Category Archives: Maryland

Replacing Anchor Chain Markers and Exploring Fell’s Point, Baltimore, Maryland

Posted on by
Reply

Monday, August 18 — Today there was no rain in forecast, but it was ominous outside. It was 73-degrees Fahrenheit, a strong, cool wind and very grey skies. Eric decided it was a good day to redo the chain markers. Over the years, we’ve tried an assortment of ways to try to mark the chain at every 50-feet so that we knew exactly how much chain was out. We started with paint, which flaked off quickly. We tried plastic inserts next, but they popped out pretty fast. We then tried colored zip ties and colored tapes, but they tended to break and fall off after a while.

A while ago, Eric had found some plastic inserts that screwed in, and he was hopeful that the screw would mean they would stay in place and not pop out. We hadn’t put them in yet because we needed the right kind of dock – one with a pole at the end that could handle the weight and one long enough to stretch the chain all the way out. This was the spot. We carefully lowered the anchor and placed it on the dock. Then we let out all the chain, winding it up and down the length of the finger.

Continue reading →

Medieval Times in Hanover, Maryland

Posted on by
Reply

Dawn on Sunday, August 17

Today it was going to be in the low 90s and humid with a chance of rain, so we did not want to walk around. We also wanted to use the car since we were paying for it. This morning we did an internet search for “fun things for teens to do around Baltimore” one of the things that popped up was Medieval Times Dinner and Show. Christi and Eric have both been wanting to go to the Medieval Times on the outskirts of Los Angeles for decades, but the logistics were tough as it was a long drive in terrible traffic. As soon as Christi and Eric saw there was a Medieval Times only a half-hour away from Baltimore (by car), they immediately booked tickets for the next show, which was today at 1400. Tickets were $75 for the base price, and there were a lot of items that could be added-on, as well as multiple special packages. We stuck with the basic tickets. The website suggested arriving early, so at 1215, we headed out. Here was a shot of downtown Baltimore as we were driving through it.

Continue reading →

The Star Spangled Banner Flag Museum in Baltimore, MD

Posted on by
Reply

Saturday, August 16 — When we’d looked at tourist attractions in Baltimore, the one we wanted to see the most was the Phoenix Shot Tower. Per what we read online, instead of using molds, molten lead was dropped from a platform at the top of the tower, through a sieve-like device, into a vat of cold water at the bottom of the tower to produce “drop shot” for muskets. It sounded like the “tours” were just poking one’s head inside to see how the mechanism worked. The sites we looked at all said it was only open on Saturdays and Sundays, but some said from 1000 – 1200 and others said 1200 – 1600. We decided that the best bet was to go at 1130. It was not open.

Our friends on Parabola that we’d met in the Bahamas, David and Hazel, were from Baltimore. They met us at the Shot Tower. The Shot Tower was surrounded by a park. In the park was another historical home, built in the 1790. It was now occupied by the Women’s Civic League and not open to the public.

Continue reading →

Keith’s Perspective on Our First Week in Baltimore/Le point de vue de Keith sur notre première semaine à Baltimore

Posted on by
Reply

This week has been fun. On Saturday, we went to the coffee place and got drinks, then I did tutoring. After tutoring we left for Baltimore. The passage was a little bit rough at the start, but it calmed down. On Sunday, we arrived in Baltimore. We ate at a restaurant called Pussers, then rested for the rest of the day. 

The complex that the marina was in

Cette semaine était amusante. Samedi nous sommes allés à un café pour prendre des boissons, puis j’ai fait le tutoring. Après ça nous sommes partis pour Baltimore. Le passage était un peu agité au départ mais l’océan s’est calmé. Dinanche nous sommes arrivés à Baltimore. Nous avons mangé à un restaurant qui s’appelle Pussers, puis nous nous sommes reposés le reste du jour. 

Continue reading →

Historic Ships in Baltimore Museum (MD): The USS Constellation – Part 3

Posted on by
Reply

continued… This was the forward of the boat on the gun deck.

After three years of patrolling the Mediterranean, the USS Constellation was sent back to the US for maintenance work. She returned to service in 1862 and was sent back to the Mediterranean Sea. In 1864, she was sent to patrol in the West Indies. That cruise only lasted for a few months before she was sent to Norfolk to become a Receiving Ship. Receiving ships were essentially floating dormitories where new recruits were housed and trained prior to being deployed. Then in 1859 she was called back into active service as the flagship of the African Squadron.

Continue reading →