Life is good at Fells Point. We stayed a month at Henderson's Wharf Marina. It was an ideal arrangement  made by my brother in law, Roy Hyatt, who also keeps his boat there. Minimal amenities, but all of the essentials are present and in good working condition. John Guildner, dock master, offered a price for the month we could not refuse. AnnTicipation, Fine Time, and Taliesen also made it a base of operations for seeing Baltimore and its many attractions.

Baltimore is a city in renewal. The harbor is the natural center of attraction. In the early 1900's it was the port for steamship companies carrying passengers up and down the Chesapeake.  It was a crowded and  busy industrial port. By the middle of the century the docks and warehouses were in disrepair. In the past 20 years the inner harbor has seen a renewal. Shops, marinas, entertainment and restaurants are all along the pavestone walkway which goes for miles along the inner harbor. The Aquarium, The Seaport museum, the grand ship Constellation, the Science Center are major attractions on the inner harbor. The Fells Point district is bursting with bars, quaint shops and restaurants... all of which are located in 100+ year old row houses. You would think you were in merry old England.  Cobblestone streets with names like Thames, Fleet, Lancaster, Aliceanne, Fell and Broadway.

Our bikes made the whole inner harbor accessible and we rode them daily. Another fun way to travel is the Water Taxi. For $5 a day you can ride between the 14 stops around the harbor. We were also spoiled to  have a car furnished by Marion's sister, Linda Hyatt.

Restaurants

We had dinners out at many fine eateries. I will only mention the ones that were so good that we just had to go back.  They were all inexpensive and had great food.

At the Inner Harbor:
    Tex-Mex Grill... The Chicken Nachos appetizer feeds 3 for light lunch.

On Boston Street:
    Austin Grill... Fiery hot Chili and Great Burgers.

In Fells Point:
    Bertha's Mussels...  Don Thomson declared, "The best mussels on the North American Continent"
    Water's Edge... Crab Cake, Marion's favorite... Medallions of Tenderloin, Ed says, "Perfecto!!"
    Brick Oven Pizza  (BOP) ... Redefines the meaning of LARGE... A LIFETIME Experience in Pizza.
    Maggie Moo Ice Cream Store.... Where all good evenings end.

Great Fun

The Aquarium comes it three parts... The Aquatic Mammals exhibit features a half dozen highly trained dolphins. The top floor of the aquarium has a tropical rain forest with some of the loudest birds you have ever heard... plus red ibis... and also a bird that sounds like a squeaking rusty barn door. The Aquarium itself has many small tanks featuring the smaller fish and two enormous tanks: on the first floor a lagoon full of manta rays and sting rays. Around the central walkway ramp a three story shark tank. Did you know that sharks swim clockwise around the tank?

We went by water taxi to the Inner harbor, and climbed the hill to Camden Yards.  We saw the Orioles
defeat the Mariners.  It was the third game of their series and the O's won all three. Cal Ripen got 2 hits and 2 almost homers, which were snagged by the center fielder on the track. The fans, 35,500 of them, were very happy. We had beer and peanuts.  Camden Yards is a jewel.

Even more fun was in store for us at Hershey Park. Marion's sister Linda and her daughter, Noel live in Harrisburg PA. We went up for the weekend to take advantage of FREE tickets Noel had won on a radio station contest. The four of us braved a rainy day and headed for the park.
 

They have a great merry go round ... we rode it to stay dry when the rain was coming down. Hershey Park is one of the oldest in the country. It was in business in 1930 mainly for the employees of Hershey. It has been updated over the years with the latest rides and amusements. They have NINE roller coasters... we rode all but The Wildcat... It broke down twice while we were there so we let that one pass.

The weather improved by mid afternoon, but the rain had kept the crowds away. We never waited more than ten minutes for a ride.  Seven Hours at Hershey Park makes a full day of FUN.

The Ladies come to party...

June 2 through June 10 was Ladies Reunion week. Sisters: Ginny, Linda, and Marion and nieces: Sandy,
Noel and Lorrie were all there for the long weekend.  I had the honor being squire to six. I was decorated with glitter by Linda , and an ankle tattoo from Noel.

The weekend included a  side trip to Annapolis with an overnight at anchor off the Naval Academy. We were hoping to find a free spot on the bulkhead along Ego Alley (see previous report about Ego Alley). We had no luck,  but the ladies got into their most revealing bathing suits and we paraded up and down the city docks twice as we waited for a slip to open up.  That's what Ego Alley is all about.
 

After anchoring we all went to town, had dinner at Pussers, and the obligatory Ice Cream. Back in Baltimore we did a cruise to Baltimore Inner Harbor and tied up along the Light street bulkhead. Its a great place to meet people...  Everyone knows someone from Texas...

The party started winding down when the nieces all headed back to their real world duties. The sisters kept up the pace through the rest of the week with an Automobile tour down the Eastern shore to Cambridge, Oxford, the ferry across the Choptank and on to St Michaels. We ran into Mike and Ginny Schwartz, Fine Time, in St Michaels.  Deja Vu ... Small World.

Fort McHenry

And now we open the Envelope for the most special event of the trip to date...

Fort McHenry is where the Americans held off the British in the War of 1812.  It was actually 1814 when the battle of for Baltimore occured. Earlier in the summer the Brittish had sailed up the Potomac and virtually unopposed had burned the White House and the seat of governmant in Washington.

The people of Baltimore were not going to let that happen to them.  Rapidly they formed a militia and fortified the city against land attack. Fort McHenry at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor, would deter the British attack from the sea.

Francis Scott Key, a prisioner of the British, witnessed the British barrage against the fort from a ship two miles away from the fort. The next day he wrote a poem since put to music that we know as "The Star Spangled Banner".

We visited the fort, now a National Monument. We climbed over the walls... we heard the briefings... we went through the museum.

Then toward the end of the day one of the park rangers concluded his remarks to the group with the comment, "We will be needing to change out the large flag with a smaller one for the evening... the wind is piping up... we don't fly the large flag in winds above 15 kts.  Would any of you like to help us bring down Old Glory and raise the smaller flag?"

"I have a party of five who would be most honored to help," I volunteered. He accepted our offer and recruited seven more to help.

The flag is a replica of the original "Star Spangled Banner", fifteen stars and fifteen stripes... one for each of the 13 original colonies plus the newly added states of Vermont and Kentucky. The large flag was about 24 by 36 feet. The smaller one 10 by 15.
 
 
 

Two teams were formed... one to raise the small flag, the other to lower the large flag. There are two halyards, so the plan was to raise the small flag and secure it. Then we would immediately lower the large flag and fold it up. We all had jobs. I got to help the ranger raise the small flag. Marion, Linda, and Roy brought the large flag down, caught it and rolled it up. Ginny took pictures of the operation.

 

Once down, the ranger instructed us on how to fold the flag. It took a team of twelve to do the job gracefully.  There was no fooling around, we all took our jobs seriously.   I speak for all of us, "It was an inspirational moment we will never forget." When the flag was finally folded, Roy had the privilege of carrying it to its storage place. It was a most fitting honor, because he had served our country in the Army in Viet Nam.

Be sure to visit Ft McHenry when you are in Baltimore.