After Washington DC, Lisa and I slept in and relaxed. She spent the first part of the day working on next week's lesson plans (being the good teacher she is) and I updated my blog. It was a cool, cloudy day with just enough wind and drizzle for most people to consider it an ugly day. We thought it was a great day to go exploring and decided to spend the afternoon in Baltimore. :)
The first spot we stopped at was the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. This is where the Battle of Baltimore took place during the Ware of 1812. In addition to us, there was a group of boy scouts running around and climbing on the wet grass mounds, somehow managing to get through the day without any major accidents. There was a beautiful view of the Bay Bridge from the top of the fort, and adding color to the gray were soft pink cherry blossom trees. Lisa's favorite part of the fort were the underground rooms and passageways. Mine were the cannons.
Underground is where the ammunition was kept, as well as the rifles and other supplies - out of the line of fire and tucked safely away from the elements. Also underground is where the small prison rooms were. Lisa and I tried it out... A far cry from the "luxuries" of our current prison system, this small, damp, dark hole is not where we'd like to spend our time!!
For those of you who don't know, this was no ordinary fort. It's where the "Star Spangled Banner" song was created! The flagpole was made out of pine - the same as the ship masts of the time, and there were only 15 states at that time. It is also where the first flag with 49 and 50 stars was hung. We need to keep a flag flying above the fort on this flagpole 24/7, but because of the strong evening winds, the large flag is replaced by a smaller one every evening. The boy scouts and older war vets carried the smaller flag to the flagpole and helped change them out. As they lowered the large flag, people needed to catch it so it wouldn't hit the ground. Lisa was one of these people! She also helped fold the flag.
Once the changing of the flag was complete, Lisa and I went inside, into the museum area. Lisa is standing next to the original flag. (Notice the white is worn off of the stars.) We looked at the original written lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner and Lisa got to hear MJ's vocal stylings as we lit up the museum with song.
After the fort, Lisa and I drove into Baltimore by the Chesapeake Bay and walked around, taking in all the sites. There were old ships and submarines floating in the water, restaurants overlooking the Bay, and people walking around with ice cream and hot dogs dripping down their hands despite the chilly afternoon. We walked to what is known as Baltimore's World Trade Center (where they have a small memorial at the top and also have pieces from the different locations where the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred).
Lisa and I took the elevator to the "top of the world". I thought it was rather silly that the "top of the world" was on the 27th floor, but there was still a 28th floor. Heaven perhaps???
At the top, there were amazing views of the city. You could see Johns Hopkins, which was the first Medical School to admit women. Also of interest in Baltimore was that in 1995 in front of 46,000 fans, Cal Ripkin, Jr broke Lou Gehrig's 56 year record with 2131 consecutive games. He became known as the "Iron Man" and had a 20 minute standing ovation. :)
When we grew tired of walking along the Bay, our stomachs told us it was time to eat. :) We drove through some very narrow streets to get to our next destination, which was Max's Bar - right next to where the ghost tours were in Fell's Point. The ghost tours sounded like a perfect end to a cool rainy day. Getting there was easy. Finding a place to park? Not so much... We drove around trying desperately to find parking spot for about 15 minutes. When we did find one, it was a very tight fit, but my little Focus could maneuver in there with a few little tire bumps on the curb. Don't ask how we got out... LOL
One hour until the ghost tours! Plenty of time for some food (and beer). And two girls from Milwaukee couldn't have found a more perfect bar! :) There were hundreds of beer samples to choose from and we narrowed it down to 9 five ounce samples, ranging all over the place from light to dark to heavy to fruity to amber. Some were good; others...not so good (as you can see from my expression). In addition to the beer, we sampled bison and foot-long chili dogs.
When we were full and slightly buzzed, we met up with the tour guide and headed out through Fell's Point to hear about the town's "hidden treasures". It started to rain a bit harder as soon as we stepped outside, and of course with the sun down, the temperature dropped a bit as well. Good thing we filled up on warm food and beer beforehand. :)
Our tour guide looked like a ghost herself and couldn't have better for the part! She entertained us story after story about the history of the town (all true of course). ;)
The first place we walked through were the alleyways behind the brothels/whorehouses. Yes, they had a red light district, just like in Amsterdam. The whores made so much money that they all bought homes down that alleyway. They also had their own scent and sprayed their "man of the night" quite heavily with that scent. That way, if a man went for more than one woman in one night, subsequent women knew they could charge more after smelling the other woman's perfume. People still live on this road, and sometimes still smell the perfume of the ghosts...
From there we went to Fell's cemetery, where there is only one tombstone with multiple graves. This picture is of our tour guide talking to one of the ghosts who walk up and down the street protecting the grave site and their homes.
The Horse bar... Edgar Allen Poe used to eat and drink at this bar. Because the bartender used to find things out of place occasionally - broken bottles, glasses left out - they started to leave his favorite drink on the counter at the end of the day. Needless to say, on the days he does this, when the bartender comes in the next day, he finds the glass washed and put back away, and nothing is out of place.
Then we went to the Cat's Eye Pub. This is the first bar set up in the city. In fact, none of the original houses are still around, except for this bar. The ghost bartender went crazy, wears interesting outfits, and gives people drinks even today.
A sailor haunts Leadbetters bar. There weren't enough people to man the big ships, so every once in a while, they would take drunk young men to the boats to join their crew. This particular sailor was taken from the bar. When we woke up, he started a fight as he didn't want to be on a ship. As a result, he had his head bashed in, enough for him to die before making it to the boat. When business improved, the bar was extended out into the alley where the young boy died. This is where the women's restrooms are, and many women have said that they see a handsome man in the stall with them when they are using the bathroom.
The last bar on the tour was the Rat Wharf. It was in the Polish part of town, and the owner had only one record for his grammophone, which played the brand new national anthum - the Star Spangled Banner - over and over. Two people started fighting in the bar. The owner threw him out but one kept coming back to cause trouble. When the owner thought he had left for good, the people hiding in the bar were told it was okay to leave. Little did they know, this guy was hiding out. Once he saw the people leaving, he ran in and started shooting. He shot and killed the owner, who continues to haunt the bar.
After a night of ghost stories, Lisa and I made our way back home to snuggle under the warm covers and try to sleep without nightmares. :)
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