays at security are exacerbated by checking multiple and large bags and purses. Please minimize what you bring onto the yard for this reason. Oftentimes, people with no bags will be separated into a separate, much faster moving line. All bags are subject to search; weapons and alcoholic beverages are prohibited.

Car Drivers

Drivers without Department of Defense ID cards or Midshipmen Parents Passes are not permitted on the Naval Academy grounds. Vehicle access may be further restricted to staff and residents during limited time frames in support of special Commissioning Week events; notice will be promulgated separately.

Handicapped visitors may bring vehicles onto #USNA with handicapped plates or placards and they must be present in the vehicle; vehicles will be searched before access is granted.

Parking is available at the blue side of the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a $5 fee for cars, $10 for RVs. There is a free daily shuttle between the stadium and the academy; shuttle buses are not wheelchair accessible.

During the Blue Angels flight rehearsal May 22, and the flight demonstration May 23, the only drop-off and pick-up point for the shuttle bus on the grounds of the academy will be in front of Alumni Hall from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Please note that traffic leaving the event is extremely congested throughout the Academy, downtown Annapolis, Route 450 and NAS Annapolis, especially along Prince George, Route 450, Taylor Avenue and Annapolis Street.

Naval Academy Gate Closures for Vehicular Access:

Naval Academy Gates 1 and 3 will be closed to vehicular traffic (except for emergency vehicles) Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23 from 11 a.m. until the completion of the flight demonstration rehearsal (approximately 4 p.m.). During these times, Gate 8 will be open only to USNA residents, staff and faculty, and shuttle buses. Gates 1, 3 and 8 will remain open for pedestrian access. Please note that all times are approximate and dependent upon weather.

Traffic, Parking and General Rules:

Parking on the Yard is very limited. Parking restrictions are strictly enforced in red curb zones. Only official vehicles may park by white curbing. Speed limit on USNA is 15mph or as posted. All traffic must yield to midshipmen marching in formation and pedestrians in crosswalks. Seat belt usage is required at the Naval Academy. Drivers may not use a cell phone unless the vehicle is safely parked or the driver is using a hands-free device. Only service animals may be brought on Academy grounds during Commissioning Week. Possession and consumption of alcohol on Academy grounds is prohibited, except at USNA-sponsored events. Picnicking on the Naval Academy’s ceremonial grounds is prohibited. The USNA Cemetery located on Hospital Point should not be used as a transit or viewing area for Commissioning Week events.

Bridge and Water Restrictions:

The Naval Academy Police, Maryland State Police, U.S. Coast Guard and the Natural Resources Police will enforce the following vehicular and marine safety zones, and boating traffic restrictions during practices and performances by the Blue Angels:

Naval Academy Bridge (Md. Rt. 450) Closures:

The Naval Academy Bridge (Md. Rt. 450) will be closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the times listed below. Vehicles entering and leaving Annapolis should use Rowe Boulevard or other alternate routes.

TUESDAY, May 22: closed 10:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. and from 1:45 p.m. until the completion of rehearsal (approximately 4 p.m.).

WEDNESDAY, May 23: closed 1:45 p.m.- 4 p.m. or conclusion of flight demonstration.

*** In the event of inclement weather Tuesday, May 22, the Naval Academy Bridge (Md. Rt. 450) will also close from 10:45 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 23.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Gate 8 will remain open to staff, faculty, residents, and high priority case-by-case delivery vehicular traffic. Gates 1 and 3 will remain open for pedestrian traffic, but will be closed to vehicular traffic.

Severn River: Marine Restrictions:
At the times listed below, boat traffic and anchoring will be restricted from the following areas on the Severn River and its tributaries. The southern boundary will be established by Naval Academy Yard Patrol craft, which will mark a line drawn from the quick flashing light at the south end of the Naval Academy seawall to Greenbury Point.

The northern boundary is marked by the U.S. Rt. 50 Severn River Bridge. Both boundaries will be patrolled by the Coast Guard, Department of Natural Resources Police, Coast Guard Auxiliary and Annapolis Police and Fire Rescue boats.

Anchoring Restrictions:

TUESDAY, May 22: No anchoring 9:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. or conclusion of flight rehearsal.

WEDNESDAY, May 23: No anchoring 9:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. or conclusion of flight demonstration.

Boating Restrictions:

TUESDAY, May 22: No boating 9:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. or conclusion of flight rehearsal.

WEDNESDAY, May 23: No boating 9:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. or conclusion of flight demonstration.

Mariners are urged to transit the area with caution while the Naval Academy Yard Patrol craft are anchored in position. The portion of the Severn River defined by the boundaries below will be closed to all boating traffic during the times listed below.

Severn River: Marine Restrictions:

During periods of restricted boating on the Severn, shoreline residents’ boats moored to a permanent dock in the affected area may remain secured to their docks. However, by order of the commander, 5th Coast Guard District, a special local regulation has been issued which closes the river to all other boats — either underway, anchored or on mooring buoys — during practices and performances by the Blue Angels. (Please call Coast Guard Activities Baltimore at (410) 576-2693 for additional details.)

For more information about May events at the Naval Academy, visit http://www.usna.edu/CommissioningWeek/. For more information about the Blue Angels, visit www.blueangels.navy.mil.

Feel free to share...

Foraging For Flavor

Food. Family. Fun