Andy and I took it pretty easy yesterday. This is how Andy and Layla enjoyed part of the day ...
We had originally planned on spending much of the day at the National Mall in D.C., but the weather had other plans. We finally decided to brave it anyway, and headed out after the Yankees game around 4. By the time we got to the Metro Station the guy on the radio said the new "D.C. Shelter in Place" plan was in effect and that access to the Mall was closed. I don't know exactly what this "shelter in place" plan is, but we didn't like the sound of it. We turned the car around and headed back to Annapolis and made it just in time to catch part of the parade.
It was a cute, little parade, and it had a very smalltown feel to it. It's weird that Annapolis is the capital city and yet it really feels small. Anyway ... after seeing the Green Party (which consisted of about 5 people), Wags for Flags (lots of puppies), and some weird van brigade ... among other things, we decided to skip the ending and beat the dinner rush.
We went to one of our favorite downtown places, the Ram's Head Tavern, which also happens to be a great place to catch a concert. It started out great -- we had a nice waitress and the place to ourselves. But once again, our plans were foiled. Here's an account of the 2 hours we spent there.
6:45: We order drinks. A few minutes later we order our food and an appetizer (very simple: fish and chips, a crabcake sandwich, and potato skins). Then, in comes a party of 8ish.
7:00: Our appetizer arrives. Now a party of four behind us on one side. They order drinks. Still going OK ...
7:15: Appetizer's gone. Now there's a couple behind us, too. Looks like we'll have plenty of time to catch the Navy band at 8.
7:30: Our appetizer's still gone, but not the plates ... drinks empty ... no sign of the waitress ... or dinner.
7:35: The couple behind us starts to complain because nobody's taken their drink order. They get a shiny new waiter. They have their drinks soon ... and their salads.
7:40: Andy tracks down our waitress and orders another beer.
7:50: We've been here over an hour. We finally get that second drink (So much for that band). Andy says very nicely, "any idea about our dinner -- we're trying to make the fireworks?" "It's just now ready," she says. "Just waiting on someone to bring it out. I'm sorry for the wait," she says.
8:00: The party of four behind us, who arrived at least 30 minutes after us, have their food. They ordered fancy stuff ... crab stuffed shrimp, steaks, and whatnot. We ask the guy who brings their food if he knows anything about an order of fish and chips and a crabcake sandwich. "We've been waiting over an hour," Andy says. "For fish and chips," he adds. "I'm sorry, sir. Let me check for you."
8:10: Another beer gone. The waitress has two minutes to bring our food or we go to the manager and vow to never return to one of our favorite restaurants.
8:10+30 seconds: The waitress rushes over with our food. On the verge of tears, she says "I'm so sorry, I dropped the fish and chips and had to put in a new order." I'm thinking "well that accounts for about 15 of the 90 minutes we've been waiting."
But we decided to be nice. Plus, we didn't have time to argue. We ate our food in about 15 minutes, paid the bill, and rushed off to the fireworks. At least she left two of the three beers off the tab. We'll pretend she did it on purpose because she felt bad, but I have a feeling it was just a mistake. Either way, we'll take it.
Now, about those fireworks ... I knew this would be a long one, so fireworks pics are posted below. It was a good show, and about made up for the D.C. and dinner mishaps. Next year, we'll try our luck with the National Mall again.
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