Are You Having Fun Yet?

I haven’t yet worn out my personal copy of 101 Ways to Have Fun: Your Indispensable Guide to Summer. But its pages are already dog-eared to mark the many spots I want to revisit.
    Fireworks, for example.
    With three nights of fireworks, July 4’s celebrations must be memorized — or checked and re-checked — lest you show up at the right place on the wrong date. So I’ve devised a mnemonic. My ABDCs remind me Sunday, July 4 is the night to see fireworks in Annapolis, Baltimore, Bowie, Washington, D.C. and Solomons.
    On July 2 and 3, however, I’m certain to get confused, so I’ve dog-eared page 14 (Way 30) to reconfirm it’s Herrington Harbour South in Rosehaven on July 2 and Rod ’n’ Reel in Chesapeake Beach on July 3.
    Other pages record my notes.
    In the margins, I note the date I’ve tried each Way, and after this Memorial Day Weekend, my pages resemble a college textbook at exam time. Here’s how my annotations look so far:
    Goodday, Sunshine (Way 1): Up every morning to salute the sun, which peeks into my bedroom window.
    Plant a Native Garden (Way 8) and Eat Local (Way 79): Lunch and garnish all weekend from lettuce and herb gardens, plus the delicacy of crisp pea pods from the garden of a friend, who’s an apprentice Master Gardener (Way 72).
    Get Cool in the Pool (Way 66): May 21, 22, 28, 29 and 30.
    Discover a Bay Beach (Way 4): Almost daily, for my dog’s sake and my own. Extra credit for Take Your Dog Back to Nature (Way 46). Most days there I also Find a Fossil (Way 22).
    Shop Local, Eat Well (Way 35) and Shop Smart at Your Farmers’ Market (Way 41): My most convenient, the Tuesday market at Riva Road, opens June 7. North Beach Farmers’ Market is stretching out this year, with stalls on both Fifth and Seventh streets. Windy Willow Farms (see Margaret Tearman’s story on page 4 this week) was taking meat orders. Soft-shell crabs were also on sale for $3.50.
    Saute the Ultimate Soft Shell (Way 57): Prepared for cooking my own by doing some sampling. Soft shells “big as your foot” were delicious at Brick House in Shady Side on May 29, lightly battered and deeply buttered.
    Go Armchair Exploring with Captain Smith (Way 71): I’ve got John Paige Williams’ book and Dave Linthicum’s map ready to guide me. But so far I’m an armchair explorer, assigning and editing Heather Boughey’s story this week on the Captain John Smith Geotrail. Which also earns me partial credit for Go Geocaching (Way 58) and Explore the Chesapeake in the Wake of Captain John Smith (Way 72).
    Saving a Turtle (Way 39) is a gift you’re lucky to have come your way. Husband Bill Lambrecht and I both got our first chance this year on May 26, but I was luckier than he. Mine was a box turtle. His a snapper.
    Get to Know an Osprey (Way 54) is easy because they’re flying all over Chesapeake Country. I watch with awe, while others chart their bird-neighbors’ lives.
    Seeking a Salamander (Way 73) on May 29 was pure luck.
    On a couple of other Ways, I’ve pushed the boundaries.
    Tour Festive Homes and Summer Gardens (Way 99): The May 21 Oxford Garden Tour listed in Bay Weekly proved irresistible. So we cruised over and were rewarded with inspiration and plans for much more work in our garden. It will get worse after my visits to local favorites this weekend: the Hammond-Harwood Secret Garden Tour (Saturday and Sunday) and the North Beach Home and Garden Tour (Sunday only).
    Hop Dock Bars (Way 26): I crossed the ever-formidable Bay Bridge for an evening at Big Owl Tiki Bar on Kent Narrows. My excuse: Seeking a marina for the night of an upcoming wedding at The Crab Deck. Here’s my report, briefly enough to fit the margins of 101 Ways: Bright colors, groovy atmosphere, big sunset, knock-out margarita, food not bad.
    If you missed your copy of 101 Ways in last week’s paper, look for it where you pick up Bay Weekly. But hurry before they’re all gone, because 101 Ways is published but once a year, and only in print.
    In annotating your own 101 Ways, you’ll doubtless find the occasional error, like the one attributing Infinity Theatre Company plays My Way (June 16-July 10) and Little Shop of Horrors (July 15-Aug. 7) to Colonial Players. I apologize and urge you to call ahead to confirm date, time and location. Just as our fingers may slip a key, so may the plans of event organizers change.