50 Shades of DC: Frederick

This week has been incredibly hot with some highlights and low points = another flat tyre. On a good note, I rode my new deadly treadly (commuter bike) to the post office and managed to not get run over. Earlier in the week we had just left home for our early run in the city. Long story short, we got another flat tyre. It was a slow leak so we managed to get home. I changed the tyre and couldn't see any nails, screws or offending pieces? The mechanic rang later to tell me it was a pinched sidewall and I would need a new tyre. Shit, $250 gone. This is the second flat tyre we've had. The roads are so bad but with a 4WD I would have thought the tyres would cope better than they have.

The highlight this week was working at a work function. It was a long long long day, about 12 hours. It was the hottest day this week (36 deg) and I helped setup (outside !!) the tables, chairs and layout the cutlery etc. We were drenched and drinking water bottles every 10 minutes. I then showered and got my masterchef gear on and helped the chef in the kitchen. It was great. When the function started in the evening, and the food service started, it was such a rush. I looked, learned and helped out. I totally enjoyed the day but was shattered when I finally got home. The people were super nice and I can't say enough what a great day I had. I hope to get the chance to work a few more functions.

Relaxing out the back in the afternoon

The other highlight of my week was getting a coffee pod machine and a good knife set. The knives are fantastic (Victorinox) but the coffee machine is a bit disappointing. I didn't realise it was NOT expresso (like the Nespresso machines). Rather, it is like brewed coffee. However, I got a cheap little milk frother and I seem to be able to make a decent latte. We are experimenting with the different pod brands and flavours so hopefully when you all visit, you will have semi-decent coffee to get your fix.

We continue our Saturday morning runs with the local ladies and enjoy breakfast afterwards. We're quite excited to have American friends !! We also organised our first massage since arriving here. It's more expensive here than home but it's a big business and they also do home visits. We both enjoyed our massages today and will try get back into a regular routine.

Next week is Skippy's Happy Hour at Deb's work and I'm planning the hot snacks again. I want to have hot dogs but they normally grill their 'dogs'. So I bought some today and 'boiled' them - they tasted fine and will go down well with sauce and cheese. Have to admit, I would have a sossy roll any day over a hotdog. I am also going to make Thai Chicken Balls. The recipe says to cook them in a frypan but to save time, I hope to bake them in the oven. I trialled them at home and they seem to work ok. I also made some crumbed chicken wings and Deb gave me the thumbs up.

There is a big tennis tournament here in DC - Citi Open. The best bit is that it's about 5 mins from home. It's a big event with big names. It runs for the next two weeks and I'm planning to go to a few days. Some Aussies are playing (including Sam Groth, Sam Stosur, Nick Kyrios). Got a busy week ahead with another baseball game on Thursday so have to organise myself to get to the tennis. Ho hum, the challenges of my social life. I'm hoping Deb and I will go next weekend.

Now a-pparently, unbeknownst to some, the third Sunday of every July is National Ice Cream Day — a holiday declared by President Ronald Reagan back in 1984 to promote the economic well-being of the U.S. dairy industry. It was a nod to the fact that the frozen treat is produced using nearly 10 percent of U.S. dairy farmers' milk supply.

We took a drive to the lovely town of Frederick (in Maryland). It's about an hour away and has some civil war history behind it. We had lunch and walked around a bit to see a few sights. We grabbed a stack of info from the visitor centre as there are lots of bike trails to ride and see the area. We will definitely be going back. Frederick is the birth and resting place of Francis Scott Key. This guy wrote the lyrics (which was actually a poem) to the Star Spangled Banner (US Anthem). There is a bridge in DC named after him too. He wrote the lyrics in 1814 as the British ships bombarded Fort Henry in Baltimore Harbour. He was inspired to write the poem after the American victory when the Star Spangled Banner flag flew high. We went to the cemetery where his memorial stands above where he was laid to rest. One of the information boards had a button you could press that would play the anthem. Yes, you know who pressed it don't you ! We couldn't leave, we felt compelled to stand there until it finished. Note to self, keep Deb away from buttons at information sites.

Frederick was a nice little town. Lots of nice eating houses and antique shops. There are lots of festivals including some bike rides and tours. It's a pretty fun time so maybe we'll check it out one year. The photo below is from the Pop Shop - I've never seen so many soda bottles in my life - they even had ginger beer !!