Last weekend was probably the worst weekend of the summer to for me to leave town from an opportunity cost perspective—I’d miss the annual quilters’ guild garage sale on Saturday and my company picnic on Sunday, plus it was opening weekend for the Harry Potter movie (gotta see it quick or risk being spoiled for the visuals and plot changes from the book) and the height of the Michigan blueberry harvest ( the only time we can get the cheap five-pound boxes to freeze–last year we bought over 50 pounds total). So what did I do? Left town, of course. I headed east for Mr. Karen’s family reunion, which had been rescheduled from its original date due to a conflict that came up for this year’s host family. Ah well, with any luck I’ll be around for those other events next time around. (And technically I was here for the HP opening this time around, but it’s much harder to squeeze in 3+ hours for a movie when one has to leave on a trip the next day, a trip which has no time available for movie watching.)

Mr. Karen’s parents arrived at our house Tuesday evening, and the three of them started driving toward Maryland on Wednesday. I flew out early Thursday morning and was able to spend some time with the person on my team who works from her home north of Baltimore before Mr. Karen and his folks got to town. I also managed a quick stop at a cemetery, but there was no leisurely wandering because it was too freaking hot and humid that afternoon. Friday Mr. K and I took his folks to Washington, D. C. to see some sights. We parked at Union Station and then got on one of the trolley tour buses that lets you get on and off at any stop all day. The weather was fairly cooperative; I only got a little overheated and it only rained on us for about five minutes. We did the touristy thing around D. C. all day, then drove up to Great Falls to get a little nature in before heading back to the hotel. Saturday was devoted to the reunion, and the weather once again behaved itself, with pleasant temperatures, a nice breeze and no rain. Sunday most of us from the reunion met up for brunch in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor; Otakon was in town, so there was even more to see in the area than usual. On the way out of town, I got dropped at the airport to fly home while Mr. K and crew hit the highway headed to Michigan. I ended up being there early enough to get a standby seat on the earlier flight to Detroit, which I was extra happy about when I got home and saw my original flight was delayed by an hour and half. Yesterday I spent being crabby and catching up with my work e-mail, so I had no time to go through my pictures from the trip and get them sorted. I’m still working on that, but the first day is here and the rest will join them over the next day or so.