When your child shines, you glow. So you can understand why I'm proud of my talented daughter, Erica, who will be playing for the Victorian Lyric Opera Company's Gilbert & Sullivan Sing-Out this weekend.
Every five years, VLOC in Rockville, MD, holds this gigantic Gilbert & Sullivan event. All thirteen (13!) light operas will be presented over three days. All will be accompanied by piano except The Grand Duke, which will be performed with full orchestra. Die-hard G&S fans have waited five years for Rockville and are traveling to Maryland this weekend either to be spectators or peformers.
Here's the schedule:

Friday evening, Aug. 29 (7pm-11pm: Trial By Jury, Patience, The Mikado)
Saturday Morning, Aug. 30 (9am-12pm: The Sorcerer, Princess Ida, H.M.S. Pinafore)
Saturday Afternoon, Aug.30 (12pm-5pm: Utopia Ltd., Ruddigore)
Saturday Evening, Aug. 30 (7pm-11pm: The Grand Duke, The Pirates of Penzance)
Sunday Morning, Aug. 31 (9am-12pm: The Yeomen of the Guard, Iolanthe, The Gondoliers).
Erica will be at the piano Friday night for Trial By Jury and The Mikado, and again Sunday morning for The Yeomen of the Guard.
Everything you always wanted to know about Gilbert, Sullivan, and their operas is on the archive site here.
Audience tickets are available through the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater box office at 240-314-8690. Tickets will be sold in blocks (Friday evening, Saturday Morning , Saturday Afternoon, Saturday Evening, and Sunday Morning) for $25 for Friday night, including an opening reception with light refreshments, and $20 for all other blocks.
For directions to the theater, click here.
![]()
410-530-2400

It was another beautiful Saturday morning when ten of us in four planes flew in to Cambridge, MD for breakfast at Kay's. The owner, Kay herself, stopped by our table and enjoyed reading what I wrote about a visit we made a few weeks ago.
I called from the plane to make reservations since we knew there was a Wings 'N' Wheels 2008 event going on. It was fun to meet and talk with several of the other pilots. While enjoying a wonderful meal and wonderful conversations, I asked Carlo about taking a ride in his Air Cam. From the smile on his face it was clear he was delighted, and the next thing I knew we were out on the grass and I was climbing into this open aircraft, putting on my headset, and buckling the seat and shoulder harness.
We took off waving to our group on the ground. The wind in my face was exhilarating! This aircraft can be flown from the front or rear seat, and I had a set of instruments and a joystick, but was too engrossed with the excitement to even think of trying to fly the plane. Uh oh, look at this...it says Experimental! Down below I could see other experimental design along with ultra lights, biplanes, and even a B25 bomber.




Now this was flying – the other trips were just transportation from Point A to Point B. At only a few hundred feet above the ground, the views were awesome. Can you see how close we were to the hotel? Wheeee what fun!

![]()
410-530-2400
1504 Kirchner Lane Anne Arundel County 21054 (Draft) (edit/delete)
|
||||||||||||

It could be one of those summer mornings in Baltimore that promises a hot day ahead. Or maybe it's just clear and not too windy. We don't need much of an excuse to head across the Chesapeake Bay for breakfast. If we drove, it could take a couple of hours, but we share twin engine freedom with some friends, so three of us climbed in and took off for a short hop to Kay's Country Kitchen in Cambridge, MD where we met two more friends who flew in from BWI. As we approached, we had a good view of the airport area, followed by a smooth landing.

Dorchester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore is home to Cambridge Dorchester Regional Airport. The airport building is filled with light from all those windows, and the artist in me loved the angles in the ceiling. Like many small airports across the country, Cambridge Airport has a restaurant. Part of the fun of making day trips is discovering new places to eat where other pilots gather. In fact, the guys only fly to airports that have restaurants...and the food and the company are wonderful. Good service, very inexpensive and delicious, just like at Kay's. If you're traveling through Cambridge, you'll find it well worth a stop at 5263 Bucktown Road in Cambridge (410-901-8844).
What I like best is that a quick getaway like this is a perfect Type E vacation. Different scenery, different people, and in the company of friends – it's refreshment and relaxation packed into a short time. Perfect!
Here is another trip to Cambridge Wheeee What Fun! THIS is Flying...the Rest is Just Transportation !
![]()
410-530-2400
My friend Peg and I sat by the window for lunch in a restaurant overlooking Columbia's largest lake. It was a perfect afternoon, gentle breeze, and sun flickering through the trees. As we ate, we noticed a young couple arrive and settle on a bench, obviously very much in love. With them came two men, one with a video camera and the other with a still camera with a lens more than a foot long – obviously a pro. Throughout our lunch they talked, posed, and hugged each other. The photographer moved around for different angles, and the videographer had them talking and laughing.
As we left, they were just finishing, so we walked over to tell the couple we had enjoyed their photo shoot. Sure enough, it was for their wedding.
Now you probably expect me to say we started talking about where they would live and that I have just the right house for them. But you'd be wrong. Nope, they smiled and went on their way.
Instead, we started talking with the photographers – Shaun Anthony and his associate. We introduced ourselves, and of course I had to show them the print of my book cover that my friend and publisher had just given me. Signed by the artist, Marti Garaughty, and beautifully framed, I love it! Which led to "let's take a picture" so I posed with the print and then we let the print stand on its own (supported by a tree) as Shaun Anthony took several shots.
We talked about what we each did, which led to Shaun Anthony asking for my card because his wife wants to move and is particular about where since they have a two year old daughter. I know the area where he lives, and have a home that would be larger but still in that area, plus another property that could be perfect for both the family with its fenced in yard, and for him with its completely finished lower level that would work great as his studio. By the time we parted, he had my card with website and the addresses of both the properties that he can look up online.
Shaun also took a couple of Peg's cards since he's been thinking about doing a book on new trends in photography. Whether any of this turns into sales or not does not matter; we connected. And when the time comes, he'll remember a real estate agent and a publisher on a spring day by the lake in Columbia…simply because we took the time to tell a young couple they looked great together.
![]()
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2008 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved