That’s right – I didn’t recognize Ryan because of his bald head (and the mustache)! Ryan was just deployed to the Middle East and his flight took him through Baltimore with about a 24 hour layover. So Nik and I picked him up late Sunday morning, on one of the hottest days of the year – it was probably over 100. I told him we were just acclimating him to the heat of the desert! First we went to Fort McHenry, which is where I like to take all my Baltimore visitors. Come to visit and I’ll take you too! (This picture was taken by a cute old lady who clearly walks her dog at Ft. McHenry a lot and takes a lot of pictures for tourists!)
Next, we went to Federal Hill, Nik’s favorite view point of Baltimore, and the site of our first ultra-romantic date (as opposed to our first date that I didn’t know was a date!).
And then, we went to the Greek festival at the church Nik went to when he was growing up, St. Nicholas. Tina met us there, we ate way too much good Greek food, and watched some Greek dancing.
After that, we had to take Ryan to the airport, to the USO, where he had to change into his uniform and get ready for a very long flight. Sort of like with Rachel when she went to Africa, I felt a bit of the weight of being the last family member to see Ryan before he left for potentially a long trip away from home. It was very good to see him, especially because we figured out it’s been since Thanksgiving 2002 that we’ve seen each other! I couldn’t believe how much my little cousin had grown up and changed (and bulked up!). May the Lord bless you and keep you Ryan!
Salmon and Souvlaki 
Thanks, Laura. Thanks for the pictures and for the generosity of your heart. I so appreciate the time and effort to see Ryan off to his deployment. Being with family is good for him, and not something that comes naturally. He emailed me that he arrived safely, and again that he is starting his first assignment over there. We pray together for God’s best will for him to be done.