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Presented by Food Tour Corporations, the 3.5-hour walking tour that's offered every Saturday allowed a friend (who lives in Virginia) and me to not only visit eight Annapolis restaurants and taste their food, but also learn quite a bit of Annapolis history.
We were led by our tour guide, Jillian, who grew up in Annapolis. She was bubbly, personable, and incredibly knowledgeable.
The tour began at Hard Bean Coffee, where we enjoyed a cup of iced Kona coffee and learned a little bit about what makes it special. The history lesson began right away, too, as Jillian pointed out the ripples in the wood floors of the coffee shop and explained that Hurricane Isabelle had flooded the downtown area, including many of the business, in 2003.
From there, we visited Middleton's Tavern, where we were treated to crab balls. Note to anyone with a shellfish allergy: This isn't a tour for you (though you'd still enjoy the history aspect of it, I'm sure). One of our group participants was allergic to shellfish, and I just felt so bad for her as we enjoyed crab balls, shrimp, crab gazpacho and so on.
Speaking of, that crab gazpacho at Hell Point Seafood was de-lish.
In addition to visiting restaurants and cafes such as Treaty of Paris, Federal House, and the Annapolis bookstore, we were able to stop inside the Sands House (one of the oldest in Annapolis) and visit the kitchen of the Hammond-Harwood House. Overall, it was a great experience -- both for me and for my friend, who had spent very little time in Annapolis.
Additionally, this weekend, my husband and I weeded the disaster that is our backyard/back patio. We hadn't touched this area of our property since moving in a couple months. I had been growing zucchini in a bucket out front, but the plants were growing and growing, so I knew it was time to transplant them to the ground. After we pulled all the dead plants out of a planter in the backyard, I transferred them in, along with a and-new cucumber plant and yellow bell pepper plant. I'm looking forward to seeing how well they grow -- if they grow at all. I'm not exactly known for my green thumb.
Additionally, we purchased the Topsy Turvy tomato planter at Lowes. I love fresh tomatoes, but don't have the space to grow my own. Here's a (hopeful) solution:
We have a great space to hang it in the backyard, so I'm crossing my fingers that this is an "As seen on TV" product that really works. Stay tuned for results.
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