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Quote of the Day

Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"

24 October 2008

Baltimore's Inner Harbor







I must begin by stating that I ate the most delectable Maryland Lump Crab Cake at Rusty Scuppers. Poor future crabs that pass my lips will always be measured against it. Blue crabs are something quite indescribable.

Our first thrill was to go aboard 3 different ships in the harbor: the USS Torsk submarine, the Lightship Chesapeake and the USS Constellation.

Peanut started pouting when she realized the sub wasn’t going to go down under for us. It’s shocking what a difficult time I had explaining that concept – the U.S. government refused to lower a sub for the mere enjoyment of our road tripping family! They grasped claustrophobia clearly, however, when a big man came rushing past us explaining in no uncertain terms that he didn’t feel well.

Light ships served the same function as Lighthouses but were on the water, usually docked. They had the nicest accommodations of any water vessel we’ve toured. I guess that was the incentive for such a dangerous and tedious job.

Oh the USS Constellation is such a magnificent ship! It went down 3 or 4 decks – one dedicated to guns alone – guns that held 32 lb. cannonballs. That's Doodle in a ball! We came running to the stern for the presentation on how to care for and light a cannon. Within 15 minutes and a little help from the audience, off it went, Boom! We were much more impressed than we’d expected.

Here's Little Man's #1 lesson of today: Do you know why the toilet on a ship is called the head? Sailors used to go to the head of the ship to pee and poop off the side – it actually went into a tube down to the ocean. Zero privacy.

Baltimore has a little water taxi, not to be confused with a narrated tour, and that’s how we ended up in Fells Point for the rest of the afternoon. Grandma and I could have spent days there – her reading every historical marker and me, going in and out of every shop. An interesting slice of history with modern appeal. The Daily Grind coffee shop is a combination of 2 buildings and the space between – so many places were clever and charming like this.

The Art Gallery of Fells Point was showing a miniature paintings exhibit. This appealed to all of us and we were told that miniatures have been done since the earliest of times and they’re the diamonds of art. I think I’ve found a new creative outlet. I love to paint on 4x6 watercolor tablets, but these were as small as 2x2 and sold for as much as $500. Phenomenal. The two volunteers were local painters and such warm, genuine people. One even offered to get me some Delaware dirt on her visit next weekend, since we missed the state by driving through it at night.

She was a perfect example of why we're doing this trip; we are witnessing the benevolence and generosity of pure strangers time and again, and I believe people all over the world are the same. I want my kids to someday be counted among them!

1 comment:

  1. You have to check out our Indian art in our entry, it's 2 miniatures that are very common in India. The births remind me of the bunks on the trains that we ride from Dehli to Dehra Dun.

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