Baltimore

Sunday, 7/01

Well, it cooled off and only got into the high 90's today.  Even though I don't like the idea of going outside we decided to take a drive into Baltimore.  We visited here back in 2000.  The freeways here are such fun to drive.  At least there weren't as many people on Sunday as there had been during the week. 

Our first stop was Fort McHenry.  This is where, during the war of 1812, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem that became the Stars Spangled Banner.  This was during the Battle of Baltimore.  The commander of the fort, Major George Armistead, had commissioned a flag large enough "that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance".  It was this flag that Key saw after the battle.  Today they fly different sized flags depending on the weather.  While we were there the gigantic flag was taken down and a smaller big flag was raised. 

We got there just in time to see a demonstration of the smaller cannons in the fort.  I tried to get a picture just as the ball left the cannon but I jumped when it went off.  I did get the smoke.

I felt sorry for the guys dressed in those uniforms.  They really looked hot.  We walked around the fort for awhile checking out the various exhibits then headed into the city.

We drove over to the inner harbor.  This is the area by the convention center that we were at in 2000.  My memory is slipping as I thought it was bigger then.  Too bad the tall ships weren't in.  The USS Constellation is anchored there but I didn't feel like touring a ship below decks in the heat.  I did take a picture of the outside.

While we were having lunch at Lenny's Deli we could see the ship from our seat.  We were thinking we had seen a ship called the Constellation in Boston but we finally decided that was the Constitution. 

Parking in town is really high.  One hour was $9.00.  Yikes!  We finally headed back to the campground and the cool. 

Here are all the pictures I took.  Remember, you can click on the slideshow and go to Picasa to view them as a larger picture.