Teacup of Fun - #7 Paddle boating

When coming up with an idea of June, I originally planned to donate blood. When I arrived at the Red Cross I went through my pre-screening assessment, and turned out my iron count was too low! Feeling disappointed that my plan did not work out, I headed to Target to buy iron pills. I hope to try again later this year, but what can I do on such short notice?

I am blessed to have a supportive boyfriend who not only inspires me through my tasks, but also has great ideas. He says to me, hey you haven't been paddle boating before... so that is what we did!

There is a local park near our apartment that has a lake. We headed down to the dock to purchase a rental for a half hour, and were handed our life jackets. I won't sugar coat it, I was quite scared. After my boyfriend climbed in the boat I stood on the dock shaking my head and saying it was a terrible idea! After some encouraging, and one of the staff members promising there was no way we would tip over I finally climbed in.

We paddled around the lake for about a half an hour, and it wasn't until about 20 minutes into the ride I finally felt at ease. It was fun to see the park from a different angle, and it was quite relaxing. Well, relaxing after I calmed down. There was a lot of why aren't you controlling the rudder, you're aiming for that canoe, there is a fisherman there watch out!

We had enough time to paddle from one end of the lake back to the dock. I am glad that we did it at the park where there was not a lot of traffic and no motor boats. I could not imagine doing that at the Inner Harbor, or a busier park. It was just us and a few other paddle boats out on the water. I would be interested in doing it again, but maybe in a bigger boat!

Teacup of Trendy: Foodie Review

Restaurant: Galway Irish Bay Irish Pub

I’ll admit, the draw for going here was definitely the fact that it was Diners, Drive-Ins and, Dives. And I will say it did not disappoint!

Parking is always a challenge when going to Annapolis as it is all metered street parking or garage. I am starting to get bitter in my old age about having to parallel park or pay for parking. Why should I have to pay to go to your restaurant when I am already paying for the food? That’s my old lady rant for the moment.

The inside of the pub reminds me of being in Ireland. It is old wood, with an old world feel. The restaurant is divided into sections as you walk in. If you go to the left you are in the dining room, when you go to the right you are in the bar. We opted for bar seating. Mainly because I thought it would be more relaxed with great ambiance.

We crammed into a booth and marveled at the different options. The friends I was with ordered some traditional Irish ales and ciders, and I took the dive to drink a Guinness. We started off with some oysters (which were yummy) and the Killarney Cabbage Wraps.  The wraps were so tasty, and something I had not seen anywhere else. It was corned beef and potato wrapped in cabbages leaves, drizzled with a mustard sauce. I would go back again just to eat these. For my main course I ordered the fish and chips. A few of my friends had been there before and were raving about this dish. Again, did not disappoint! If I ever get a craving for fish and chips I will drive us back down to Annapolis for their food.  Everything tasted fresh, not frozen, and had a lot of heart in their traditional Irish

fare.

Overall, I would highly suggest checking this place out. It has a fun and upbeat atmosphere, and the staff were super friendly. I am hoping to make it back again soon to check out some of the other menu options, as I went straight for the fish and chips. If any of the other lunch or dinner options tasted like what I got, they’ll have a repeat customer for life out of me!

Rating: FULL Teacup

Teacup of Fun - #8 Animal Adventures!

This post is a tad delayed as I have been away for over a week. I wanted to write about my June new challenge/fun before leaving for Maine, but best laid plans...

I bought tickets for a special event at the Baltimore Zoo called Breakfast with the Chimps. I have been eyeing up these events for years now always wanting to go, but never just picking a date. My boyfriend loves monkeys so I thought this would be the perfect breakfast to go to (even though I would have preferred the elephants haha!)

This was the greatest experience at the zoo! We arrived before the zoo opened and took the shuttle to the top of the gate. Zoo staff personally escorted us to the Monkey House where tables were set up next to the glass where we would have a great view of the monkeys. As everyone was seated they opened the exhibit and all of the monkeys ran out giving us an up close view of them! We enjoyed a breakfast buffet and watched them eat their breakfast and play in their enclosure. After hearing about the chimps and asking our own questions, we were led out onto the walking path next to the open air enclosure. Kids and adults were able to make enrichment treats to give out to the chimps. We all waited patiently next to the glass and then the chimps filed out one by one into the large play area. This was interesting to watch, and we were able to take great photos as we were the only guests within the park!

After the park opened we got to wander around the rest of the zoo and enjoy the nice weather. I thought this would be a perfect time to continue to do other activities I always wished to do, but never did. I jumped a board a camel and took a five minute ride. We also waited patiently three times to feed the giraffes who never came to our side of the fence. I did appreciate that if the giraffes were not on the feeding side of the fence the zoo staff would not sell you the stalk. Sadly we did not get to feed the giraffes, but standing their watching them was a lot of fun! Hopefully the next time we venture to the zoo I'll get to do that one last thing there, and feed them.

Additionally, this did not happen in June, but since this seems to be animal based post and it applies... I held a baby gator in March when we were in Florida! I thought I would throw this in there as I debated for about 5 minutes whether to hold it or not, and ultimately got too excited not to!