AcCiO WaRd ReTrEaT

It all came together. "It" being my ability to go to my ward retreat since I didn't have school the following week as well as joke upon joke, upon joke. It was a fantastic weekend.

Friday night I picked up my friend CC and we made our way up to Thurmont, Maryland with a stop-off at Sheetz for dinner/shakes. We arrived just in time to dump our stuff off in the cabin our friends had claimed for us and head to the fireside--yes, a time when that phrase can properly be used!

The fire was dark, it was hard to see the speaker and the sparks kept coming out blue... somehow there was a reference made to Harry Potter and from there, my friends and I tried to accio everything possible; cuddle buddies, chocolates, a flash light, car keys etc. After the fireside it was a fantastic evening of watching the Lion King i.e. Disney's Hamlet, listening to old records and chatting. The next day was filled with awkward team building exercises like the "close your eyes, make a sound and find the people in your group" (okay, maybe we cheated to all be in the same group... which we nerdy-hipster named Annyong). After an two hours, however, we all slowly started bailing. SJ and I were back at the cabin and sloooowly they all trickled in!

After lunch we decided that instead of playing more awkward games, we'd go to the Thurmont Color Festival, which ended up being a mix of local garage sales, carnival food (I did eat a corn dog) and odd Americana crafts. Ten of us piled in two cars (mine being the fun one, of course. Defector CC even says so!) and made our way down country roads made more difficult not only because of the swelling population of fair-goers but also because President Obama decided to visit Camp David that weekend, which was the camp next door to ours. Once we were festivaled out, we drove up to Gettysburg for a quick jaunt. We saw reenactors positioned for the next days battles and climbed up one of the observatories. Did I fail to mention it was also 78 degrees in October, it was awesome.

Post Gettysburg, I had to stick with my original plan of going home for the night because I didn't have a change of clothes. Not that it really bothered me, I was ready to go. SJ decided to bounce with me and we stopped off at the glorious Cafe Rio then headed home. I took a much needed shower and got ready just in time for Part II of my weekend--MK time. MK and I caught a movie... although I wouldn't recommend J Edgar, it was much more Brokeback Mountain than expected. Then called it a night so we could begin the adventures of the next day.

At 11am he picked me up and from the start I had the biggest grin on my face. It was warm, the sun was shining and their was a slight breeze; i just knew it was gong to be a good day! We headed to the Carlyle for brunch--one of my favorite restaurants, especially for brunch. We got great seats, had fresh crab cakes and a pot of tea, and just relaxed. We then headed down to Annapolis for the day to wander around. It was so hot out, I had to buy sunscreen! We went on a (lame) boat tour of the Harbor, wandered through the shops and historic buildings, had fresh sushi for dinner and even picked up some fudge to take home. We made it back JUST in time for Disney night and to hear about the rest of the camping adventure. Overall, most perfect weekend I can recall.