East Coast Trip: Day 9 and Day 10

I left Philadelphia bright and early on Sunday (Day 9) headed south towards Baltimore. After some last minute planning, I met up with my friend Lisa for brunch on the north side of Baltimore. Lisa had also been buys moving as she moved into a new house on Sunday. Unfortunately she was unable to go to the Orioles vs. Tigers game because she had previously signed up for a bicycling tour which conflicted with the baseball game.

I took the light rail in from the north side of Baltimore and it dropped my off directly next to Oriole Park and Camden Yards. The skies look threatening but the game was played in its entirety with nothing more than a couple of sprinkles. Both Lisa and the people who sat behind me at the game recommended that I walk around the Inner Harbor after the game. I walked from the ballpark to Federal Hill and was able to see the entire harbor. At this time the skies finally opened up and it began raining rather heavily. I continued to walk around the Inner Harbor, ducking in and out of stores to get a little shelter from the weather. I found a seafood market and carry-out that had seafood at a reasonable price. For $12.75 I got a huge, fresh crab cake, 4 big fried shrimp, and a couple of scoops of vegetables. I thought this was a really good price considering the meal was fresh and the other restaurants in the area were charging twice the price. I then took the light rail back to the north side of Baltimore and Lisa was gracious enough to let me crash on her couch for the night.

My original plan was to leave Monday morning and explore Washington D.C. However since parking was free, the light rail was free and I could not check in to my hotel in D.C. until mid-afternoon, I decided to go back to downtown Baltimore for the morning. There were a couple of interesting places I didn't get a chance to see on Sunday after the game. The first was Fort McHenry National Monument and National Shrine. I started to walk from downtown Baltimore to Fort McHenry but quickly realized that it was not within walking distance. Luckily there was a free bus (Charm City Circulator) that ran from downtown to Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry was critical in the U.S. defense of Baltimore Harbor in the War of 1812 and inspired the lyrics of the "Star Spangled Banner" written by Francis Scott Key. The other interesting place was the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. There was a ton of Babe Ruth memorabilia in the museum and it was interesting to hear (and see) how much of a national icon Ruth was in 1920s, 30s, and 40s. On my the light rail back to my car, I saw signs for Lexington Market. I got off the light rail and walked through the market. It was very reminiscent of the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia from a couple of days earlier. There were numerous restaurant counters serving soul food, ethnic cuisines, and seafood but I had eating an hour earlier. This haiku from Yelp summarizes my experience:

The crab cake mecca
Of Baltimore but beware
Crackheads everywhere

I got back to my car safely and headed down to Washington D.C. I got caught in a traffic jam (a theme for this trip), but really didn't have any plans besides checking into my hotel, catching up on the blog, and planning a trip for D.C. the next day. Since I missed on Lexington Market, the guy at the front desk recommended a place near the hotel for dinner that served soul food. The food was good and it was a change of pace from what food is served in the midwest.