Browsing around Baltimore

Baltimore Inner Harbor with aquarium in background

We spent an excellent 5 days in Baltimore, at a marina in the inner harbor surrounded by the tall buildings of downtown Baltimore.  The change from a week of staying at remote anchorages to a week of being right in the middle of the city, was really experiencing the two extremes

Boats anchored off Pier 6 to hear the concert free

Our visit this summer was timely in that the city & surrounding area were celebrating the 200^th Anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812.  Nearly every point of interest had something extra about the war, Fort McHenry, or the flag.  We learned quite a bit of history of the War of 1812 and the British successes on the Chesapeake Bay.

The view as we entered the harbor.  This was the size of
flag which flew in Sept 1814

To start off our visit, we found our marina amidst the multitude of marinas and the plethora of boats that make up Baltimore harbor.  Water taxis, pleasure boats, tourist boats, sail boats, kayaks, and anything else that floated, passed by our marina slip continually all day & most the night.  We were right next to the Pier 6 concert pavilion, where the band “Boston” gave a performance Tuesday night.  We simply fixed our drinks and walked down our dock to enjoy our free concert, with the lights of the city as a backdrop.

Of course, we made our pilgrimage to Fort McHenry where the National Park Service presented a very impressive introductory video with a reenactment of Francis Scott Key aboard his “truce ship” during the British bombardment of the Fort.  At the end of the video, as the music of our National Anthem began, the movie screen rolled up to allow us to see out the big window that the huge American flag was still flying over the fort at the top of the hill.

In 1814, you'd be looking at the British fleet in front of you,
and Key's ship would be just before the bridge, about
4 miles distance

 

"Francis Scott Key Buoy", where his ship was on 9/13/1814
and, yes, if you use your "spy glass", you can see the
huge flag flying over the fort at the middle of photo

The Park Rangers gave numerous presentations about the battles, the strategy of both the British and the Americans, why the flag was so big (30’ x 42’), and why some young lawyer from Washington (and part-time poet) had sailed out to meet the British two days prior & was held on his ship during the British bombardment of the fort (for your history lesson today, I’ll give you a hint that Key was trying to set free another American, who was taken captive as the British retreated from burning the White House & Capitol building in Washington DC just three weeks prior.  Additional trivia for you:  In mid-1814, British forces were increased with several thousand experienced troops who had fought against Napoleon in the European war, and these were the formidable troops which staged the land assault against Baltimore while the British rocket and mortar ships fired on Ft. McHenry.  Ya didn’t read about that in your history books, did you, kids?!).  After Key finished his poem about his observations and emotions during the bombardment, it was published a couple days later, and within 60 days the poem had spread across the young country.  That’s kind of like the 1814 version of “going viral”.  And a short time later, it was put to the tune of a British drinking song!

Two historic relics!

We also toured a couple of Baltimore’s historic ships, including the USS Constellation, built in 1854 as the last Navy sailing ship, before this new thing called “steam power” became prevalent.  I always get a kick out of seeing these old square-rigged sailing ships & am still amazed at all the ropes & rigging it took to make them move.

Work of a Visionary Artist who was diagnosed with
OCD.  No telling how many pencils he used.

Back ashore, we visited the American Visionary Art Museum, with works of artists who never had formal training or were self-taught.  It had some very interesting and unique art work, some of it created by people who were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, yet found their place as an artist.

And finally, we ate our way around Baltimore, most notably at the Blue Moon Café, where breakfast consisted of a huge pecan-cinnamon roll, battered and fried like French toast, served with fruit and real whipped crème.  Sue tried to eat 3 eggs with crab and Hollandaise sauce, over a mound of hash brown potatoes.  Guess what we had for dinner that night?!?



Around the Chesapeake, there's Old Bay seasoning,
not Zatarain's, although both are owned
by McCormicks

 

Row houses in Federal Hill section of town, all British
Colonial design. Some of these homes are
only 11 feet wide!

So now we’re back at Maryland Yacht Club, where they charge us only $15 per night.  I wanted to stay off the waters during Labor Day weekend, when half the boaters out there are drunk, and the other half just dumb and crazy.  This week, we’ll head back to the Eastern Shore to anchor in the coves, and if there are no sea nettles, we’ll go swimming before summer fades away from us.