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A weekender's guide to Lutherville-Timonium.Former Patch columnist Evan Porter is having a big week. Yesterday he proposed to his longtime girlfriend Sarah and today he's leaving Lutherville to start a new life with her in Atlanta, where she plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology for graduate school. Editor's Note: You can read some of Evan's articles here, including our most Facebook recommended story to date, An Ode to Charles Village Pub. Just hours ago he set off with his fiancee, his future mother-in-law and their "drugged up devil cat." And thankfully, he's live Tweeting the whole ride. Read along as he posts …
I'm moving to Atlanta at the end of the summer, so before I go, I've produced what I call a "Baltimore Bucket List:" a list of things I must do before I leave. It's typical Baltimore stuff: see a bunch of O's games, have a crab feast and black out on Natty Boh. One big item on my list that I was able to knock off this past weekend was a trip to Boordy Vineyards.Full disclosure: I'm not a huge wine guy, but if there's any brand that could turn me, it's Boordy. This stuff is good, and I walked away from my trip there appreciating it even more.For starters, the drive there is gorgeous. You'll …
Mother's Day was never a big deal in my house growing up. It came and went without much acknowledgment, at the request of my parents, believe it or not. Same with Father's Day. I guess they were never comfortable with the idea of being thanked for, what they thought, was just doing their job — being good parents.Getting older, you develop a new respect and appreciation for your parents. You get out of school and start working full time, pretty soon you find yourself too busy to take care of even the simplest things around the house. Who wants to take out the trash or do dishes or even cook …
Seems like everyone's got a severe case of O's fever these days. Why not? The Orioles are off to a good start for the first time since before many of us were even old enough to be clinically depressed over a baseball team. The whole city is in a frenzy, and it's refreshing to see. Sure, living north of the city has its drawbacks this time of year. Are you sad that the scintillating aroma of hot dogs and beer nuts doesn't flow through your open window on game day? Bummed out that you can't sell your parking spaces for some extra Power Ball money? Don't be. We Luthervillians and Timonium-ers (…
Right about now you’re probably reeling from a long night of Guinness and Jameson. You’re probably asking yourself, “What on Earth was I thinking last night?” “Why does it have to be so bright outside?” “Where did I leave my credit card?” If this sounds familiar, then it is clear—you are hungover. It's all the worst parts of being drunk with none of the benefits; combining symptoms of colds, the flu, food poisoning and halitosis to create one super-ailment that makes you regret trying to relive your college days. The worst part is, there's no cure for the common hangover. You can't stop it. …
I would hesitate to call myself a gifted bowler. In fact, I would never call myself a gifted bowler. If I can bowl a game without throwing a gutter ball at a full set of pins at least once, I consider it a victory. I'm light years away from figuring out how to palm the ball and put a spin on it; at this point I'll settle for the ball not stopping halfway to the pins and me having to grab an employee to retrieve it. But despite my non-prowess, I have been bowling twice in the past two weeks, both times at AMF Timonium lanes. Before this month, I hadn't been bowling in years. I'm not totally …
Super Bowl XLV airs today at 6:30 p.m. on FOX. A substantial portion of the country will be tuning in to watch, whether at home, at the bar, or by catching the highlights on their phone while they're stuck at a wake. But watching football is certainly not for everyone. There are people in this country that use Sundays to get things done around the house, go to the movies, and otherwise not get drunk on their couch. I think those people are crazy, but the more I think about it, I'm starting to believe they might be on to something. We all know why people tune in to the biggest football game of…
Foursquare is no longer just an amusing game from your childhood. Some of you may not have heard of it yet. That's okay. It's not Facebook or Twitter. Ignorance is excusable... for now. But it’s something you can and should be taking advantage of you like going out and saving a buck or two. Foursquare is a smart phone application/website that lets you "check in" to venues while you're out on the town. So let's say you make your way over to Michael’s Café for a round of drinks. You whip out your phone, check in, and boom! Now all of your Facebook friends and Twitter followers know you're …
I watched the movie "Catfish" last night. It’s about a guy in New York who forms an online friendship with a family from a small town in Michigan and eventually drives to go meet them in person. SPOILER ALERT: It doesn't end well.It got me thinking about meeting people online; the benefits, the risks, and how the internet has changed over the years. It used to be that you had to be crazy to meet up with someone you met on the net. Now I can’t stop hearing about how one in five relationships comes from a dating website. What? People don’t have time to get rejected in person anymore? A few …
Well, it's officially the most wonderful time of the year, as if Light 101.9 hasn't made it clear enough by now. In all seriousness, though, Christmas is great. It's always fun to spend time with the people you love, eat great food and give (get) presents. If there's anything that bothers me about Christmas, though, it's the cabin fever. You're often cooped up with family for three or four days at a time. I don't care how much your family loves Yahtzee and devouring snickerdoodles, the proximity will eventually take its toll on a person. You've got to find some time to get out of the house. …
They don't call America the land of the free for nothing. Americans love free stuff, even if that means taking home an arm full of water bottles, tote bags or lanyards from street festivals. That's okay, because we're always on the hunt for the ever-elusive free good stuff. There's something so satisfying about getting your hands on a valuable item without having to shell out your hard earned money, especially if you don't get arrested after the fact. If it isn't a complete piece of junk, it's destined to become one of your most prized possessions if only because it didn't cost you anything. …
Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar. You're out at a bar, drinking with your friends. You have no idea what time it is. All you know is that it's half past the point where you start gleefully singing along with songs you hate and about a quarter 'til you begin to consider buying one of those colored tube shots from the shot girls. It's at this point that you start to feel it— that low grumbling in your stomach. Your mouth starts to water and suddenly a booming voice in your head commands you to seek out a large order of mozzarella sticks at all costs. But, oh no! The kitchen closed 40 …
Not all sporting events are created equal. The grunts of the Wimbledon Final make for great background noise while you iron your capris. The PGA tour never fails to make you pause briefly to see who's winning while flipping through channels. Cricket looks kind of fun when you see people watching it in movies. But nothing draws a crowd like the NFL in December. And it doesn't get any bigger than the Ravens playing Steelers in Baltimore. This year I'm lucky enough to be going to the game. And by lucky I mean insane for spending an ungodly amount of money on nosebleed seats. What can I say? I've…
I've lived in Timonium for a little over a year, and as a young guy who grew up in Baltimore, I can tell you that this part of town isn't exactly known as a hotbed for social activity. Sure, people will come here to go to the State Fair and maybe even the Home Depot on the weekends—but as far as nightlife goes? You won't find Lutherville/Timonium/Cockeysville mentioned in the same breath as Fells Point, Canton, or Towson. That's probably because it takes a long time to say and people just don't have that much breath, but the point stands. Personally, I think that while this area will never …