Travel Log: Washington DC, April 2026 + Baltimore MD, April 2026

 

Destination: Washington DC 

Date: April 7, 2026

Party: 1

Itinerary:

Drive to DC, work out at Anthony Bowen Y, play a round of golf at East Potomac Golf Links

Drive to National Arboretum, Mt Olivet Cemetery, Stanton Park, Lincoln Park, Congressional Cemetery, Go-Go Museum and Cafe, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

Spending:

Transportation $229

Accommodations $0 (day trip)

Food $0

Entertainment $50

Total $279

Destination: Baltimore MD 

Date: April 28, 2026

Party: 1

Itinerary:

Drive to Baltimore, play a round of golf at Pine Ridge Golf Course

Drive to Ivy Bookshop, Miss Shirley's Cafe, Sherwood Gardens, Greedy Reads, Patterson Park

Bike to Waterfront Promenade, Inner Harbor, Peabody Library, Northeast Market, Patterson Park

Coffee w/friend at Culture Cup

Spending:

Transportation $167

Accommodations $0 (day trip)

Food $33

Entertainment $92

Total $292

Keeping Asher Safe

 

Without going into too much detail about Asher’s special needs, I want to express worries Amy and I have about his well-being. Unfortunately, in this country young Black men are not often afforded the benefit of the doubt that the rest of us are privileged to have. And so as Asher gets older and bigger, ways in which he behaves due to his neurodivergence create potential exposure points that cause us his parents to hold our breath for his safety. 

We are profoundly thankful for our village of professionals and friends who help Asher daily and provide us with much-needed emotional support. I want to express particular gratitude to my circle of colleagues who have also raised into adulthood their own young Black men with mental health challenges, for the practical advice and compassionate empathy they are able to give – you know who you are and I see and appreciate you. Thanks!

Happy 11th Birthday to Asher

 

Today Asher turns 11! We celebrate his life daily but today will be extra!

Happy Anniversary to Us

 

Most wedding vows have these words, usually verbatim:

"...to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

"Vow" is, in some circles, invested with spiritual and sacred undertones, not to be entered into lightly but rather taken seriously, as seriously as one possibly can.

Which is not the same as their being easy to keep. Marriage is many things - a partnership, a journey, a union - including, at times, a struggle to be worthy of the vows uttered at its very outset.

Ah, but most good things in life involve struggle, and are worth the struggle. So it is that Amy and I commemorate 26 years, with an acknowledgement of the love and fun and joy that our marriage has experienced, as well as with the challenge and friction and effort that any marriage invariably encounters. That's worth celebrating!

Travel Log: Cape May NJ + Rehoboth Beach DE + Ocean City MD, April 2026

 

Destination: Cape May NJ + Rehoboth Beach DE + Ocean City MD

Date: April 3-5, 2026

Party: 2 (Lee and Asher)

Itinerary:

W 3 drive to Cape May, Cape May Zoo / Washington Street Mall / Beach Ave, ferry to Lewes, check into Airbnb in Rehoboth Beach

Th 4 Tanger Outlets / Midway Speedway / Chinese buffet, bike boardwalk

F 5 drive to Ocean City, bike boardwalk, rides/arcade at Jolly Roger at the Pier, drive hom

Spending:

Transportation $276

Accommodations $404

Food $140

Entertainment $218

Total $1,038

 

2026 Travel Plans

 

I've had two jobs in my life. Between them, I went to grad school (actually, the first half of my grad school program was done part-time, while I was working full-time at my first job). I recall having my school graduation on a Sunday, walking in the Penn-wide commencement ceremonies on a Monday, and Tuesday morning I put on a shirt and tie and showed up for my first day on the job at my current employer. So you could say that my gap between one thing and another was measured in hours, not days let alone weeks or months.

With the announcement of my leaving my current job in May, some folks have wondered if I am retiring or even assumed that I will be and offered their congratulations. I wish! I will be looking for another job, but I assume that won't start until the late summer or early fall. Which means my gap between one thing and another is several weeks this time. Which affords me a head start on what I hope to be a healthy rotation of trips, per last month's post about my very long travel bucket list. Lord willing, here's what's on the calendar for 2026:

April 1 to April 3 - Asher and me to Cape May, Rehoboth Beach, and Ocean City (MD)

May 23 to May 25 - family trip to Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Hershey

June 15 to June 25 - Asher and me to Baja California (Cabo Pulmo, Cabo San Lucas, and San Jose del Cabo)

June 28 to July 2 - solo trip to Shenandoah National Park, Montpelier, and Charlottesville

July 5 to July 9 - solo trip to Hartford, New Haven, and Old Lyme

July 13 to July 24- solo trip to Singapore to see Jada, with a weekender to Kuching (Malaysia)

July 27 to July 28 - Amy and me to Manhattan

July 30 to August 5 - golf to trip to Orlando and solo trip to Miami

Miscellaneous - overnighters to Long Island and Poconos, day trips to Ocean City (NJ), Jim Thorpe, Baltimore, and Washington DC

Beyond that, location and time will be determined by where I end up next and when I start. Looking forward to enjoying these places, taking lots of pics, and gawking at others' travel adventures along the way. And, per my new routine, will post travel log for each trip to record itinerary and budget. Bon voyage everyone!

Before I Die

 

Amy and I are old enough to have kids in college and young enough to have living parents. The thing about time is that it's undefeated, and the thing about life is that you never know when it is abruptly taken from you. However morbid a thought that is, think of how much you would be compounding your loved ones' grief if you didn't have your affairs in order for them to live on in your absence without the extra aggravation of not knowing what's going on financially and administratively.

For me, check-ins with my estate attorney and my financial advisor earlier this year, reinforced the need for me to take responsibility in these ways, so I took the time earlier this year to update important legal documents like will, living will, and power of attorney. Also, in the midst of doing my taxes this year I spent a little extra time during my personal annual financial review to make a "before I die" cheat sheet for Amy and the kids. 

In case you're wondering what goes into this literal reference binder that is securely stored in the safe in our house, here's a partial list:

* Description, account numbers, and website/password of every financial holding (checking/saving, credit card, college, retirement, investment)

* House info: tax parcel info, utilities account#/passwords, insurance, contractors

* Car info: VIN, insurance, mechanic

* Logins for all emails and socials

* Given that we own rental properties, reference info and instructions for each (e.g. property management, unit management, utilities/HOA/HOI, contractors, when to do what)

* Given that I do the taxes in our household, instructions on what forms need to be printed out and assembled, how to handle various revenues and expenditures, and what and where we need to file

Before you die - which hopefully for me and you is many years in the future! - I encourage you to do right by your loved ones and compile the same info for their reference.