Around Maryland: Brooms Bloom

Josh and I had some time to spend together on Thursday so we decided to try a local place for lunch.

Brooms Bloom is actually a dairy farm and this little restaurant/ice cream shop is located on the farm's property.  They are an organic and hormone free farm which puts it at the top of my list.

The menu is definitely catered towards lunch and the selection isn't huge, but there is definitely something for everyone.  I had a pulled pork sandwich and a bowl of cream of crab soup.  Josh also had the pulled pork but got mac and cheese.  Both were really good but the portion sizes are huge!!  So, next time I will be getting the half sandwich and the smaller cup of soup.

They also offered both indoor and outdoor seating.  We were going to eat outside but it ended up being a much warmer day than we were anticipating, so we moved inside.

* Sorry about the photo quality, I didn't want to use the flash inside. 

I would definitely recommend Brooms Bloom.  The cream of crab soup was amazing!! We also got Ice Cream after lunch and it was some of the best Ice Cream I have ever had :)   The staff was super nice and the place was very comfortable and homey.

Brooms Bloom
1700 S. Fountain Green Road
Bel Air, MD 21015

31 Days Travel Photo #2

Acadia National Park, Maine 2005

31 Days Travel Photo #1

Since I am participating in the 31 Day Challenge, I guess I have to blog on the weekends too.  However, since I have neither the time nor the desire to blog on the weekends, each weekend I am just going to post a travel photo.

Inner Harbor - Baltimore, MD 2007

Traveling Via Books

Since I can't afford to do much traveling right now because school and student loans *cough cough* are draining my bank account, I now travel via books and the stories that I read.  I love books that take me to a place that I have never been before or even back to places that I love.  There are so many great books out there that take place all over the world:

 Harry Potter - London, England
 Inferno - Florence, Italy
The Da Vinci Code - Paris and Versailles, France
Angels and Demons - Rome, Italy and the Vatican City
And The Mountains Echoed - Kabul, Afghanistan; Paris, France; San Fransisco, CA and Tinos, Greece.
 The Book Thief - Molching, Germany
The Lost Symbol - Washington, DC
P.S., I Love You - Ireland
The Secret Garden - Yorkshire, England

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series - ...Everywhere
The Kite Runner - Kabul, Afghanistan; Peshawar, Pakistan; Fremont, CA
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Kabul and Herat, Afghanistan
Sarah's Key - Paris, France
Digital Fortress - Fort Meade, Maryland
Anne Of Green Gables - Prince Edward Island, Canada
Night - Auschwitz, Poland
The Alchemist - Spain and Egypt 
The Fault in Our Stars - Indianapolis, Indiana and Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I love traveling through the world via books.   One thing that I did learn while making this list is that I really need to try to branch away from Europe and North America.  I read a lot of books from both places but hardly any from South America, Africa, or Asia.  I will definitely make it a goal to read more books from different parts of the world.

Music and Travel

Before I start with my regularly scheduled post, I would like to ask everyone to keep my little brother, Jason in your thoughts/prayers.  Yesterday, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  He is also Autistic which makes this even more challenging.  This is also a reminder to me that your gut is usually right.  I had been having this really uneasy feeling for about a week or so and now I know why.  My family is having a bit of a hard time with this one since we have already lost two friends to diabetes and I have several more, including my best friend, who are currently living with diabetes. Good thoughts and prayers for him are much appreciated.  


The other day when I was at work I was listening to my Zune (I work in the Kitchen so I am allowed) and the song Inside Your Heaven by Carrie Underwood came on.  That song in one that I immediately associate with my trip to Colorado and I got to thinking about how certain songs take me back to the places that I have been. 

Today, I am going to share those songs and places. I think it is so cool that even almost 10 years later (OMG) that song still takes me back to CO and I almost feel like I am there.

1. Inside Your Heaven by Carrie Underwood and She's No You/Beautiful Soul by Jesse McCartney - Colorado

I listened to these three songs obsessively while I was in Colorado.  Now every time I hear pretty much any Jesse McCartney song, I think of the beautiful mountains of Colorado.  This was also around the time that Carrie Underwood won American Idol, so I was obsessively listening to her song.

2. Beautiful Day by U2 - Europe

We listened to this song every single morning when we got on the bus in Europe.   I can not hear that song without going back to Europe.  I also can't hear this song without texting my friend Britney who was on the trip with me.  No matter when we hear it, we always text each other.  Actually last week she left a comment on my Facebook about having heard that song at work.  I then proceeded to look through my Europe pictures and long to be back there. 

3. Hotel California by The Eagles - California

My friend James and I listened to this on the way to California, how original right?  Every time I hear this song I think of the bus ride from San Jose to Boulder Creek and how much fun we were having.  That trip was such a great experience and every time I hear this song, I think about that week.

4. (I've Had) The Time of My Life - Madrid/Europe
Although Madrid was not one of my favorite places, I always think of it when I hear this song.  This was the last song Josef played for us in Europe.  He called it our goodbye song but instead of making me sad, it makes me remember all of the great times we had.  While it does remind me of how hard it was to say goodbye to everyone, it also reminds me of how lucky I was to be there.  This song will always have a special place in my heart because of that.

No Air - Surprise, AZ
This damn song.  Kristin and I went out there right around the time that this song came out and Alex lived right next to the town where Jordan Sparks grew up.  So, this song was on NON STOP!  It got to the point where we would literally be yelling at the radio for it to shut up.  It's funny now, but back then we were so close to smashing to stereo in.

There are probably so many more, but these are the ones that stand out most in my mind.  I can't hear them without thinking about these places. 

31 Days of Travel

Nester is hosting a 31 Days Challenge.  We get to pick any topic we want and must talk about that topic for the next month.  It works out for me because yesterday was Travel Tuesday and that got it started.   So, for the next 30 days I will be talking about travel.

I will also be launching two new series during the challenge: Around Maryland and Around DC.  I will be talking about things to do in my home State, Maryland and around my favorite city, Washington DC.  I am excited to share all the things these places have to offer!  There are links to these series in my new categories tab.

Hopefully this will help me get through my Europe posts faster than just posting on Tuesdays.  I will also be talking about things like:
Travel and Music
How Travel Changed Me
The Less Fun Parts of Travel
Places I Loved
Places I Didn't Love
Food When Traveling
People I've Met
Unique Experiences
and many other fun travel related things!

To say I am excited about this is a huge understatement!

Travel Tuesday: My Favorite Photo(s)

This week for Travel Tuesday, Belinda and Bonnie have given us a topic to write about and will be doing so once per month!  This weeks topic: Show Us Your Favorite Photo From All Your Travels and Tell Us Why It Means So Much to You

For this one, I tried ... I really did!  But I could not just pick one!  I narrowed it down from about 10 to 3.  So I am going to share my 3 favorites with you. 

1. Estes Park, Colorado

I think that if the blogging police were going to come take me away for picking more than one photo, this would be the one photo I would chose.  I love everything about this photo.  I loved the natural beauty of Colorado and I think this picture captures that perfectly, I could have stayed in that spot for hours!!  To this day I still remember being in this spot and I remember being completely overwhelmed by nature.  I have always loved and appreciated the outdoors but seeing this really took that love to the next level.   I never get tired of sharing this picture!

2. Camp Campbell, California
This week was easily both the best and most frustrating week of my entire life.  These are the girls that were in my cabin at 5th grade science camp.  They are also the reason that I chose to continue doing ASB trips, and they may not know it but they taught me a lot about myself in that week.  They reminded me why I love volunteering my time to help others; they reminded me that even though it can be frustrating and infuriating at times, the good times totally overshadow those moments and those are the ones that you will always remember.   These girls really are great, I love each and every one of them and I am even friends with a few of them on Facebook and am so proud of who they've become!  Some of them come from families who unfortunately don't have the luxury of computers but I wish they did so I could keep up with them.  I love this picture of me and all of my girls, it is the only one I have with all of us in it.  I wish I had gotten more of the whole group.  This is my favorite picture from the trip.

3. San Vito, Costa Rica
I love this picture because it really shows how we connect with all kinds of people from all over.  We were playing a hand game (like Miss Mary Mack) with them, they were teaching us how to play.  We all managed to get the hang of it even though they didn't speak English and we didn't speak much Spanish.  For little girls, they were very patient with us when we didn't get it right away.  There was a lot of laughing and silliness involved and I would give anything to go back to that.   We had so much fun with these girls and it makes me smile every time I look at this picture.