In Which Hitty Grace Goes Out to Breakfast

After church today, my family decided to try out a new (to them) place for breakfast, called Mimi's Cafe.  Everyone had way too much to eat, but don't worry, it took 3 people to eat this giant chocolate mousse muffin (and one Hitty).



Bon Appetit!  Hitty Grace Sycamore Brown

An Apology and A False Start

The other Hittys have reminded me that their blog has been neglected for a very, very, very long time.  I am sincerely apologetic to have not posted for over a year!  What a shame!  I must confess that my duties in supporting my person throughout 2011 took precedence over everything else.  However, this year, she is striving to maintain her blogs more diligently, and I will do the same.  Please accept my apology, from all of the Chesapeake Bay Hittys.

The Mid-Atlantic has had an unseasonably warm autumn and winter, and as recently as last Wednesday, we were often able to go out and about with just a light jacket.  It was on that last warm day, that I noticed that the daffodils have already peaked out of the ground!  Maryland does not normally see such a sight in January!  I had to take Hitty Ginny out with me today to show her, but as you can see, it is much, much colder today, and we had to bundle up as best we could.  Let us hope that the daffodils are the only ones making false starts this month, and that they will not miss Spring entirely because of their error!



Respectully yours,
Hitty Grace Sycamore Brown

In which Hitty Grace Goes Out

Hitty Grace & Austrailian Croc
Originally uploaded by JLP2000

Can you guess where Hitty Grace has gone?
The croc behind her is from Australia, but she actually went to The National Aquarium in Baltimore, and got to see some other sights around town on her day trip. You can see everything she saw in this photo set:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlp2000/sets/72157625540907830/

In Which Hitty-friend Carol Visits Chestertown

It has been many months since we've visited our Person's parents on the other side of the Bay.  Today, it  was Hitty-Friend Carol's turn to go along.  She was excited to go, since she had never been there before, and the weather was delightful.

Shortly after our arrival to their house on the edge of town, we all piled into Grandaddy's mini van and drove to the center of this historic town to shop in the Farmer's Market.  There were vendors' tables with fresh vegetables, hand made goods and other interesting things to see.

The Farmer's Market is held in Fountain Park.  At the intersection of the brick paths that cross the park, sits the Fountain.

Back at the grandparents' house, we had lunch and then went on a tour of the garden.  Since they've lived there not quite a year, they've added a lot since our last visit.  This hydrangea is a new variety that will bloom all summer long!

A miniature butterfly bush...

Attracts miniature butterflies!  This one has found another flower to visit.

Beyond the edge of their yard is a field.  They are not sure who it belongs to.  The bird house was a gift from Grandaddy to Grandma. 

 

They hope to have a lot of bird and butterfly visitors!

Hitty Carol insisted on being photographed with these mushrooms that she found at the edge of their yard.

She says a lot of her friends have shared photos with their local fungi!

It was a most excellent day!

In Which Hitty Rachel has a new dress made for her

Hitty Rachel was looking through the Hitty wardrobe and realized that there are many more dresses in the trunk for the Brown and Wilson Hittys than for the Raikes Hittys.  She insisted that this situation be rectified immediately!  Several dresses were cut out on Sunday, and one dress and apron were completed.  She is modeling it here.  Our person took an on-line Hitty dress class from Julie Old Crow years ago, and this is still one of her favorite patterns for Hitty couture.
Ironically, the person had been sewing for a doll 3 times the height of the Hittys, and was getting frustrated with the project.  She found sewing for Hitty Rachel much more relaxing and familiar!
Who would have ever thought she'd say that!?!!

In Which Hitty Rachel Goes to Busch Gardens Williamsburg

On Wednesday morning, I was woken up at 4:30 in the morning and told that I would be the Hitty chosen to go with the family on a day trip!  Can you imagine the excitement I felt when our car left 95 South for 64 East, heading towards Williamsburg, Virginia?!  I love early American history.  We stopped at a rest stop on 64, and I loved the architecture of the buildings there.

   

But then, they told me that we were not going to Colonial Williamsburg, as I had hoped.  While my person loves to visit Colonial Williamsburg, the rest of her family has been there several times and would rather do something more exciting.  We were going to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg.  Well, I do like gardens, and I've heard that it has a European feeling to it.  The adventurous spirit of Ancestor Hitty in me made me believe that I could enjoy this destination, too!  Here I am, waiting to get admittance to the park:

 

This amusement park is not just about thrilling rides!  They also have some very interesting animals.  We got to speak to a man about his peregrine falcon:

Did you know that these birds are the fastest animal on earth?  They can fly faster than a cheetah can run!  This one is living at Busch Gardens because it was struck by a car in Ohio.  We also saw several of our national bird, the Bald Eagle.  This one was sunning himself so that his feathers would dry:

They also had wolves, lorikeets and other birds, border collies, sheep and clydesdale horses!  My person and her family got their picture taken with a clydesdale horse.  My, they have large feet!  Their shoes are much bigger than those of a normal horse!

Busch Gardens has some excellent entertainment, too.  We ate lunch in the German Festhaus, and saw the Oktoberfest show.  Our table was right next to the stage, and a dancer came to our table several times.  We didn't take pictures because we were too busy enjoying an excellent meal!  We also saw the Celtic Fyre show in Ireland.  It was great to see, too, but we didn't take pictures.  There are pictures on their website. 

We did go on many rides!  My person's family went on a few that we did not dare go on:  the Griffon, and Apollo's Chariot. I did ride on The Alpengeist,  the Curse of DarKastle, Da Vinci's Cradle, Escape from Pompeii, Europe in the Air, the Battering Ram, and the Loch Ness Monster!  Here are some photos near the Loch Ness Monster:

We did not leave the park until almost 6 PM.  I believe it is the first time that my person has ever been to an amusement park from the time it opened until nearly closing time.  While the park had shorter hours than later in the summer, we found that going early in the season meant very, very short waits for all the rides, and we were able to do everything that we wanted to do.
On our way home, we grabbed a quick dinner at a Scottish restaurant with the golden arches.

The trip home was eventful, too!  We had an 18 wheeler truck almost pull over on us 3 times near Washington, DC! It was near a major split of highways, and our person's husband was boxed in by other cars and had no where to go!  It was as if the truckdriver thought we should move out of his way so he could move left, but we couldn't do that.  He was carrying a full load of wood, and my person was very fearful of the truck dumping his load on us as we swerved back and forth!
Then, since the GPS app on the husband's phone had taken us on such a good route around DC, we followed it again on the way home.  This time it took us through the city, and while we were stopped at a red light, we were rear ended!  We don't think there was any damage because the other driver was going so slow, but husband will be looking underneath the car today in better light to be sure.
We pulled into our driveway just before 10 PM.  We were so glad to be home!

- Reported by Hitty Rachel Raikes

Spring Party Flowers

On Saturday, our human companion and her family went to her mother and father's home to celebrate the birthdays of 2 nieces' 17th birthdays, as well as the birthday of her uncle and her sister-in-law, and Easter!  Hitty Beatrix was chosen to go along for the ride.  There was a lot of yummy food and desserts.

Hitty Beatrix found the flowers to be her favorite part of the visit.   A wonderful pot of tiny pansys greeted her by the front door.

These flowers were a gift from our companion's employer for her grandmother's funeral on March 26th.  Her mother brought them home for her, and we got to bring them home with us after the party!  There were other potted plants that her mother would keep as momentos.

The uncle brought these pretty tulips for our companion's mother for Easter.

This pretty gerbera daisy was on the table on the back porch.

We wish that our companion had inherited the green thumb of her mother, but perhaps it has not had a good chance to develop yet.  In any event, Hitty Beatrix certainly enjoyed the signs of Spring, regeneration and new life.

Wishing you a blessed Easter,

The Chesapeake Bay Hittys