Cordelia and Daddy Go to Baltimore

And it was nothing like The Wire.

Ever since we first revealed the Great Alaska Adventure to Cordelia we've been planning her own getaway adventure with Daddy. Cody got a two week trip to Seattle and Alaska. Cordelia got an overnight to Charm City. Someday this will come up in therapy.

But in my defense, Cora really would have disliked Alaska. Too much nature; not enough gift shop. Plus, our overnight to Baltimore was magic. Some highlights.

The first thing we did upon arriving was head to the aquarium where we got a close-up look at some scuba divers:

Also, Calypso, the three-flippered sea turtle:

And then it was off to the dolphin show presentation conversation. It turns out the aquarium staff is very touchy about the suggestion that they're asking the dolphins to perform. They are, we were told, simply having a guided discussion while the animals interact with trainers in natural situations. This made very little difference to me and Red:

Lots of great dolphin shots:

But then this happened:

That's Maya, the Super Dolphin. Go ahead and click to enlarge. They're amazing shots.

After the dolphins we went to have lunch at Phillips, which I first ate it when the Wershovens brought me down to Baltimore for the day around age 8. I never imagined I'd eat there someday with my daughter.

After lunch we went to Barnes & Noble and bought a bunch of fairy books. Then we went to a candy store and picked up some chocolate covered pretzels. And then we walked around the harbor . . .

. . . to the Science Center where, among other things, they had a big display on dinosaurs.

Here's Cora in a brontosaurus (or maybe an allosaurus?) footprint:

And then we saw an IMAX 3-D movie about humpback whales. But that's not the magical part. The magical part is that when we left, we discovered a carousel. And we had it all to ourselves.

We walked back around the harbor to the Cheesecake Factory where we had a very civilized dinner. Look how grown up my princess is:

And finally, because we were tired, we decided to take our dessert to go. And we headed back to the hotel.

After checking in at the downtown Hilton, we got ensconced in our room. And then decided to watch The Pirate Fairy. In bed. With cheesecake.

But even that's not the magical part. About 20 minutes into the movie we heard a boom outside. Running to the window we discovered a massive fireworks show. It went on for about 15 minutes and it was the most amazing thing pyrotechnics I've ever seen. They were shooting them off at a rate of five or six per second--they must have fired more than 3,000. And because our room was on the tenth floor, we were nearly level-eyed with the explosions. It was spectacular.

After the movie we went to bed. I snored. She kicked me. We cuddled. It was wonderful.

The next morning we awoke to realize that our room had a really neat view of Camden Yard.

We went to breakfast and then to church at the cathedral up on Charles Street.

After church, we went back to the aquarium--just for kicks--to see the dolphins again.

And then we went to lunch (at Phillips, again) and then home. She slept nearly the whole way, but at the last minute we stopped at Starbucks to pick up cake pops for the family.

I note this because every night when I tuck Cordelia into bed we choose some place to meet in our dreams. For a long time, our dream date every night was going on a carousel and then getting cake pops. Ever since we started planning our Baltimore adventure, she's wanted to meet in our dreams there, and partake in a series of activities: dolphins, candy, a movie, Cheesecake Factory, another movie--you get the picture. Well, this weekend we made our dreams--all of them--come true.

One of the best weekends of my life. I love my Red, all the way to the moon and back.