Frederick, Maryland

For a brief weekend, we were back in the D.C. area for a good friend's wedding. Taking advantage of the fact that we could spend dollars, instead of crazy amounts of euros, we stopped by Costco and Target for a few of the things we forgot.

We were also lucky enough to catch up with quite a few friends that we missed during our year in Arlington. Wednesday night, we met up with some friends from Nigeria at Ray's the Steaks in Arlington. Mark had a GIGANTIC steak and, as usual, all the food was delish. Most of those friends had just arrived back in the DC area so it was nice to hear all the crazy stories from Lagos. The next night, we met some of my high school friends at the Liberty Tavern. We had a lovely meal on the patio when, at the end, all these fire engines started pulling up. Firefighters got out and went into the restaurant (which had a very crowded bar) but we didn't see any smoke or anything.

Friday was when all the wedding activity began! Most things were centered in the Frederick area and the ceremony was at Thorpewood, a nature retreat in the Cacotin mountains. The rehearsal dinner was in downtown Frederick, a super-cute town that, relative to the DC area, is very affordable! It was so great to see all my old friends and it was a wonderful opportunity for Mark to meet even more of them. The bridal couple are both very unique people, I suppose you could tell from their cake:


The wedding itself was Saturday evening - and we had a blast! Lots of amazing friends, good food, great music - a perfect combination.