The sunrise on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 was glorious.
Even the west side of the sky lit up with color
Tuesday was a mellow day. It was hotter and more humid than Monday was, and the sky was ominously grey. We did chores around the boat in the morning and early afternoon. In the later afternoon, a family that we’d met at the Latino Festival came by for a visit.
There was a park across the street on the north side of this complex, so we set off to the park so the kids could run around. Just as the southern portion of the condo complex adjacent to the marina was brick, so was the northern portion. But the southern portion had looked new, and the northern portion looked old. On the west side of the brick area was a high end beer and wine shop, the east side had the smallest West Marine Eric’s ever seen.
A large sign said “THE JS YOUNG COMPANY.” The lighthouse next to the marina building said “JS Young 1883.” Curious, Christi looked it up. JS Young was a licorice extractor and dye manufacturer that developed the property around 1890 and closed around 1980. Public records indicate there was also an oyster packing operation, a lumber yard and a gas station here, as well. It sounded like there had been multiple buildings on the lot. After JS Young closed, a trucking company leased the buildings and the marina opened. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, the buildings were mostly demolished to make way for the mixed use condo/commercial complex.
The park was basically an open green space with no playground equipment.
Once the kids had gotten their energy out, we all walked over to Safeway, which was next door to the park. Given the smokestack, we suspect that the grocery store had originally been built as a factory of some sort.
Once groceries were procured, we went to our respective boats for dinner. This was what we could see of the sunset from Kosmos.
Wednesday was even hotter — 91 degrees Fahrenheit. The air was so thick it was like walking through syrup. Our plan was to go to the submarine museum, which was about 2.5 miles away, in the heart of downtown. We looked into public transit options, but with either the bus or water taxi, we’d have to walk about a mile each way from the stop to the museum. None of us particularly wanted to walk in the heat.
To complicate matters, the reason the air was so humid was because a big thunderstorm was coming. Most of the weather models said it wouldn’t hit until the evening, but one model said early afternoon. We didn’t want to get caught walking in an ugly storm, either.
We looked into a ride-share service and found that the cost to go to and from the submarine museum was more than simply renting a car for the day. We decided to rent a car, and arranged to pick it up tomorrow. FYI, our slip fee included one car parking spot. Overnight parking in the public lot next to the marina was $35 per day. Street parking may have been viable, but the older row homes didn’t have garages (and the vast majority were older), we suspected street parking would be tough to find.
We wound up spending the day lying low onboard. Christi did two loads of laundry and hung it outside to dry. It was so humid that it never dried. The storm hit around 1730, and the rain was forceful with lots of thunder and lightning. Fortunately, we heard the thunder before the rain started, so she was able to bring the laundry in before it got rained on. Much to Eric’s frustration, we noticed a leak in Keith’s room.
On Thursday, we waited for morning rush hour traffic to clear, and at 0945 called a ride-share to pick us up and take us to the car rental center by the Baltimore airport. Much to our surprise, from the marina, she drove east towards the industrial area.
Then caught a tunnel that went under the bay and let out onto a highway near Fort McHenry. When we were at Ft. McHenry, we’d read that they’d originally tried to build a bridge, but there was so much public opposition to a bridge cutting through the fort that they’d put in the tunnel instead.
Seeing Baltimore from the highway confirmed that it really was an industrial city. Many of the buildings looked like factories. Some were old and appeared to have been converted to other uses, and some were still active. Once we were outside the city, though, the scenery became lush greenery.
Renting the car was uneventful. One of our friends from the boating community had lived in Baltimore for 25-years. He’d told us the best crab cakes in the state (and arguably the world since Maryland crab cakes were supposed to be the world’s best) were at G&M restaurant in an area near the airport called Linthicum Heights near the airport, so we went to G&M for lunch. From the outside, it was nondescript.
But inside, it was beautiful, with a nautical themed decor and dark wood trim.
The food was great. The plan had been to go to the submarine museum after lunch, but another storm was in the forecast, so we decided to wait onboard Kosmos until it passed. When we pulled into the parking garage under the condo complex, we were glad that we’d rented a small car. The parking spaces were tight and there was little room to maneuver around corners.
As the forecast had predicted, it rained hard, but the rain didn’t last long. By the time it had passed, it was nearly closing time at the museum. So, instead, Christi took a walk to get a better view of the sunset.
All the clouds in the sky turned a bright pink in the twilight.
