All the rest . . .

{Saturday, August 11, 2012}
Natalie and I spent the morning doing all of the things that I had not done yet. We started out of our little row house walking west on Aliceanna St. The first thing on our agenda was to paddle around in the Chessie boats.

When we got to Inner Harbor, the Chessie boats were still neatly lined up and didn't open for another hour or so. We resolved to come back to them when they opened.

Something that I had not done all summer long was to check out the view at "Observation Point" at the top of the Baltimore World Trade Center. It was a beautiful sight on such a clear day with a bright blue sky. We spent some time enjoying the 360 degree view on the 27th floor of the building. Apparently Baltimore's World Trade Center is the world's tallest pentagonal building. Who knew?

Another book that I took the time to read over the summer was "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. At one point in the book, the author mentions sitting at a hotel window and seeing a clock tower with the face saying "B-R-O-M-O-S-E-L-T-Z-E-R"

The entire book was full of little Baltimore characteristics that I thoroughly enjoyed. Not only was it a great book bridging the view of science with humanity, but it brought in tidbits of culture from the city that it took place in.

I don't think I could have read that book at any better time. I was living in the city Henrietta Lacks and her family was living in those years before, and I was working everyday in the hospital that she visited and where her cells were discovered.

Anyway, I thought it was a good read, and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a book to read. I learned so much. I think that's what I love most about travelling, the opportunity to learn from everything around you.

When you are thrown into entirely different surroundings, you observe so many more details than you originally would.

To me it's like I am looking at the world with new eyes, comparable to how a toddler might see the world. I struggle to capture each detail and record them in my bank of memories.

I have enjoyed the new perspective. It is fresh and enlightening. I don't want to lose my sense of wonder at the world and people around me. I wish I could tuck it away in my pocket and carry it home with me so that I can take it out later and use it.

Anyway, I have included a few of the pictures that I took at the top of Observation Point. Included in them are pictures of Federal Hill, the Chessie boats, the Francis Scott Key bridge, my Fells point neighborhood (a little harder to see), and shot tower.

By this point the Chessie paddle boats were now being operated, so we made our 27 floor decent. Good thing there was an elevator! We waited in line and bought our tickets. It was time to fulfill this dream!

Of course we wore adorable orange life vests as we boarded our green monster. (We were hoping for a purple one, but things just didn't work out that way.) We cleverly avoided the shark submarine, I just was so sure how well Chessie monsters and sharks got along so we played it safe.

Also, we took some pictures. Aren't we cute?

We had been paddling around our confined area that the boats were allowed in when Natalie pointed out the  caution sticker. "Fast peddling can cause rapid tiring of legs." I never would've guessed.

When our half hour was up, we wandered the Inner Harbor.

We treated ourselves to some high-end cupcakes, just because. Oh, and because I'd never had them before. The one on the left is raspberry lemonade and on the right is cookies-n'-cream. We split them down the center and each had a half. They were both absolutely delightful.

The next stop was Federal Hill. We made our way around the harbor to climb up the hill that held so much history. Some of the other perks to being on the east coast were the rich historical places that I have learned about in American History in school, but never been able to see.

Baltimore was unique in that it was on the fence during the Civil War. There were people from both parties here and it held some of the sites where battles broke out and raged.

The hill was really steep, and thankfully it had stairs. When we got to the top it had an amazing view of the Inner Harbor. I guess I just wanted to get a good view of things before I left Baltimore.

I used my camera to zoom in on the Chessie boats where we had been not too long before. One city can yield multiple perspectives in the space of a few short hours.

I even took a moment to get a picture by the cannon. There were a couple of tour groups exploring Federal Hill at the same time so we hurried to snap a shot.

Just on the other side of the hill was the Visionary Arts Museum. I didn't have enough time to go explore it because I did have a plane to catch, but I liked the mosaic on the outside of the building. I also saw a basketball court that had the Maryland state flag on it, so if any of you were wondering, that's what it looks like.

That concludes my days in the city of Baltimore. I learned so much and I loved my time I spent there. I also met so many wonderful people that went out of their way to be sure I felt welcome. I was very privileged to have such an opportunity and I am thankful for it.