Baltimore Bound

Charm City

At first glance, Baltimore, a bit rough around the edges, does not seem exactly deserving of its nickname.  I was curious about the origin of Charm City and discovered that it was part of a public relations move to promote the city at a time when urban decay was blighting the area.  In response to a request from the mayor, the four leading advertising agencies in Baltimore came together in 1975 and brainstormed an image to sell Baltimore's appeal.  Having walked around some of the neighborhoods, I can confirm that the city does exude significant charm.  Old brick buildings, cobblestone streets,  and flower boxes abound.  Hipster bars and chic bistros stand cheek by jowl with older establishments whose walls one wishes could speak.  Beautiful parks, green spaces, a waterfront promenade that goes for miles, and great outdoor venues for fairs, concerts, and farmer's markets lend themselves to enjoying the outdoors.  Our anchorage, adjacent to "The Anchorage" Marina, was the perfect location for a stroll along the waterfront and quick provisioning trips to Safeway (across the street) and West Marine (a block away).  For a cruiser, those two features make this an ideal place to hang out for a while.  We had the added bonus of catching up with Bernie and Andrea from Rollick, and their 2 darling daughters, Alex (6) and Jordan (3).

Cart full o' boat kids

Alexa, Jeanette, Jordan

Girl Friends

We last saw them in the Exumas and it was great to spend time with them, share some meals, and plan for more warm-water adventures.  Ken even managed to squeeze in three races with Bernie on Jester, a J-105 (finishing first in the series), while Jeanette and I did "girl stuff."

The official race picture (Ken on mainsheet, Bernie on jib)

Despite the age gap, Jeanette embraced the opportunity to play with kids and renew friendships.  She especially loved joining Alex and Jordan at Port Discovery - an all-play (and, as Jeanette proudly told me "a no-learning") venue for kids.  Having spent an afternoon there myself, I can confirm that this place is a kid's dream - climbing structures, tunnels, a play kitchen, a water play room, a bubble tube, crazy fun games, four floors of activities - truly a must-see for the under-12 set.  We also spent an evening at the National Aquarium, which was more interesting for its unique layout than for any specific collection.  They did have several of our familiar friends - black-tipped reef sharks - and an enormous loggerhead turtle named Calypso.  She swam and glided so gracefully throughout the tank that it took a while before we realized that she only had 3 flippers!  The switchback walkway from the top floor down to the lobby was really the most interesting part of the aquarium as it took us through different ocean environments in such a way that we felt submerged and surrounded by sea life at every turn - very cool!    

Inner Harbor

National Aquarium

Calypso

One of my favorite discoveries about Baltimore was its free art museums and I love that the city has made a conscious decision to make art accessible to everyone.  Although it was undergoing an extensive renovation that closed several exhibits, we really enjoyed the Baltimore Art Museum.  There was a little bit of everything and a significant collection of Manet that came from two eccentric sisters who were avid art collectors.   One of the more whimsical features of the modern art section was a bicycle-powered shower, which makes me think that we've just scratched the surface of "going green."   We loved our afternoon there, Ken and Jeanette contributed some original artwork to the craft room wall, and we continue to use its excellent online resources for art activities.  

Baltimore sunset over The Anchorage

As I said before, Baltimore is a little rough around the edges.  The sirens and police helicopters flying overhead with searchlights scanning the neighborhoods were a frequent reminder of its urban problems.  Closer to home, from a boating perspective, was the amount of garbage in the harbor.  The city has set a goal of making the inner harbor swimmable by 2020 and they have their work cut out for them.  It is such a problem that the city has come up with some innovative ways to help stem the amount of waste that finds its way into the water.  One such innovation is a current- and solar-powered water wheel that catches garbage at the Jones Falls outlet between Pier 6 and Harbor East that catches trash (and not just your run-of-the-mill trash but things like mattresses) coming down from the Jones Falls watershed. Booms funnel the trash up to rake-like contraptions that steer the garbage to conveyor belts and onto dumpsters.  Baffles, strategically placed near outflows, serve to contain some of the floating trash and facilitate cleanup.  Even more interesting were the garbage boats - small barge-like vessels with conveyor belts that retrieve trash from the water and deposit it into a dumpster.  Some had a screen that lowered in front to scoop up trash from the surface.  In spite of all these efforts, the amount of garbage is staggering.  Truly, I've never seen so much floating trash and the waste that poured into the harbor after a rainstorm was just appalling!  Baltimore has such a gorgeous waterfront - and so much of it - that I hope their efforts to clean it up are successful!  

Baffles along the shorefront

Cutest little garbage boat ever!

Fun Facts

• Baltimore's skyline is concentrated around the Inner Harbor, drawing the eye away from the industry surrounding the rest of the harbor, including the Domino's sugar plant.  It would be easy to dismiss this rusty old refinery but for the fact that sugar accounted for Baltimore's rapid growth in the 18th century due to its involvement with sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean.  When the wind blows from the right direction, it carries the scent of burnt sugar or, as I prefer to think of it "Crème brulée."  
• The Second Continental Congress met here between December 1776 and February 1777 making Baltimore the nation's capital for a brief time.  
• And let's not forget Francis Scott Key who was aboard a British ship while U.S. forces successfully defended Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor from British attack during the War of 1812.  Upon seeing the American flag (the original "Star Spangled Banner" that was sewn by Mary Young Pickersgill in Baltimore) still flying from the fort the next morning, he wrote a poem about the defense of Fort McHenry that became the national anthem in 1931.  
• Construction of the first railroad - B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio) - opened up a corridor to Midwest markets making Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center.  The first umbrella factory in the U.S. was established here in 1828.  
• The first U.S. post office, first newspaper, and first stage coach route were begun in Baltimore.
• The first Clipper was built here and for a time Baltimore was known as Clipper City.
• Many, many, many other "firsts" due to Baltimore's strategic position on the Chesapeake and within the mid-Atlantic states.  
• Snowballs (slushies, snow cones, etc.) were invented here during the industrial revolution.
• During the 1800's, Baltimore was the second largest port of entry for immigrants.
• Billie Holliday, Thurgood Marshall, Babe Ruth, and Michael Phelps were born here.  Edgar Allan Poe died here.
• And to leave this strange compilation on a whimsical note....  In 1946, the Baltimore Zoo had an elephant named Minnie who played "St. Louis Blues" on the harmonica.

Baltimore Waterfront

Fort McHenry

Fruit Fly Farm

One of the last things we did before leaving St. Michael's was to buy some fresh produce, including a watermelon.  A couple of days into our Baltimore stay, we decided that it was time to cut into its juicy flesh and cool off with a watermelon salad.  As I reached under its bright green orb expecting to find a firm surface, my fingers sank into wet, sopping, rotting watermelon flesh.  Eeeewwwwww!!!!  I quickly scooped it up and brought it outside to be dealt with later.  Grabbing rags and cleaner, we set to work cleaning all watermelon juice-soaked surfaces.  Sadly, said watermelon had been placed over an air conditioning vent, which was cleaned as well as it could be.  Several days later, I couldn't help but notice a noxious odor emanating from the a/c vent behind me.  We immediately set to work on re-cleaning the vent, this time with clouds of fruit flies buzzing overhead.  To make a long story short, over the course of several decontamination attempts, I discovered watermelon juice in various stages of drying/rotting deep within the a/c venting.  I ended up removing several lengths of vent hose, which Ken gamely replaced with new venting.  Whew - what an ordeal!  So glad that's over!  Except that it's not.  Nope, the juice actually trickled down much farther than we could have imagined; and while the upper vent has virtually no odor now, the lower vent (read "my bedroom") smells like it's connected to a vomitorium.  I am convinced that all of the venting needs to be replaced, while Ken is convinced that, given time, it will just go away.  He's been diligently running the a/c to diffuse the smell, simultaneously wearing down my resistance.  Whether it's the cooler weather or whether the juice really is just in some final stage of decomposition that no longer smells, the odor does seem to be dissipating and the fruit flies are almost gone.  Stay tuned!

Bahamas Bound

Now that we've left our northernmost stop and have turned south, we are officially on our way back to the Bahamas.  I know it's a bit premature as we still have two months of hurricane season to sit out, but every time we raise anchor now we are moving, slowly, southward to those warm, clear waters.