Me and Mark got the opportunity to take a short vacation and head over to beautiful Maryland, where his dad's side of the family lives. This was a first of all sorts, as it was my first trip to the east coast, first time meeting his dad, our first big trip together and sadly enough, the first time for me on an airplane. I wasnt too nervous though.. more excited then anything and glad to get to some warmer weather (it was in the 70's the whole time). His dad picked us up and we drove over several bridges to get to his house.

I couldn't believe how much water and how many trees there were.. and the fall colors! oh man..we spent the day being tourist's in Annapolis and bought some sweet souvenirs and sun glasses because the sun was so bright hitting off the water. Some guy was offering "free rides to blondes" on his jet ski, and there were some old dudes who gave us an 18 dollar off coupon to one of the pubs there. We didn't use it or get much time to shop because we would be heading to Virginia the next morning to meet the rest of the family and prepare for the big Hawes get together.

They had rented out a community center and bought a huge 200 lb. pig to cook for pulled pork..the boys got to go get their hands dirty the next morning to pull it apart after it had been cooking all night long..yum! His grandparents live right on a lake (not sure which one) and we got to take a trip around on his boat..it was so pretty! The night of the party, after it had rained all day getting it put together, was perfect..there was a band.. tons of food (including the pig), dancing, and a heaping table of desserts. Unfortunately I didn't get to try any because before most of us had even sat down to eat, there was a line out the door of people ready to get their hands on the sweets.. it was pretty funny. The night wrapped up, as did the trip back to Maryland, where we relaxed and played some wii. I want one really badly now! I loved the wii sports game and even threw out my shoulder playing tennis, I also really liked the wii fit. Maybe a Christmas present:)? The trip was so much fun, too short, but as always it is nice to be back home. Mark's family is so nice and loving, and I can't wait to go back and visit again soon!