Oude Zak

My old `fire place` room..2001-2002 (the three windows on the bottom left). I wonder if Apu is still selling hoogarden Gran Cru??

Toddler Online Educational Toys

Like most, I get my sons toys from the web. If I have an idea of what Im looking for, I browse and get the best deals from nexttag.com or the best reviews from epinion.com. Then I confortably lay back and proceed to purchase them. Its easy, cheaper, faster.

Amuse Toy store, at Fells Points and Greenspring Avenue, is probably the best I found so far

GROWING TREE TOYS

GROWING TREE TOYS

GROWING TREE TOYS

October Calendar for Children

I have been researching a few local events to attend to together with my son during this month of October.

Usually we stick pretty much to what we planned to do in advance.

OktoberFest, a traditional Bavarian Celebration, marking the end of the crops, exported overseas and suburbs, and while focusing mainly on weiss beer feasting, simultaneously offers a children friendly side. Or, because its such a grown ups event, there usually are other parallel Fall events. This traditional especially proliferates in northern hemisphere christian countries.

I have several choices for this weekend, ill share a few here:

Chocolate Fest at the Lexington market, (27Th Annual) downtown, including sampling chocolates and a magic show all FREE. The later on October the 3rd at 11 am and 2 pm.

Experiment With and Explore Clay Baltimore ClayWorks- Events and Workshops-open to all ages with pre registration.- Satuarday, October the 3rd 3-5pm

Sugarloaf- Timonium Fairgroundsspeed painting and craftsmanship, including story telling at 11h, 12h, 2h and 3 pm; free <12 and parking )October 2-4)

Chesapeake Children Museum – touch-a-truck Octo 3rd, 1-4pm, $10 per child

Summer’s Wrap Up

The Summer almost to an end.

Living in Baltimore, weathermen are always unpredictable about their forecasts. I should be able to determine probabilities of rain in the next few hours, by knowing the dew point and pressure altitude, but who has a farmers almanac and a weather baloon?

So, ignoring all the weather predictions I have been going to the Delaware beaches on the weekends.

My son loves the beach. He is 3 years old, 4 months and 4 days today.

He gets so excited on saturdays about the beach that its almost worth the 3 hours drive, and then back.

I cant wait to start understanding what baltimoreans do for fun. I ve been living here for 3 years and 6 months and I still cant figure it out!?

Of course, I need to confortably set back on my involvement with the natives, I cant afford to one day waking up and searching eargly for the sports section on any newspaper.

Sports are not these people most attractive asset.

Back and forth from Rehoboth Beach, I realise these guys have a lot of corn fields and the state police troopers to go with those. Talk about stiffness! (a guy in my country that drives under 140 km/h, aprox 80 mph must be looking for something under the dashboard while on the wheel!!)

Although I realised too that if you catch a streek of speedsters on the road, it doesnt really matter how fast you re going, cause police patrols only chase one car at the time, so you just need to either start a minute maid road gang, switching the lead alternatively or join one passing by you anytime.

The other american fun passtime I m trying to sort out is the junk food drive throughs on the road. All give me heartburn, but a few last longer than others. Im my scale of priorities, try avoid Hardee’s and their charbroiled burguers  and also Burguer King. Their medicine lasts the whole day!

Of course, We end up having a good time, I find it relaxing leaving the city, and cross countrying the rural pastures up to the beach.

The beaches here are like second grade. Which is not too bad! One thing that makes them immediately second class is the american pragmatism to have 2-in-1: beach + fanfarre.

Who in their right mind will want to have a 200 feet ferris wheel out of the dunes?? Its mad!! The other businesses come up as sindromes: cotton candy parlours, ice cream and cotton candy parlours, arcade video games and cotton candy ice creams.. Just sell booze and sandwiches!!! or none at all! Have a bar made in wood and with little hawaian straw tops umbrellas on each table outside. Thats it!! No loud beeping flippers, no duck shooting video games or guitar hero..Just harmony and balance, feel the breeze from the ocean without french fries stench! No one listens..

So, I say although second grade, the beaches per se are actually pretty good!

I guess going to a baseball game beats going to the beach to these people!

Why not? After all you can Bring along the better half of the beach with you to the stadium: popcorn, cotton candy.

Nevertheless, this was our first relaxed summer in this country ever since we got here. I personally cant complain more than i did already, I mean I could but I wont do it just yet.

We came about once to Cape may, 4 or 5 times to Rehoboth Beach and 1 time to Lewes. Also one time to Assateague. We never stayed overnight except twice, because who has the money anyway?

Cape May ranks right up there. Beautiful town. I mean UNESCO World Heritage class equivalent!

I could feel the lifestyle, rythm and local atmosphere right away, as soon as we arrived. And the traditional porch family gathering, the bakery, and small business  friendly personable touch really add to the atlantic beach in almost tip top condition. The little victorian  architecture really surprised me. its a miracle no one destroyed that town with hotel skyscrapers and the works. There is a little bit of kentucky fried -flippers- fascism in some corners, but nothing to be too overwhelmed about.

Assateague sort of dissapointed me, but im guessing summer peak time is not the best time to go down there and try dispute a parking spot right on the beach with the thousands of hourse fleeing -crab fishing- whale watchers tourists like myself.

I m left to visit the Outter Banks, which invitation i did get from some friends this year, but that I couldn t accept due to other previous engagements.

I remember when I went down to sandy point, annapolis, for my first year in Baltimore..boy was I ever the biggest sucker on earth! Well at least i lived to tell and sure learnt my lesson! Everything else pales in comparison to that beach down next to the toll booths on 301 North (or is it 97?). Thats like going to the junkyard for a sun tan!