October 13-16

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Baltimore.  When you look at our Floatplan, it doesn’t stand out as the most exotic, the most remote, the most picturesque, or the quaintest stop.  We were in for a pleasant surprise after an uneventful and quick trip from Annapolis to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore.

On the way, we were passed by “Winning Drive”, the yacht owned by Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the Ravens football team.  “Winning Drive” was docked in Annapolis while we were there.  As we pulled into the harbor, we discovered that we would be docked right across from this megayacht.  Alas, we didn’t spot the owner over the weekend.  We did, however, see his full-time crew, who were busy washing the boat, walking two dogs several times a day, and scurrying hither and tither from sun-up till sundown.  I can’t imagine what goes into maintaining a yacht like that.  We can barely keep the Chesapeake mud off of our decks.

The Inner Harbor Marina was really nice.  It was gated for security and had good showers and a laundry room, which I made use of right away, of course.  We were docked right next to another Beneteau 473, s/v La Vida.  We enjoyed meeting Rob and Nancy and having a few beers together aboard their boat after the kids went to bed.  This is what marina life is like, I guess.  Not bad.  It was like one giant party all weekend.  Everyone just sat on the backs of their boats, having a grand old time and talking to each other as people walked down the docks.  The Ravens game was on Sunday, so a lot of boats were there for that reason. As were we.

Chris had made plans months ago to go to the game with our Cornell friend, Mark, when they realized that the Cowboys-Ravens game would be around when we were passing through the Chesapeake.  Mark is originally from Baltimore and has season tickets to the Ravens, even though he lives up in New Jersey, like us.  We learned that EVERYONE in Baltimore is a serious Ravens fan.  I kid you not when I say that every single person I saw on Sunday was wearing purple (the Ravens’ color).  It was kind of cute, because I love purple.

I woke up “early” on Sunday and had a nice, short run to the nearby Royal Sonesta hotel.  The marina has an agreement with the hotel allowing marina guests to use their fitness room, pool, and other facilities.  I jumped at the chance to swim in clear water and enjoyed the pool all to myself.  I surprised myself by swimming 50 lengths in the 14 meter pool.  I haven’t been able to swim in awhile so I was worried that I’d have no stamina (not that this is a long swim by an actual swimmer’s standards) but I was happy with it and I wasn’t struggling at all.  I just felt at home, enjoying the soft feeling of the water flowing past me.

When I got back to the boat, Mark had arrived from New Jersey.  We hung out on the boat for a bit and then another Cornell friend, Christina, got there.  Christina was my maid of honor a hundred and thirteen years ago and now lives outside of D.C.  We planned on spending the day together with Porter and Reese while Chris, Mark, and Bryson went to the game.  It was a beautiful day, so the boys had fun at the game.  Mark was all smiles when they returned and Chris was keeping quiet, so I figured out all by myself what the outcome was.

Christina, the kids, and I enjoyed walking around the Inner Harbor.  There is a huge Science Center on the waterfront.  As we walked past, a “scientist” was outside and had us take part in an experiment on air pressure.  We got to pump up a Coke bottle and send it flying into the sky.  We all enjoyed the experience, especially when one of the bottles ended up landing on the roof of the center!

We took Christina to the candy store, where we looked at some of the fun giant-sized candies.  Next up was Barnes and Noble, where we purchased a few brandy-new books for the kids.  Christina even surprised the kids with a new book for Reese and a cool Harry Potter badge for Porter.  We had lunch at Noodles and Co. and slowly made our way back to the boat.  I really enjoyed just sitting in the cockpit with Christina, looking out over the harbor and talking about everything going on in our lives.

 

When the boys got back from the game, the kids all played nicely down below while the four Cornell alums  caught up, hung out, and had some wine and appetizers. (We all also married Cornellians, so we spent a lot of time doing the secret handshake, etc. Just kidding.) It was a really nice night and none of us wanted it to end.  Mark stayed until the last train was leaving for New Jersey and Christina stayed for dinner before driving home to get ready to take 25 pre-schoolers on a field trip the next day!

The marina is right in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, which was clean, pretty, and full of attractions.  “Full” as in you couldn’t possibly see all the museums, shops, sculptures, fountains, and restaurants in this one little area if you were there for a whole week!  The list of museums went on and on, from the Museum of Industry to the B&O Railroad Museum.  On Monday, we chose to hit the National Aquarium, even though the ticket price does not match a cruiser’s budget.  I opted to let Chris take the kids while I got a massage (which was more expensive than the aquarium, but somehow I made an argument that made sense at the time.  Connect Four!  Where? Diagonally!  Pretty sneaky, sis!)

Chris and the kids had a great time at the aquarium.  They stayed all day and loved the dolphins, the jellyfish, and the puffins.  I washed the boat down in the pouring rain, did more laundry, and had my lovely massage.

 

 

By the time we were all done, my mom and Sal had arrived.  They have a summer cottage in Alexandria Bay, NY (on the Canadian border).  They were driving home for the winter to North Carolina and were able to stop for a visit.  We had dinner together and talked about our plans for the next few weeks.  We will be staying at the dock behind their house for about 10 days to provision the boat for our passage to the British Virgin Islands.

 

 

The next morning, we left for Annapolis.  We had appointments with a rigger (the person who deals with the rigging on a boat: the mast, stays, halyards, etc.) and an electrician.  Our trip to Baltimore was short, but it was enough to make us realize that a much longer visit will be planned once we get back to New Jersey.  It’s only a few hours away and has so much to offer.

Bonus! From Bryson, Reese, and Porter:

National Aquarium: October 15, 2012

We went to the Baltimore National Aquarium.  Here are our favorite exhibits and fun facts.

Reese:Jellyfish were eating all the food and young fish were dying.Jellyfish eat algae and plankton.

There are jellyfish in Australia that are deadly to people.

Male seahorses give birth.

95% of the ocean is undiscovered.

Parrotfish can change their gender male to female.

Bryson:

A Megalodon shark’s tooth is the size of a human hand.

An Australian skink, a type of lizard, can drop its tail to protect itself.

Moon jellyfish give birth to polyps that keep copying jellyfish forever, until they run out of food.

Octopi have three hearts.

White cod is endangered.

Kookaburras are aggressive (when they aren’t sitting in an old gum tree?).

Porter:

Jellyfish have tentacles that sting people.

Turtles eat jellyfish.

Some jellyfish sting, some don’t and some are deadly.

Lizards can drop their tails.

One lizard has a blue tongue.

Lizards show their tongue and other animals think they are poisonous.