Playing Tourist

We have spent the past two days as tourists in Baltimore. Yesterday’s forecast predicted thunderstorms throughout the day so we were delighted that the rain held off until the afternoon, enabling us to go out and about before the storms arrived. We first walked over to a nearby Safeway for a few groceries. Along the way we passed a really interesting device (Professor Trash Wheel) that picks up trash out of the harbor. It seems to work well, the area where it was located was free of trash, but the areas next to it had quite a bit of trash.

Next we took an Uber to the Walters Art Museum in the Mount Vernon section of town. The museum is free with four floors filled with art. After spending a few hours there we walked a block to see the George Washington Monument. After ducking back inside the museum for a few minutes to wait out a small rain storm, we walked south to the Inner Harbor. Along the way we passed a Burger King so we stopped to split an Impossible Burger. I have been curious about these vegetarian burgers that are said to be indistinguishable from regular hamburgers. It was good and did taste just like a regular hamburger.

We walked around the Inner Harbor and decided to try out the Lime electric scooters that we had seen other people riding around town. After downloading the apps on our phones we gave them a try. Riding the scooter was much harder than it looked, the throttle control was really jerky. I was afraid I would end up in a heap on the sidewalk so we gave up on that idea. Sorry, we forgot to take any photos of our brief rides. The weather was hot so we decided to take another Uber back to the marina. We had just enough time for a swim in the pool before the storms arrived.

This morning we took the water taxi over to Fort McHenry. It is a national park so I was able to use my senior pass to get us into the park for free. We learned about the War of 1812 and the circumstances that led to Francis Scott Key composing the Star Spangled Banner. The flag on which he based the poem was huge, 30 by 42 feet. The original flag is at the Smithsonian and they fly a replica at Fort McHenry when there is enough wind. Fortunately, there was enough wind today. After we took the water taxi back to Fells Point we ate a delicious late lunch at the Thames Street Oyster House.