Tourists Go Home
(Posted Saturday a.m. because the wi-fi here was very intermittent last night- pictures will be added later).
Our final day of touristing started early. We left the Holiday Inn and drove around the south side of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Lots of townhome type condos with great views of the water, and many with dock space too. There are hundreds of tiny neighborhoods in Baltimore, separated by the bigger streets, canals, hills and the ethnicity of the residents.
The road to Fort McHenry then passes some industrial areas, including the Domino Sugar plant, where there were huge piles of sugar (white, light brown and dark brown) just sitting in the open air. Some of the piles were covered with giant tarps too.
The Fort is on a beautiful peninsula that sticks out into the bay. It's a lot of acreage considering it's right in Baltimore harbor. It had a huge hospital during WW I, but that has been removed and the Fort is much like it was in 1814.
We were just in time for the morning flag raising, which Sarah and Sam got to help with. We toured the Fort, saw the magazines (they didn't have Better Homes and Gardens) watched a very well-done video explaining the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 when the Star Spangled Banner was written, and then watched as a cannon was loaded and fired. Very inspiring, and informative tour.
I learned that Francis Scot Key was on a boat that was actually 4 miles down river while the Battle was fought. He only wrote the 2 lines "Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner still wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" during the battle, and expanded the first verse and wrote 5 more after returning to his home in the city. He was a lawyer.
Next we headed south through Washington DC (and traffic) and got to Mount Vernon. This site has been completely redone like Monticello was, with a Visitor Center and parking area a long way from the actual house and grounds.
We had a nice tour of Washington's mansion, which has a great view of the Potomac River and has been restored to the state they believe it was in 1788, when Washington had returned there from his Presidential terms and was receiving lots of guests. You can't take pictures inside, but the grounds are extensive, and include 2 huge garden areas, a working farm with sheep, cattle and pigs, a gristmill, threshing barn, greenhouse, the original kitchen, and a big museum with more movies and videos.
We closed the place at 5pm and drove to our hotel nearby. Heading home today. It's been a great trip!
Our final day of touristing started early. We left the Holiday Inn and drove around the south side of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Lots of townhome type condos with great views of the water, and many with dock space too. There are hundreds of tiny neighborhoods in Baltimore, separated by the bigger streets, canals, hills and the ethnicity of the residents.
The road to Fort McHenry then passes some industrial areas, including the Domino Sugar plant, where there were huge piles of sugar (white, light brown and dark brown) just sitting in the open air. Some of the piles were covered with giant tarps too.
The Fort is on a beautiful peninsula that sticks out into the bay. It's a lot of acreage considering it's right in Baltimore harbor. It had a huge hospital during WW I, but that has been removed and the Fort is much like it was in 1814.
We were just in time for the morning flag raising, which Sarah and Sam got to help with. We toured the Fort, saw the magazines (they didn't have Better Homes and Gardens) watched a very well-done video explaining the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 when the Star Spangled Banner was written, and then watched as a cannon was loaded and fired. Very inspiring, and informative tour.
I learned that Francis Scot Key was on a boat that was actually 4 miles down river while the Battle was fought. He only wrote the 2 lines "Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner still wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" during the battle, and expanded the first verse and wrote 5 more after returning to his home in the city. He was a lawyer.
Next we headed south through Washington DC (and traffic) and got to Mount Vernon. This site has been completely redone like Monticello was, with a Visitor Center and parking area a long way from the actual house and grounds.
We had a nice tour of Washington's mansion, which has a great view of the Potomac River and has been restored to the state they believe it was in 1788, when Washington had returned there from his Presidential terms and was receiving lots of guests. You can't take pictures inside, but the grounds are extensive, and include 2 huge garden areas, a working farm with sheep, cattle and pigs, a gristmill, threshing barn, greenhouse, the original kitchen, and a big museum with more movies and videos.
We closed the place at 5pm and drove to our hotel nearby. Heading home today. It's been a great trip!
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