This morning began with just one other couple to join us at breakfast. We exchanged activity reviews from the previous day, enjoyed a breakfast of fresh melon and strawberries, coddled eggs and toast.  Of course there was a lot of coffee poured to clear foggy brains.

Ted and I set off on our adventures at about 9:15 AM.  We trecked down 13th to H Street in order to see the National Aquarium. This was a disappointment.  We were expecting to experience something close to what our friends Nancy and Bob had in Tennessee when visiting the Aquarium.  We viewed, read and took pictures within 45 minutes.

Among the many Aquarium pics., this one was the prettiest.

Among the many Aquarium pics., this one was the prettiest.

 

The Aquarium was interesting but very small for being a “National Aquarium”. 

We were a bit early for the opening of the Portrait Gallery so we stopped first at the Pavilion which was the Old Post Office. It wasn’t busy at all but offered shopping and eats.  OH!  Look what happened in the Pavilion….

Do you believe this pic? .... or not?

Do you believe this pic? .... or not?

That was fun!

Then it was on to Starbucks for some delicious coffee.

We went into the Portrait Gallery and saw some beautiful artwork. 

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From the Portrait Gallery, our stomachs called.  We ate lunch at “Clydes”. 

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Their specialty seemed to be fresh oysters for which neither of us indulged.  But we did enjoy the fresh hummus dish (not even CLOSE to our Utica hummus…oh well, they tried).  The texture was very good but the hummus lacked flavor. It was served with wonderful pita triangles, carrot and celery sticks, kalamata olives, tomatoes…

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My entree was wonderul.  It was the Asian Grilled Shrimp salad

Mixed Lettuces, Nappa Cabbage, Carrots, Red Peppers, Daikon, Edamame, sprouts, toasted sesame seeds, in a sesame soy vinaigrette

Mixed Lettuces, Nappa Cabbage, Carrots, Red Peppers, Daikon, Edamame, sprouts, toasted sesame seeds, in a sesame soy vinaigrette

After lunch, we set off on food again to get our car and get en route to North East, MD – the northern most point of Chesapeake Bay. 
What a ride!  What should have taken about 2 hours ended up taking us 3 1/2.  Here’s a helpful hint…never trust your GPS to navigate the route alone!
FINALLY, once in NE, MD, we met our B&B hosts, Pam and Captain Bob. It was a short intro., we were late, they were eating, we were hungry.  A local diner, “Pier 1” was recommended for food not ambiance. We took them up on the recommendation.
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The bread was good, nice, soft and warm.  The salad was standard iceburg, but the dinner was good.  It was a diner, so nothing gourmet quality but good old kitchen fare.  I had the Seafood Combo of broiled flounder fillet, 2 shrimp, 4 scallops, 1 large signature crab cake.  To be honest, the crab cake was excellent not over breaded or riddled with mayo.  It was fresh crab through and through.  The dish was $17.00.
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It wasn’t me who indulged in warm cherry pie with vanilla bean ice cream. The pie, made by the Amish in PA, was apparently outstanding. I wouldn’t know because by the time I looked over to the “pie plate”, the only thing left was a very small (about 1/2 tsp) of ice cream. 
Vanishing Cherry Pie

Vanishing Cherry Pie

I just want to ask this to all the women out there… do you ever forgo dessert but secretly wish your partner would order something  just so you can at least taste?  You don’t want to eat the WHOLE thing so you certainly don’t want to order a dessert yourself…right?!   That’s the way it’s suppose to work.  So when your spouse/partner orders a dessert and by the time you manage to grab a spoon/fork, it’s gone…well, that’s just not right. It’s like an act of betrayal!
The night continues….
It was early and we decided to check out an interesting place we passed on the way out of town.
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The Pickled Herring Pub entertained us for an hour or so.  Their motto…
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“If the ROCK don’t get ya, the BLUES will”.
There was live entertainment which was enjoyable but understandably why there was no cover…
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It was a fun experience and we will most likely revisit the Pickled Herring because…well, there is no where else in town to go!   Quite the opposite experience from DC.  We’ll see how well we adjust.  It should be fun.
Couple of notes:   1. CEimB Thursday… my post will be up so make sure to check it out… Oven Baked Veggie Rings.
2.  On the menu at Pickled Herring (although we didn’t test the food), they offered a choice of seasoning and one was “OLD BAY”… so this is your chance. Click on the image and leave a comment at that post to win the bag of goodies direct from OLD BAY.
Click here to enter the giveaway

Click here to enter the giveaway

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