I went on a wonderful walk this morning with Cooper the black lab. We have our route down pat now. I love that in my town we still have working silos in the town limits. I hope to get a picture tomorrow. I am fascinated with the old homes, the historic areas, the silos, the old train line that is now a rails to trails, though Cooper and I don’t use it. I try to be aware of the fear some people have of dogs so I try to avoid where many people walk. The rails to trails in my town is used a lot. Anyhow on our walk this morning we walk by many churches. I counted ten churches we pass. Two were letting out as we passed by. Cooper is a great dog to walk. Nothing fazes him so I never worry about what we have to pass by. We had a Maltese charge us yesterday barking and snarling. She was off leash. I had Cooper sit and the Maltese’s owner came running after her. He was mortified and embarrassed. Cooper looked at me then looked at the barking white fluff ball at his feet and gave me a look I took as “just one swipe with my paw would hush her up.” We proceeded on our walk without any further troubles.

Today I drove to one of my best friends home. He is a hoot. His cat has an attitude a mile wide but eventually warms up to me. She hissed at me when I walked in. My friend and I piled in my car and headed out for lunch. We went to an Italian restaurant that had some of the best cream of crab soup I have ever had. You never would have guessed this place would have had a great seafood soup but it was to die for. The Italian food was good too. After lunch I asked if we could head to Rock Hall which is on the Chesapeake Bay. From some points you can see Baltimore and the bay bridge.

Prior to getting to Rock Hall my friend said let’s check out this old cemetery. It was a beautiful episcopal cemetery dating back to before the revolutionary war. When we got out of the car I was drawn to a gigantic old tree that was about one hundred feet tall and the trunk was at least twenty feet wide. The sign at the bottom of the tree stated it predated 1776. My friend remarked he never noticed it. It was the first thing I saw. We entered the cemetery and were walking down a path covered by towering evergreens. I had never seen trees so tall. I took the top picture standing at the base of one of the trees and looking up. The tombstones were interesting, some were covered by shrubs, some were intricate and some were simple. We found many veterans in the cemetery along with a major league baseball player-someone left a baseball by his grave, a woman who had a historic home in DC filled with art and furniture, and then just interesting graves. I’ve said it before I’ll say it again I love exploring cemeteries. My friend does too. It is history. This was a beautiful one with the gorgeous towering trees set along the banks of a large pond and waterfall. The two middle pictures were from the cemetery.

After the cemetery we went to Rock Hall so I could see the bay and then we drove to Tolchester to see another view of the bay. That is what the bottom picture is a view of-Tolchester. There used to be a beach and bandstand next to where we took the picture. My Mom told me they took the ferry from Baltimore to Tolchester when she was growing up. This was prior to the Bay Bridge being built. My friend told me where we were in Tolchester the ships come quite close to the shore as they are heading to and from Baltimore. Sadly none were in the portion of the bay we were. The ships wait just south of the bay bridge for the tugs and harbor pilots to get them and take them to Baltimore. It’s quite a sight sometimes to drive over the bridge and see ten to twelve ships parked in the bay waiting. Where I live two counties south of my friend the bay is very wide as it is where my friend is but across from where I am you cannot see Baltimore you can see the southern counties of the western shore. It is a great place for birding as the birds gather on the shore to make the trek across the bay as they are heading north or south.

It was a great day today and relaxing. My friend is the best. As quirky as I am and what can I say he loves cemeteries too.

My wish for you is that you have friends who make you happy, are there for you and who you can just be you when you are with them. That is one of the greatest gifts of friendship.

Blessings to you all and Namste.