and I think it's a beautiful place.
The whole state seems to burst into flower in the spring, with cherry and crabapple trees, azaleas and tulips and so much more. Just about every home seems to have at least one azalea bush in the yard, and towns plant all kinds of flowers on roadsides.
I love the Catoctin mountains, and the northern reaches of Rock Creek Park.
I have to say, though, that the people in suburban Maryland around Washington DC are for the most part unfriendly. Part of it is probably because so many people are transients, living here temporarily for a government job, or stationed here by the military. People are so busy with their jobs that they don't have time for their neighbors any more, or time to chat in the supermarket. I love going back to New Jersey, where you can actually exchange pleasantries with a stranger in a grocery store, or get caught up in the general conversation at a diner. That's another complaint of mine. There aren't any real diners in Montgomery County. We finally got real NJ pizza in Gaithersburg about a year ago.
I think the general lack of friendliness shows in the way people drive. It's race, race, race, all kinds of bullying and cutting off. People drive like they are the only ones entitled to be on the roads. "I'm the first assistant associate director of the federal whoozis, and I'm important, so get the hell out of my way."
Even though it is beautiful, I don't want to stay here. As soon as my husband retires, which won't be for at least 10 years, we're outta here.
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