Baltimore, MD

En route to Baltimore the morning of Thursday Oct 21, the coast guard noted that the Francis Scott Key bridge over the bay was closed to marine traffic until 11:00 am as they were doing some electrical wire upgrades. Thankfully we arrived at this bridge shortly thereafter but witnessed workmen being transported to work on the electrical wires by a helicopter high overhead. It was almost like something you'd see in a circus. About 1:00 pm, we pulled into Anchorage Marina in the inner harbor, tied up and started to wash down the boat of the nasty Chesapeake mud that comes up each time we raise the anchor up from the bottom, until our hose burst. Thankfully West Marine and an ACE hardware store were 5 minutes away, the former with a super discount to Marina guests, especially on Thursdays, and the hose was replaced. But as the sun was shining, we set off on the harbor walk and walked through Fells Point - a quaint older section of town with cobblestone streets, row houses and so many restaurants, past the aquarium, and to the Constellation (an old schooner moored in the harbor), sat outside for a drink at the Four Season Hotel Bar and then over to the Lebanese Taverna restaurant - a real bonus as it had been our favorite restaurant in D.C. when we lived there 28 years ago. The food was exceptional and it was such a treat to have a dinner off the boat. Friday morning Harry and I parted ways - Harry set out cleaning and polishing the boat with our new hose while I went grocery shopping. Three hours later and four trips to the grocery store for me, we grabbed a quick sandwich and headed to Federal Hill by Uber. There we found more row houses and restaurants and made a note to return to the American Visionary Art Museum when we had more time, as it looked very interesting but we needed to leave the marina by 4 pm so as to be anchored for the night before dark.  We did just that, dropping our hook at Bodkin Creek about 12 miles south of Baltimore as the sun was setting around 6 pm.

Row houses in Fells Point in Baltimore

 

View of the Baltimore inner harbor from Federal Hill