A sunny Saturday in Annapolis - Ahoy!

Annapolis is more than the capital city of Maryland – it’s a thriving harbor town full of quaint little shops and lots of seafood eateries. You can’t turn around without shaking a stick at a Naval Academy student dressed in their white uniform. On a nice day, expect lots of crowds – which also makes for great people watching!

It was a sunny day in April when my friend (newly relocated to Maryland) and I decided to explore Annapolis. We took some pictures by the harbor, drooled over the beautiful boats (Christmas present anyone?) and poked our head into the fun shops and spent way too much money.

The best part of the day was just sitting on the outside deck of the restaurant and watching the people go by. Plus, getting to hang out with a good friend (ever notice how even bad food or shops aren't so bad with good company?)

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

When the people come out, the traffic gets to be a bear - especially on the weekend. You certainly want to avoid driving in the main street area if you can. Find yourself a garage and WALK! Parking for the afternoon was only , though many of the garages were full. They have an interesting stystem which doesn't let more cars come into a full garage until others leave.

We chose this particular eatery for several reasons – its proximity to the water, the fact that there was something for the allergic-to-seafood me, and because they had outside seating available.

Middleton Tavern is famous for its oyster shooter, but I wouldn’t know about that, as I’d be in the hospital after that taste test. Instead, I ordered a 10 oz. filet (anyone reading my other journals would know that I’m a big steak and potatoes fan) and a side of mashed potatoes. My dinner companion ordered flounder stuffed with crab stuffing.

Now, I know it was a busy Saturday evening, but the service was a bit atrocious. The server didn’t know the specials and had to go look – 10 minutes later he came back and forgot them. Our drinks took a long time to get to us, and then our food. The potatoes were cold, and we had to eat with plastic cutlery. Thank goodness they brought me a real-live steak knife.

That being said, my steak was really good – it was marinated in what tasted like garlic butter. My friend also loved her flounder.

The best part of the dinner was the outdoor seating, and watching the people walk by. We played "fashion police" (we had a lot of victims) and just watched the boats drifting on the water.

Between the two of us, with drinks and dinner (no desert, we were saving that for ice cream!) our meal came to nearly $70.

So for Middleton Tavern, on a scale of 1-10, I’d say the food was an 8, the service was a 4, and the ambiance was an 8.

We held off on dessert during dinner because we kept seeing everyone walk by with ice cream. It was a warm day, and it looked so refreshing. We had lots to choose from – there were several ice cream shops in the harbor area. We chose Main Street Ice Cream mostly because we were walking by and that’s where we stopped.

I really wanted a milkshake more than a cone, but I should’ve just gone with the cone. They did have lots of flavors, but they were all Breyers brand. I was hoping for more of a "mom and pop" experience than a mass-produced one. Plus, I should’ve known when shakes weren’t on the hanging menu – but I was stubborn. The shake cost me nearly $5, and it was just like eating ice cream with milk poured on top. Plus, they just poured in chocolate syrup which clogged the side of the cup. Now, I’m a fan of chocolate as much of the next person, but I’m not fond of just pure chocolate syrup being sucked up a straw. It made me even more thirsty than when I started out.

Now my friend had a cone of peppermint stick ice cream, and she enjoyed it. However, I’ve got to say that I think we could’ve found a more "homemade" ice cream experience had we not been so tired to walk around a bit more.

My recommendation? Pass it by. If you’re hard up for mass-produced ice cream, there’s a Ben and Jerry’s across the street.

I know what you’re thinking. We were in Annapolis in April. What in the world were we doing in a Christmas shop? Come on, we’ve got the Christmas spirit all year round. Well, that, and I’m nutty about snowmen ornaments and my friend loves her butterfly ornaments, so we went in to take a peak.

This is the store that never ends! From the street, it’s green awning and storefront window doesn’t reveal the maze of rooms and the amount of merchandise that they have! There’s a back room, a hallway, and three rooms upstairs filled with decorations – in just about any theme you could want. There are ornaments patriotic (it’s a Navy town), naval (it’s a Navy town), local sports-teams oriented (Orioles, Redskins, Ravens), Hawaiian-themed, pet-themed, snowman themed (yea for me!) and yes, even butterfly themed. We even found an Irish ornament tree, which also excited my Murphy-named friend. J

My purchase of the day was a beautiful red and white snowman tree skirt (I bought a fake tree after the last Christmas, because my lovely county banned real trees in condos and townhomes. Ugh) for a mere $34. Let me just say that in my quest for such an item in the after-Christmas sales, the ones I liked just a little were still running near $100. This one was perfect AND inexpensive. My friend bought out the butterfly ornaments – she got about 10, and paid $26.

It was a fun store – and we saw a surprise – there’s a Halloween room for those so inclined.

I highly recommend popping in while you’re roaming the streets of Annapolis.

It was a butterfly suncatcher in the window that drew us into this shop on Main Street, and we walked out with a copper sunshine wind chime! Those are just a few of the trinkets you can buy in Karma Creations. From unique wine racks to display your spirits to a photo mobile that hangs from the ceiling. This store is filled with interesting objects d’art. There were wine corks, mosaic mirrors and frames, etc. The thing I liked most about it was that usually these stores are filled with incense smells – which give me headaches.

Most everything was reasonably priced – The mobile mentioned above was on sale for $10, and the copper wind chime was $15. The larger the item, obviously, the larger the price tag. But I think the most expensive thing that caught my eye (a spiral wine rack) was $55.

The shopkeeper was a doll, she talked to us about Annapolis, about how the Navy boys weren’t always nice, about where we were from and what we were buying. She pointed out items she thought we may have missed, etc.

I’d recommend just stopping in to take a look, even if the style of items doesn’t match your taste. There are just a lot of things you wouldn’t necessarily find somewhere else.

Celtic Treasures was a must-see for my Irish friend – but to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Having just been to Ireland a year ago, I saw nothing new.

However, for someone whose an Irish-ophile and hasn’t been to Ireland, you can live vicariously through this store. There are even genuine Guinness glasses (which, by the way, I got in Ireland at the Guinness factory for about $2 less). There are lots of family crest items – shot glasses, wall hangings, etc., Irish jewelry (a pretty wide selection), and more.

The shopkeeper wasn’t the friendliest, but he wasn’t mean or anything. I felt a little cramped in the store – it was crowded, and there wasn’t a lot of room to move. I was sure I’d bump into something and be cursed with the ‘you break it you bought it’ rule.

If you like Irish stuff, and have never seen the Emerald Isle, this store’s for you. If you’re accustomed to actual Irish stuff in Ireland, it’ll be a nice walk down memory lane, but you won’t find anything new.