Unruffling our feathers

During our drive out to Lancaster, Brian and I watched The Bucket List, which is a pretty funny movie about two guys who have cancer and decide to make, and then fulfill, a list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. When we got to Lancaster, we made a "bucket list" of our own - a list of things we wanted to do before we leave the area in October. One of Brian's favorite childhood vacations was driving up the East Coast with his family and staying at bed & breakfasts along the way. Since I have never experienced one, we added a b&b to the list and started researching our options. We ended up choosing The Ruffled Duck, a cute little b&b in Oxford, MD, right on the coast of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Ruffled Duck is owned by the sister of some of our friends from Wichita, so we had been hearing wonderful things about it for a couple of years. It was everything we hoped it would be - a quiet old home with lots of character, overlooking the water in a quaint little town. We started Saturday off with a gourmet 3-course breakfast and then headed over, via a car ferry, to the nearby town of St. Michael's. After walking the main street and window shopping all morning, we spent the afternoon sailing around the Chesapeake Bay (the boat was operated by an oyster catcher, so we got to see him "drudge" some oysters). We had dinner that evening in the nearby town of Easton, where we got to try Smith Island cake, which is named for a local island and was just declared the Maryland state dessert. It was an impressive stack of nine thin layers of yellow cake with chocolate frosting between - here's the recipe if you ever want to attempt it. 

Sunday morning we enjoyed another delicious breakfast and spent the morning exploring Oxford by bike. For our drive back to Lancaster, we chose a different route so we could visit Annapolis, the state capitol of Maryland. The highway took us over the Bay Bridge, which is an absolutely unreal structure, 4. 3 miles long and 190 feet high, that crosses the Chesapeake. I was very thankful that Brian was driving because I couldn't have done it - I could hardly even look out the window because we were so high. Annapolis was just past the bridge, right on the water and absolutely gorgeous, with flowers and greenery everywhere. We spent most of our time in the Historic District, where we saw the capitol building, the Naval Academy, and boats and yachts everywhere!

Thanks for praying for our friends the Briscoes, who I mentioned in my post last week. Holly and Addison have had a great week and are progressing well. Unfortunately this week I have another request to share about some friends from Wichita. On Sunday, Clark and Erin (Davis) Moeller were on their way back to Wichita from Colorado in a soft top jeep. Right outside of Pueblo, there was a malfunction in a mechanism on their rear axle, causing the jeep to flip several times before being stopped by the guard rail. They were both pinned underneath. Erin's right wrist is intact, but she has lost everything but her pinky on her right hand. Clark is in ICU with several broken vertebrae, a fractured wrist and lots of gashes on his head. There are also concerns of potential infections in both because of all the gravel and dirt found in their wounds. Neither should be alive, so their families are praising the Lord for saving them, but healing and adjusting will be difficult, especially for Erin with the loss of her right hand. I know they and their families would appreciate your prayers during this time.