We slept very well, and went down to breakfast at 9:00. When I asked for hot chocolate, not only did they have it, and not only was it excellent, but they brought me a little cup of marshmallows, and a two-cup pot of hot chocolate. Bliss.

We got a table next to the wood-burning fireplace, which kept Mer warm and cozy. We had an excellent breakfast of yogurt, bread, and an egg-based casserole. After breakfast, Mer wanted to take advantage of the in-room whirlpool bath, so we did, and then I packed while Mer got ready for the day. Checkout was at 11:00, and as I loaded the car, there were a fair number of young women about the place. We asked about it, and the B and B owners told us they were having a bridal magazine photo shoot on the grounds, and later they were having a separate photo shoot in our room for lingerie. Later, when I suggested to Mer that the photo people might need a handsome man in the background, she smacked me.

The B and B owners were very gracious and took our picture in a few places around the grounds, and then encouraged us to wander the grounds, which we did for a short time. We wanted to make sure we had some more time in Frederick, so we did not linger too long. We got back into Frederick at about 12:30, and we wandered the canal area again to see it in the daylight. At one end of the canal is a community art center, which the B and B owners had recommended, so we checked it out. It was small but well done, displaying the works of area students, many of which were very good.

We wandered back along the canal, heading toward the park where we planned to eat our chocolates from the day before. There is a paved walking path along all of the canal (at least the parts we saw), so it was an easy and pleasant walk. It turns out that Frederick was the setting for a Civil War poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, entitled “Barbara Frietchie.” The poem was about a local woman who waved the Union flag as Confederate soldiers came though the town, and she told them to shoot her before her flag, and the soldiers left her alone. Mer remembered two lines from the poem:  “‘Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, / But spare your country’s flag,’ she said.”  So, it was a nice surprise to follow the canal and come upon Barbara Fritchie’s house and an informational placard about her and the poem. Mer felt vindicated that her memory had served her well.

We made it to the park, where we sat and ate B and B cookies and the chocolates we had bought. The sun was out, and it was in the low 60s; the daffodils were starting to bloom, and people were playing with their kids in the park. It was a wonderfully relaxing spot. After our snack, we wandered though the town some more, before heading back to the church to see a 2:00 matinee performance of Much Ado About Nothing.

Much Ado might be my favorite comedy; it is certainly the one with which I am most familiar. We got our same front-row seats that we’d had the evening before. One of the joys of repertory theater is getting to see the same actors in different roles. Again, the acting was excellent, and the comedy was spot-on.

Since Mer and I know this play pretty well, we got a chance to see how the limited rehearsal times lend to the energy of the play. There were a few times when I knew lines had been missed or spoken out of turn, but the actors covered for each other, and that was fascinating to see.

After the play, the actors had a talk-back, so we got to ask some questions about the process of staging plays like this. The actors admitted it was terrifying at times, but they loved that they could trust each other to help each other on stage, and they loved the energy and spontaneity of the plays. I was very impressed by the work they were doing, and I hope to get Mer back to Frederick again next year.

We left Frederick a little after 5:00, and so we got home at about 11:00, with a stop at a Perkins for a late supper. I’m afraid I was a wimp and went home from work at 11:00 a.m. on Monday to sleep. I was never good at getting by on short sleep, and that has not improved with age. Mer was a trooper and taught all day and stayed up until 9:00 Monday night. It was a whirlwind weekend, but a wildly winning one.