Baltimore’s Inner Harbor – Plan a Day or More

Baltimore, Maryland.

Note: As this is being written, it’s mid-March (St. Patrick’s Day, to be exact.) Travel is in short supply and not recommended until we get past this COVID-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that the travel plans of spring vacationers have been upset. That’s probably the least of our worries right now. My wife, Lynn, and I have cut our travel plans for the time being, and we’ve even decided to stay in Arizona a bit longer before heading back to our home in Fargo. Stay safe and follow the guidelines from the CDC.

In 2019, my last Civil Air Patrol National Conference as North Dakota Wing Commander found me in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore. Downtown Baltimore is much like any major city downtown with skyscrapers and business offices. The city, however, has a connection to the Atlantic Ocean via the Patapsco River. The river, 39 miles (63 km) in length, is born in central Maryland and flows through Baltimore into Chesapeake Bay. That pathway to the Atlantic brought international trade to the area. Since the early days, shipbuilding was a major industry in the harbor.

Historic Ships in Baltimore – The Inner Harbor Maritime Museum

Baltimore, Maryland.

The Inner Harbor area features many attractions for visitors like us who were there for a conference. A short walk from our hotel is the National Acquarium, the large buildings shown in the opening photo. Dwarfed by the two buildings are two seagoing vessels that are a portion of the topic of this week’s Travel Tuesday post. The Lightship Chesapeake and the Submarine USS Torsk are two of the four vessels that are open for viewing for a small fee.

Cellpic Sunday – 1 December 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

The Marriott Hotel in the Inner Harbor area is built on the banks of the Jones Falls River. In the river across from the hotel is a strange moored vessel known informally as Mr. Trash Wheel. In the photo above, the river flows from right to left and not far behind Mr. Trash Wheel the river flows into the larger Inner Harbor area.

Cellpic Sunday – 17 November 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

Across the channel from the Marriott Hotel where we were staying for our national conference, a large tented facility attracted my attention. It looks like a music venue from the distance, but I was not to find out for sure until we went for our dinner walk to a nearby restaurant. Upon our return from dinner, the sound of music wafted over the pier and throughout the area. As we strolled along the water’s edge, many people had stopped to enjoy the sound of reggae music from the artists performing that evening.

Cellpic Sunday – 10 November 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

Just down the street from the hotel where I was busy with the 2019 Civil Air Patrol National Conference in Baltimore in August, a large monument stands in the center of a round-about. The monument is a reminder of yet another atrocity committed during World War II. The Katyń Massacre occurred in 1940. Originally blamed on the Germans, some 22,000 Polish prisoners of war, civilians and military personnel were executed. As it turned out, it wasn’t the Nazis,

Cellpic Sunday – 13 October 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

I know there is some political discord on the topic of Christopher Columbus and his “discovery” of the new world. Indeed, seven states and almost 60 municipalities have changed the focus of the holiday to honor the native people living in the New World when Columbus and his three ships stumbled upon it while looking for a trade route to the orient. I am not going to get into an argument about whether or not the day (October 14 this year) should be renamed Indigenous People’s Day. Though it would appear that I somehow “honor” Columbus because I “gave him a halo.” That was an unintended consequence of putting the sun behind the statue so I could get a better view of the front of the sculpture. That saved me a walk back to the site in the morning when the sun was on the other side of the sky.

Cellpic Sunday – 6 October 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

On one of my walks around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area, I noticed this unusual construction. It appeared to be an apartment building of some sort. Near an entrance is a small park featuring a statue of Christopher Columbus. Truly, to me the architecture of the building is more interesting than the park. A few minutes exploring Google Maps gave me the answer as to the function of this uniquely designed building.

Cellpic Sunday – 29 September 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

Though I spent most of my days in Baltimore tending to Civil Air Patrol business, I did have some free time to walk about the inner harbor area and had dinner at a couple of nearby restaurants. At one point, our North Dakota contingent attempted to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe which is housed in the historic Pratt Street Power Plant building along with Barnes and Noble and other retailers. I say “attempted” because even though the restaurant didn’t appear busy, we were put on a wait for seating. After awhile, we decided to move on and had dinner elsewhere.

But this post and photo isn’t about the restaurant or even the book store.

Cellpic Sunday – 1 September 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

Last weekend I finished my first visit to the City of Baltimore for the annual Civil Air Patrol National Conference. One of the reasons I bought my small Sony RX-100 camera is so that I could take a very portable, yet high quality camera with me when I travel. Of course, I forgot to put it in my travel kit. Now, truth be told, I don’t have a whole lot of time for sightseeing and such during these conferences, but I can usually find some time in off hours to do a little nearby exploring.

Cellpic Sunday – 25 August 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

The Inner Harbor area is alive with tourists staying at the many nearby hotels and with city residents out looking for an evening on the town. There is much to do during the day including several museums, a planetarium, and the National Aquarium. At night the area comes alive with music venues. There are no shortages of places to eat, either. The beautifully restored power plant buildings are an attraction in themselves.