We arrived in Baltimore in the afternoon and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. That evening the wind picked up and the sky turned very gray. The clouds sent down a pouring rain, and the TV issued a tornado warning. Mike, being outside, heard a siren, but being inside with the a/c going and the TV on I heard nothing! Finally the rain slowed as did the wind and the tornado warning was cancelled for our area. Yay!
Since then the weather has been beautiful, sunny and in the low 70’s with no humidity. The next day we drove to downtown Baltimore. Our first stop was the Inner Harbor which was reborn only three decades ago from a downtrodden industrial zone to become the city’s gleaming tourism epicenter. We walked and walked along the water’s edge seeing the Baltimore World Trade Center which is octagonal. They have a maritime museum, an aquarium, science center and Camden Yards, where the Orioles play baseball, and the M&T Bank Stadium where the Ravens play football. There were a number of ships in the area…… U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the Taney, and the submarine USS Torsk, both having been in action in WWII; the former survived the attack at Pearl Harbor and the latter sank the last enemy warship of the war. The lightship Chesapeake and the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse were there also. The USS Constellation, a three-masted sloop of war launched in 1854 and the last vessel from the Civil War is still afloat here also.
We were walking by Lenny’s Delicatessen which boasted ‘voted Baltimore’s best corned beef’ so we had to try it. We split a sandwich which we truly enjoyed. Then on to Lexington Market which claims to be the world’s largest continuously running market that was started in 1782. It is an enormous area with booths next to each other and across from one another as far as one could see; all of them being food, bakery, etc. Mike asked a local if he knew where J.W.Faidley’s was and he and his friend walked us there since they couldn’t explain it easily….nice people! There we each ate a crab-cake, which was also delicious and huge! The restaurant was founded in 1886 and is one of the oldest and well-known purveyors of fresh seafood in the Chesapeake region. They are best known for their award winning lump crab cakes. We can see why!
Since we did the laundry yesterday all we had to do the next day was read and relax. We did that until 2:00 when we left the campground to go eat at Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” recommendation of Chaps Bar-B-Q. Mike tried the Big John sub of Italian sausage, turkey, beef and corned beef. He loved that, especially when adding their tiger sauce (mayonnaise/horseradish spread) on it. Judy had the Reuben with coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. It, too was very good. Judy described the establishment as a shack with an enclosed area for a few tables with superb food.
Our last day in Baltimore we visited the American Visionary Art Museum – known as one of the most interesting and entertaining art venues in the country. It is dedicated to art produced by self taught individuals, usually without formal training. It is often called “outsider art” and includes creations born of intuition and self styled imagination. Three buildings hold wonders created by farmers, housewives, mechanics, retired folk, the disabled, the homeless, as well as the occasional neurosurgeon. Unfortunately you weren’t allowed to take any inside pictures. It is a place that can be skipped in our opinion!
Since it was Judy’s birthday we dined at Obrycki’s, a restaurant in the historic Fell’s Point neighborhood that’s been packing them in since 1944.
We split a Caesar salad which was excellent, followed by a crab cake (made from lump and backfin crab meat) which has been their mainstay since 1944. It, too, was good. Judy took the waitress’s advice and ordered broiled topped shrimp, which were mini crab cakes over jumbo shrimp, topped with imperial sauce and then broiled. Very rich, and very good. Mike ordered six blue shell crabs which he really enjoyed (up to his elbows!) He was shown how to crack them and it took him an hour and 10 minutes to completely make a mess of himself and the table. Almost every table in the restaurant had been served these seasonal specials, and you could hear the mallets pounding and the shells cracking!
If you order the crabs, they cover the table with four sheets of brown paper….smart, no linens to wash! When bringing the crabs to the table they are on a tray, and then the waitress just slides them onto the paper table covering!
For dessert they brought Judy a slice of key-lime pie topped with whipped cream and a candle.
Happy Birthday Judy
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