Brief Encounter with Jeanne

Yesterday the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne swept through Maryland. The rain and winds didn't pick up seriously till late afternoon. I was at Arundel Mills Mall waiting for Brad to come meet me when I heard the rain thundering on the roof of the mall. Amazing that I could even hear it above all the muzak and piped in announcements at what must be the noisiest mall in America.

We have been surprised by the weather on this visit. I guess we've been living overseas too long and didn't remember how warm it can be in late September. And aside from warm days, the humidity has been high. We both brought the wrong clothes. I brought turtlenecks and one heavy sweater...just in case 9hah!). I only brought one short sleeve shirt with me. I've remedied the situation a bit with some of my shopping sprees.

This morning we began our drive to Ohio taking a leisurely pace. We got a late start. Didn't hit the road till 9:30 a.m. and then stopped off at the Prime Outlet mall in Hagerstown for some more shopping. Our big purchases: I got some hiking socks on sale at LL Bean. Brad picked up a briefcase, also on sale from LL Bean. we arrived at Brad's parents' house just a little past 5 p.m. His sister Joyce stopped by to join us for dinner. Brad's Mom served two of the foods I've been craving: plump juicy tomatoes and delicious sweet corn. Yummmmmm!! I haven't had a decent tomato since we moved to England. And truly delicious sweet corn -- it's impossible to get in the UK. Now they will tell you they have sweet corn. They put it in their tuna sandwiches. But it doesn't come near to the sweetness and tenderness of good ole American corn on the cob.