Day 5 Goodbye Virginia - off to Maryland!

My next stop was Annapolis. I really didn't know much about the city of Annapolis but I'd been told that it was somewhere that I really should go. So on my way to Robin's house, I stopped and did some touring. At first I ended up in a very industrial, rough looking part of the city, I definitely wasn't in the right spot! I wanted the historic section down by the water. After stopping by a hotel, I found a touristy map and I was off again. Annapolis was definitely a good choice! So many neat old buildings, antique shops, history and seafood! Yum! After I found parking, I went around exploring the historic section. This church was sort of a central spot, there was a gigantic traffic circle that went all the way around it.

Some of the buildings around the church.

Lots & Lots of brick everywhere. Something you just don't see up here in Canada anymore.

A gingerbread looking house.

And the amazing back garden behind it.

More neat buildings around the Maryland State House

And this is the Maryland State House, did you know that Annapolis was the temporary capital of the US for awhile in the 1700's?

This is the main street leading down to the docks. Lots of neat little shops down here.

A very interesting old street and buildings. They really made use of their space!

I wandered down to the water and had a look at the boats on the Chesapeake Bay.

And had lunch at a pub (More crab cakes! Yum!) right by the water with a nice view of the town.

The server told me about a historic house, The William Paca House, that was nearby that did tours throughout the day. William Paca was one of the people that signed the declaration of independance. Apparently he built this house shortly after he was married. The house was really interesting (but I couldn't take photos) but what I really enjoyed was the large garden behind it.

As you can see, the garden was beautiful, I can only imagine what it must look like in the summer when all of the flowers are blooming. On the way back to the car (where did I park again???) I saw some more neat houses and features.

This must have been a grand old house in it's day. The front staircase is so interesting.

After my tour of Annapolis I was back on the road and headed to Robin's house. I got there with just enough time that we had a chance to go for a trail ride through the woods. Their farm is just beautiful and has some very interesting history! I think I'll save those pics for my next post though, it definitely deserves it's own post or two!