Today I drove 12 hours with my dad from the Toronto area to Maryland. From age 5 to 18 I lived here in the Annapolis area. I'm coming home, but it's not home anymore. It's always strange coming back. Everything is familiar and everything is different. Just seeing the "Welcome to Maryland" sign makes me feel an immediate sense of nostalgia and excitement laced with a tinge of sadness. As I sit here in the hotel room, with my old house only 10 minutes away, I feel somewhat at home and, yet, like a total stranger.

I have some wonderful friends to visit and celebrate with over the next 5 days. I have some beautiful sites to see. I have some old haunts to visit. I have memories to relive and new ones to make. I have unsweetened iced tea to drink and crabs to eat. I have some research to do. And I'm going to enjoy it all.

I'll make sure to take pictures and do a couple of posts over the next few days.