One of the things that is really important to me is having the opportunity to spend time with our family and friends over the wedding weekend. For that reason, we're planning a series of optional weekend events that should allow people to hang out, get to know each other, and enjoy the area. One of the major weekend events is the Saturday afternoon barbecue/picnic. Originally we had planned for the barbecue to take place at Cunningham Falls State Park, since it's pretty and there's a nice hike up to the falls that some could attempt while others were cooking or playing games by the lake. Unfortunately, there weren't any covered pavilions of the appropriate size, and we didn't want to chance an uncovered picnic site (even if October is the driest month of the year).

Adam did a lot of research on county and state parks in the area, and made a list of four finalists. We decided to make a date of it, and drove out to Frederick to check them out. It was a beautiful summer day, sunny and lush. The parks were spread out across Frederick County, and we drove through miles of farm land and suburban sprawl. We eliminated the first three parks that we checked out because they seemed pretty blah -- soccer fields and a pavilion, and not a whole lot else. The fourth and final park we visited, Pinecliff Park, thankfully turned out to be a winner. It's pretty, and each pavilion offers horseshoe pits and a variety of other recreation options like playgrounds or volleyball nets. There's even a short nature trail, and fishing in the river (no swimming, alas). In the winter, at one end of the park there's a swampy area that apparently converts to a skating pond and on the other there's a steep hill that is an established sledding run (how cool is that?). While the mosquitoes were a nightmare next to swamp, I did spot a new bird for my life list -- two green herons were there gobbling minnows. Never fear, we chose a pavilion away from the swamp and mosquitoes.

I think it will be an ideal spot for a Saturday picnic. Our site is actually right on the Monocacy river, so I'm debating (read: trying to persuade others to go along with...) renting canoes for an optional mid-afternoon canoe ride ending at our picnic site. This may be a planning nightmare, however, so I'm a little worried it won't work out (though this might be for the best if I am to have any prayer of maintaining a manicure...).

P.S. Click on the pic if you'd like to learn how to make your own portable picnic case...

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