Day 4: Tom's Day of Birth

On Saturday, we had official plans with Tom's friends in Maryland.  First, we would stop by and see his friend Caleb, his wife Vassi, and their three littles.  Our day ended up getting a much later start than either of us had hoped.  It turned out I barely slept a wink on Friday night, after the fireworks, and Tom let me sleep in REALLY late on Saturday.  We finally got on the road around 1.  Of course, by this time, I was a disaster because I was so hungry from sleeping late and not getting anything to eat when I awoke.  Tom saved the day, once again!  I tell ya....the man knows what to do for me.  He could tell by my ridiculously awful mood that we needed to eat prior to getting to Caleb and Vassi's.  My concern was that I knew there would be food at Caleb and Vassi's and shortly after going to their house we were to go to dinner with his other friends Joanne and Boyd.  I was not particularly pleased with eating all of my meals in a 4 hour time period, even though my father has spent a great portion of his life trying to get me to eat this way!  One would think I'd be programmed to eat that much in such a short period.  So, Tom quickly pulled into a Chic Fil A (sp?) and introduced me to the beauty of this fast food chain.  Now, I don't want to get into any weird political conversation about what Chic Fil A believes and what they don't believe.  From what I understand, they don't support gay marriage.  Here's the catch though...none of their sandwiches, and I mean, NONE, come with mayonnaise.  Have you any idea how happy this makes me?  This was a big deal, and I took advantage of it!

And, as much as my father dislikes chicken, I think he could even tolerate this place...

Now, with full bellies we were ready to head to Caleb's house.  Caleb and Vassi live in this beautiful home that's somehow nestled up in these beautiful trees.  The view from their back deck is pretty awesome.  It's quiet and peaceful, save for the three little they have running around.  The eldest Airis, who is maybe a first grader, is quite the comedian.  He was very friendly towards me and introduced himself right away.  This wasn't too surprising seeing as how his parents are quite possibly the kindest, warmest, most inviting people you'll ever meet.  From the minute we arrived, they were offering up drinks, food, and conversation like it was nobody's business.  I capitalized on the interesting version of an Old Fashioned that Caleb fixed up for me.  It was quite tasty!  But, it was also very strong for that time of day!  We munched on some snacks with them, and soon the younger two were up from their afternoon naps.  The middle child, Teddy, is pretty much cute as a button.  She loves her some Tom!  Then, there is Xander who just wanted to snuggle up with his daddy after he woke up.  At some point, in the afternoon, the conversation turned to various foods, and being in Maryland we began discussing crab.  Vassi, who is from Maryland, from what I understand, was talking about her love for crab, as well as Caleb's.  Vassi comes from a very large Greek family and apparently they all love crab, as well.  Airis, however, was quite clear that he is NOT a fan of crab.  Tom teasingly reminded him, though, that he is from a long line of crab-lovers, not to mention being from Maryland!  Without missing a beat, Airis says back to Tom, "Well....I was born in Hawaii, don't get too crazy!"  I was dying.  Thus, "don't get too crazy," has since become a bit of an inside joke with me and Tom.  

After we were done eating, and drinking, Caleb and Vassi out of their home, we ventured up the hill about a quarter mile to his friend Joanne's house.  Joanne and Tom have a very close relationship and I knew it would be important to Tom for Joanne to approve of me.  Though, I'm not quite sure what he would do if she did not approve!  :o)  Joanne, and her husband Boyd, have one son, Zach.  He is quite the cutie and he loves his Thomas.  That's what he gets to call Tom.  And, Tom is HIS Thomas!  Naturally, when I arrived with Tom, I wasn't super popular with Zach.  But, by the end of the day, I'd say he was pretty fond of me.  I tend to have that effect on children.  We played for a while in the basement, which is essentially a place for all of Zach's toys.  Thomas was quite entertaining.  I could easily see why the kid would love him!  

After we played, and worked up an appetite...just kidding, I was still SO full from lunch...we left for dinner.  Boyd, who is apparently from the south, had found this BBQ place that they really wanted us to try.  Who doesn't love BBQ?  I was excited for this dinner!  The place is called Mission BBQ and it was awesome.  First of all, it's decorated with a bunch of military and service personnel memorabilia.  The restaurant is devoted to reminding us of America's heroes.  They opened ten years after 9/11 and continually put on charity events for the Wounded Warrior Project, etc.  I was certainly impressed with this idea, and the food was darn good, too!  

One of the sayings I particularly liked...

After dinner, we joined Joanne, Boyd and Zach for an evening swim at the pool club they belong to.  It was cooling down, but the water wasn't too cold.  We played mostly in the kiddie pool with Zachie, but Tom did manage to get into the deep end when Zach demanded, "Thomas go on diving board!"  

After the swimming session, Joanne and Boyd invited us along for ice cream at a place called Friendly's.  I should have taken a picture of Friendly's because I don't really know how to explain it.  I can tell you it was the biggest ice cream treat I have ever seen.  I was so incredibly full by this time of the night, I was sure a food coma was coming on.  I could not believe how much we had eaten in the past few hours.  It was basically ridiculous.  

All in all, I think Sir Thomas had a very good birthday, with good friends, good good, and good times!  Another year older, wiser, and better looking, I say!