Inner Harbor Walk

This is me on true Baltimorian ground. So, here I am! Yep, those are my canvas shoes that I FINALLY finished drawing on earlier this week while I was still in Utah, and am proudly wearing out and about in Maryland. I am so happy to be here!

Yesterday evening, Natalie and I took a little adventure following the inner harbor around until the sun set. This is a picture of what my view is maybe 15-20 feet from my front door. I sort of live in an alley, but at the end of one side is this cute little street. 

On the other side of the street is a Captain James restaurant that looks like a ship. You can see the shadow of it in the above picture but this is what it looks like. I think it is pretty cool since the corner is weird shaped; the acute angle is perfect for the hull of the boat. 

I thought it was clever. 

I am maybe two short blocks from actual water. I think the view is so beautiful! It is different then going to a beach, but I think I like the feel of it all. It's a different atmosphere.

As we walked around, we found random monuments or statues and the like, whatever you want to call them. They were fun to spot. The cannon was right in front of the harbor as we reached it, Natalie checked to see if it was stuffed with trash, but it was clean. Well done citizens of Baltimore: one thing clean, 9,758 more to go. Further on we spotted the crabs. They aren't next to each other, and they are decorated differently. I wonder who put them up, and how they decided to decorate each of them, it was random. I wonder because I didn't pin point any pattern related to them. Nice to meet you lovely blue, random crabs.  I hope you have a nice day.

I got some more pictures of the harbor. I think the white bridge in the background is named after Francis Scott Key, you know, famous for writing the National Anthem. 

Here is the Natty Boh sign really small. I guess if you see it at night he actually winks at you. On the left is the Safeway tower. Safeway is the grocery store that I walked to with Natalie on Wednesday just after getting off of the airplane. It's crazy to me how small everything feels (distance wise), but then I walk to something else and look back to see it so much smaller and farther away. I don't know how to describe it. Everything is big and small, at the same time. 

Here is the city pier. I thought that it looked pretty, and well, old. Did I mention how much I love old things? So timeless! I can picture this is in an older film. I think the "Broadway" is on there because it is at the end of Broadway St.

A view of some of the row houses in Fells Point. It looks so charming. Baltimore seems to be an interesting mixture of old and new. There is so much charm and class in some of it, and at the same time there is a lot of dirtiness and grime. The people are kind of quarky too. 

We passed this beautiful building and I had to get a picture of the lamp posts. It wasn't until later that I noticed the homeless man sleeping next to the brick. He wasn't the first that day.

I love the bright blue paint on the lamp posts and on the doors that is slowly being chipped away and rusting. It gives it an antique look that doesn't come any other way.

We reached Broadway Market which is like a square surrounded by cute little random shops. We explored a hat shop on this street.  Hats can be so much fun! It's a shame that we don't wear hats to church like it was custom to back in the day . . .

I really like how this picture turned out; it has the charm that I am trying to convey to you for parts of the city.  Welcome to Fells Point. This is only  two blocks south of my bus stop, I think. I could be wrong; I am still learning my way around. 

Just before we reached the newer buildings of  Inner Harbor or City Center, we passed old factory buildings and homes. To me it looked like this house has not been touched for years. When I say touched, I mean changed, or renovated to update it. 

The Inner Harbor is just ahead. I like the drastic change of scenery from quaint houses to towering buildings. I was immediately rediscovering everything around me.  

This was a really nice evening, so there were a lot of people out and about. There were so many joggers around us. The harbor must be a popular jogging route in the early evening, just as the air cools off a bit. 

Sorry, I got a little camera happy, so this is just another picture as we get closer to the tall, newer buildings. They almost look out of place when compared to the charm of Fells Point. 

A pretty red brick building used to be a Sewage Pump Station that was converted into a Public Works Museum. I'm not sure what they show in a museum like that, and I won't get the chance to find out. At the entrance is a notice saying that the museum is closed. I guess they didn't get enough revenue to keep it open. How sad, I was so curious. 

Passing on the side of Little Italy, a hanging sign like a banner of lights at night. I haven't seen it lit up. I haven't been out late, but even across the street I can smell a mouth-watering aroma of garlic bread and marinara sauce. Good thing we had just eaten dinner or else I would have bought Italian that instant. 

 Old factories have been converted into modern stores all over Baltimore. One of my favorites is the Barnes & Noble here next to a Hard Rock Cafe. I think there is an entrance on either side of the building. I want to see if Barns & Noble has books for all of the floors in that building. Maybe I'll safe that for another adventure.

So beautiful! I zoomed in on the smaller picture to show Shot Tower. Shot Tower is the tower that resembles a rook in the game of chess. I am not sure what it is for yet. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say something from the Revolutionary War? I'll explore it one of these days, I don't even know if people can go in it or not. 

 I was enjoying the view around me. There really aren't that many places to park. I am glad that I do not have a car with me to worry about. One thing that cracked me up was when we saw a movie theater. It is a really tall nice building, sandwiched between other tall nice buildings and no place to park. I guess people just have to walk to the movies around here. 

 Cute round red building on stilts. I have no idea what it's for, but I like the looks of it. 

 Contrast of old and new like I mentioned before. An old boat and a new office building behind it. Got to love Baltimore.

 This bridge has so many elements of a ship that it made me smile. the slats looked like a ship's deck, the cables as part of the railing and the hand railing itself looks like wood that the steering wheel could be made out of. To top it all off, there is a huge mast on the right of the bridge emerging from the water. Someone really decided to be creative for the enjoyment of the people, or tourists, like me. 

This is the USS Torsk, a huge submarine that is painted like a shark. It made me think of Micah the moment that I saw it. I guess you can pay to get tickets to board and explore it. The sign said it's made over 10,000 dives. I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but this thing is massive! 

Here is a random sculpture in the middle of a lawn. I took this picture with my Dad in mind. There you go Dad. I know you love those kinds of things. I still haven't figured out what it is supposed to be yet.

 This is a sort of memorial to 9-11. Since the building next to it (I have a picture of the door) is the World Trade Center Baltimore, there is a small piece of the World Trade Center that was destroyed in front of the building. That is actual wreckage from the 9-11 terrorist attacks.  A tragic reminder to us all.

 Similar to Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, these are Chessie boats, the Chesapeake Bay sea monster. They fit up to four people and you paddle around in them on the harbor. It looks like it would be a lot of fun to do one day. I'll put that on my to do list. Maybe it will happen before I leave. 

 This is the USS Constellation. Another old war ship that people pay to tour. I think it looks majestic. Sorry, I did not fit it all in the picture. Better luck next time.

 We were fortunate enough to catch the tail end of a street performer's act. This guy was funny, and a little crazy. For his final act, he is balancing on three different levels (cups between a layer, and a skateboard for another) while juggling a knife, a torch, and a bowling ball. The little boy is throwing him the bowling ball. I actually got a video of him doing this. Maybe I'll see if I can upload it. 

This is a water taxi. People pay to have it take you where you want to go. Just one more of Baltimore's many forms of transportation. I am slowly learning about how to get around the city. 

 I love this picture. At the point where the two walkways meet, there is an amphitheater built into the sidewalk. That is where the street performer had his act.  

 This is the other side of the USS Constellation next to the World Trade Center Baltimore. Everything is so beautiful! I love it!

 This picture doesn't even do this justice. As the sun was setting, everything had a warm glow to it. This is really a choice land. I love America!

Again, I couldn't do the view justice.   On the right side of the picture is part of Federal Hill I think. Apparently, you get a great view of the city, and I think they still have cannons up there on the side of the hill. So much history that I can't wait to see!

 Coming back, things look different from the other side. On the left is the other side of that Barns & Noble that I showed earlier. This side says Power Plant and has a giant copper colored piping running through the front of the floors. 

Below, is the National Aquarium in Baltimore that has a bridge connecting the two separate buildings. I guess they wanted to expand but had no where else to go. The pointy buildings are the extension of the aquarium. I hear it's worth it to visit. 

Just behind Little Italy, I spotted a deck that is falling apart. It looks like a great place to star gaze. Of course I would never try to get up there at night, or even at all. I think it's someone's deck above their house.

 If I could put a smell with this picture, you might all be hopping on airplanes to come to Baltimore instantaneously. There are several Italian restaurants in a couple of blocks, and it all smells so good! Scrumptious, is the word I'm looking for.

 This wall had a beautiful mural covering it. Sorry you can't see it very well. This is in Little Italy since we decided to walk through it on our way home. We needed a change of smells.

 I thought this was a cute idea. Having a flower pot on each of the steps. Of course this is right across the street from the Italian food. What an adorable little area.

Here's a sign welcoming tourists to Little Italy. Hey, that's me! I took a picture. As you can clearly see.

That concludes yesterday's evening exploration.