Visiting National Harbor in the Washington, DC suburb of Oxen Hill, MD for Christmas was on my list for a while. Marriott puts on a yearly Christmas extravaganza at all of its Gaylord hotels and National Harbor is the most convenient for us. The centerpiece is their “ICE!” display which features 2 million pounds of ice carved into a walkthrough display kept at 9 degrees. Don’t worry, they provide you with a parka. When I heard the 2022 theme was A Christmas Story, we decided to make this one of the first trips we took as the COVID pandemic was in its last throes. It was a fun trip and certainly put us in the mood for Christmas! Take a look at all of the photos here.
Christmas at Peddler’s Village Photos
It’s always fun to walk around Peddler’s Village and get some Christmas shopping done. This visit was on a rainy evening, but the wet sidewalks just made the Christmas lights look even more magical. We also walked across the street to check out their annual gingerbread house competition entrees. The judging was already complete but we saw some cool creations. View the photos here.
Alton Brown in Bethlehem Photos
I’ve seen all of Alton Brown’s previous live shows. So, when he announced he’d be doing a Christmas version of Beyond the Eats in 2022 and one of the stops was Bethlehem, PA, I had to go. Besides, we usually go there for the annual Christkindlmarkt anyway. So, we got a see a really cool show and shopped the market on a slightly rainy day avoiding the crowds. It was a win-win! Check out the photos here.
Easton Bacon Festival Photos
A few years ago, we went to Easton, PA for their garlic festival and it was a lot of fun. Check that out here. So, when we heard they were having a bacon festival, we knew we wanted to go. We braved the massive crowd and sampled some delicious bacon products. We also watched the hog calling contest (seriously). We might have hung around longer, but the crowds were getting to be a little too much. I’m really glad they had a great turnout, but it made it really hard to walk around.
Mount Vernon Photos
While in the DC Metro area visiting my cousin, we took a side trip to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. They were having a “Colonial Market and Fair” which meant there was more going on there than usual. After browsing the market vendors and walking all over the grounds, we took a guided tour of the mansion. Despite being from Philadelphia and having been in many of the buildings where our country was founded, walking through Washington’s home was fascinating and a bit awe inspiring. It portrayed him as a person, not just the mythical history book character who led our country. It also meant walking the same halls he did and seeing his work and living spaces up close. It was easy to imagine what it was like in the 1700’s when George lived there.
Mummers Mardi Gras Photos
Thanks to the COVID pandemic, it’s been a while since I’ve posted any new photos on my site. Hopefully you’ve been following along on Instagram or Twitter in the meantime. Now, I’ve finally “traveled” someplace that was worth photographing.
If you’re not from Philadelphia, the terms “Mummers” or “String Bands” probably don’t mean a lot to you. However, to Philadelphians, they’re a New Year’s Day tradition going back over 120 years. While looking for someplace to go for the weekend, we discovered that about a dozen of the bands (a majority of them) were performing at Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City. It was a new event called Mummers Mardi Gras. It made for a fun mini-vacation. Even though it was only less than an hour from home, the festivities were all outside which made it a nice COVID-safe way to get away for a few days. We stood out in the barely above freezing temperatures for over 5 hours and enjoyed the string bands. A glass of mulled-wine helped me stay warm too.
Check out the photos I took and even a little video compilation right here.
Review: Celebre’s Pizzeria – Philadelphia PA
Review: Charlie’s Crepes – Merchantville NJ
Review: Thai Terrace – Washington Twp NJ
I will gladly admit that I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Thai food. I almost always order Pad Thai. That might seem boring, but I like the dish and it’s a good way to compare restaurants. Thai Terrace is one of the best I’ve had. The only complaint I have is that sometimes the spiciness is a little inconsistent. However, I’m willing to chalk that up to varying depending upon who’s cooking on a given day. They have four levels of spiciness. I usually go with #2, medium. It’s usually within my range of spice tolerance.
We also order typically a lot of appetizers. They have some really good ones. The pork dumplings are delicious. The chicken satay is incredibly tender. They also have one called Thai Shrimp Green Wrap that’s really unique and tasty. It consists of shrimp, peanuts, coconut, sweet chili sauce, lime, scallions, ginger and red onions in a lettuce wrap. It seems like a lot of ingredients but they all combine incredibly well.
We occasionally try new local Thai restaurants as we discover them, but we always seem to wind up back at Thai Terrace. The atmosphere in the restaurant is quiet and peaceful; the owners and their staff are really friendly and the food never disappoints.
Winter in Wilmington Photos
I just posted some photos from another one of our socially distanced Christmas activities this past year, a visit to Winter in Wilmington. It was a light display set up in a parking lot on the waterfront in Wilmington, Delaware. You may recognize this (but you probably won’t) as the area where Joe Biden gave his victory speech when he finally won the presidency a month or so earlier. It was a fun excursion since we weren’t doing much else over the holidays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conveniently, it also is right across the parking lot from one of our favorite seafood restaurants, Big Fish Grill, so we did some curbside pickup and took home a delicious meal. Check out the photos here.