Baltimore for Army-Navy

I've been looking forward to this Army-Navy game for years now, ever since they announced it would be held in Baltimore. Not only is it always a good time when we get together with our West Point friends, but Baltimore is where I went to college, and I was excited to have the kids take their first college tour. It's crazy to think about, but all 3 of our kids will be off to college in the next 5 years, so it's not too early for them to start thinking about it. 

We left on Thursday evening to get a head start on the drive. When we stopped about halfway to spend the night at a hotel, there was an Olive Garden across the street. The kids have been begging to go to an Olive Garden for years, having seen the commercials on TV, but we've never gone. So MJ and I rolled our eyes and took the kids. Surprise: they loved the breadsticks (who doesn't?). Little Man and CC ordered ravioli. Sweet Pea ordered chicken tenders.

The next day we drove into Baltimore, and went straight to lunch at Alonso's, near the Loyola campus. Patrick used to work there when he was a student. It hasn't changed a bit! Still a dive inside, with grab-and-go beer sales out the back door. 

Then we headed to the school's admissions office. We watched a video on the school's history and mission, then took a walking tour around campus to see dorms, classrooms, and common spaces. I was impressed by how much the campus has grown since I graduated, but it still seemed very familiar. 

Afterwards, we drove to the Inner Harbor, where our hotel was. The kids were very impressed at how beautiful it was, and that our room was on the 28th floor with a beautiful view of the harbor. It was way more than I'd wanted to spend for a hotel, but we booked several weeks prior and there weren't many options remaining.

We had dinner that night in Little Italy. Sweet Pea said, "What? We just had Italian last night!" To which MJ retorted, "It was Olive Garden. And you had chicken tenders!" But our meal at La Tavola was delicious, and it was very nice walking there and seeing all the Christmas lights.

That night as we were getting ready for bed, we heard huge booms from outside. We opened the curtains and realized we had a front-row seat to an amazing fireworks display happening right over the harbor. How cool!

The next morning, my favorite professor from college, John McIntyre, met me at the hotel coffee shop for breakfast. It was so lovely to catch up! I was thrilled that he reached out and offered to come into town on such a cold day, during his retirement. He even met MJ and Little Man as they came back from getting breakfast for the girls. Seeing him again was probably the highlight of my trip. 

Then it was time for the game! We met up in a parking lot under a highway to tailgate with friends. We always have such a great time with them! In the past, our three were the only kids who've come along, but this time there were many other kids running around. Unfortunately they were all girls -- Little Man was definitely outnumbered!

But it was awesome to see Calvin and Marella again. We still haven't met Brandon's wife, but this year he brought his daughter Eve, who hit it off with CC. They've even exchanged numbers and kept in touch since the weekend! And I met a new classmate of MJ's, Eric, and his wife, Jennifer. They hosted the tailgate, and were very kind and welcoming. It was a frigid day, but we had come prepared, and Eric and Jennifer even had boxes of hand and foot warmers to share with everyone!

Our seats were awesome -- right between the 40- and 50-yard lines. But unfortunately, the game result was not what we wanted. And it was particularly frustrating, because Army led for the entire game until the very end. But we did see a beautiful sunset, and the weekend in general was wonderful.