By: MJ & PJ
MARYLAND
After a late night at the airport in Baltimore, we made our way into the Inner Harbor area of the city. We found parking to be quite expensive for the day, but wanted the convenience of our vehicle downtown. We had no specific plans so went to the harbor edge to look around and found an exceptional visitor center with some very friendly people. We had a friend in Colorado from this state so we also messaged her to get some advice. It turns out there was plenty to see and do in this area of the city.
AJ is a bit of a baseball fan and quickly abandon the Rockies as his team once we started a surprise tour (for him) of the Oriole’s Camden Yards . It was an exceptional tour with a great guide who knew his stuff, and was enthusiastic about the history of the Orioles and the contribution of the stadium design to modern baseball stadium design. A player named George Ruth was a local here in his youth – the name change to ‘Babe’ and the term ‘Dunn deal’ makes interesting baseball history. We decided during the tour to return later in the evening and watch a game being played between the New York Mets and the Orioles. As we were leaving the NY Mets batters were practicing and we were in the range of two fly balls. AJ was able to grab one as a very special souvenir of the tour.
We then headed back towards the city area, and waited too long for a bus that did not show up. This was the second instance of waiting for an east coast bus that did not show for MJ and AJ. Instead of the bus, we simply walked… trudged… in the very hot weather to look at the iconic and historic buildings. We stopped in the Barnes and Noble building to read up on our next country to visit, and to escape the heat. It was then time to get something to eat before the evening game so we stopped at the Pot Belly Sandwich shop.
The Orioles game started at dusk and was quite a close game with the New York Mets winning in extra innings. What was more exciting for us, and the people behind us in our section of the stands, was AJ‘s dancing. During the game many people were selected to be on screen for their moment of fame. Despite AJ’s best efforts, it look like he would not start on the Jumbotron this particular night. However, on the very last pan of the audience his persistence paid off and he was the last person featured, so they must’ve had a eye on him for a while. The crowd around us cheered because they knew how hard he was working to get on the big screen! He certainly got more than a few moments of star time. It was then time to watch a live performance from a solo artist from Nashville. After the performance, we stayed for the Friday night fireworks, which were surprisingly long. It was another late night and by the time we got back to the campsite it was just after midnight.
We had some family in North Potomac where we would be staying for a few days, so after we packed up our camp we had about half a day to see something else in Baltimore. Fort McHenry, a national historic place, was the place to see given AJ’s love of history so went there. It was an exceptional experience – national icons abound here, and it was a site of a turning point for America in the War of 1812.
Daily they have ceremonies for raising the giant flag, but will also briefly fly your personal flag on site if you send it in. How freaking awesome is that! There were live reenactments of how the military at the time communicated with music and drums to signal events during a routine day and during warfare. They also showed sequencing of musket and rifle handling and demonstrated firing patterns. A small cannon was fired (a blank of course!) into the Chesapeake Bay. One of the guides said they like to fire the cannons as cruise ships exit the Bay to get their attention! AJ was able to obtain another Junior Ranger badge while here to add to his collection.
WASHINGTON D.C.
Our time in Washington DC began with a visit to ER for MJ. He had been preaching safety to AJ every few days over the last few months – about not ending up in the hospital or ER. This is a much longer story related to, oddly, credit card fraud. Once the drama of the laceration had settled we made plans for the next few days. We spent the afternoon checking out the Great Rapids which is right next to the C & O Canal off the Potomac River and the canal locks and a boat.
We had some good times catching up with family, playing games and hanging out inside as it was very hot and humid outside. The generosity of family and friends during our time in the US has made the initial stage of the trip more familiar and homey, not to mention cheaper.
The next full day in Washington DC was all about seeing some tourist sites and memorials. We took the metro into the city and walked the loop of The National Mall to the west including the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and the Washington Monument. We then caught up with PJs family and a fairly quick decision was made to head for the cool of the Smithsonian. It is easy to fill many hours in even just one of the museums that line The Mall. After catching dinner at a local Mexican restaurant we parted ways, catching the metro back to North Potomac.
There is simply too much to see on The Mall in the space of a few days! This meant that we had to split and see a few individual things that were high on our lists, so while AJ and PJ went to the International Spy Museum, MJ headed to the Holocaust Museum. Hours later we reconvened at the Air and Space Museum. After a quick bite to eat, we all sat on the top deck of a bus that took us on a tour of the city. This was a good chance to see a lot of things out of the heat of the day. Our tour guide was simply awesome!
On the final morning in the capital we let AJ sleep in and spend the morning with his Virginia based family. This gave us a chance to see the White House close up and to visit the White House visitor center. As would be expected, it is quite the security ordeal to get a tour of the White House and hence it needs planning ahead. We then walked to the Newseum. This is a fascinating place to visit and in which to learn about the less visible aspects of journalism. You also get perspectives on the importance and impact that reporting and publishing has had over the centuries. A quick and oppressively hot visit to the Jefferson Memorial rounded out our time in D.C. We exited the region with the air conditioner on high, headed for central Virginia.
