Boats, Boats, Boats!

I just realized that I had completely forgotten about my intended second post about my trip to Baltimore a couple weekends ago! As I mentioned before, the letter of the weekend was "B" - I wore Bermuda shorts all weekend, watched baseball, and saw lots of BOATS! Baltimore's inner harbor area boasts 4 historic ships that you can tour. Above is a photo of the Lightship Chesapeake, completed in 1930 , and the USS Torsk, a WWII submarine. Below is the USS Constellation, built in 1797. The fourth ship is the Coast Guard Cutter Taney, known as the last surviving warship of Pearl Harbor. For some reason I didn't take any photos of the Taney, but it was one of the most interesting of the bunch because it was commissioned for so long-from 1936 to 1986. Imagine how different things would have been for the young men serving on it during Pearl Harbor as compared to those serving on it in the 1980's. It was interesting to see how the ship changed through time as things like tv's were added.

Inside the Constellation-the captain's dining room and his stateroom:

Me up on the deck:

The sub was really interesting, but totally claustrophobic! Here is one of the sleeping areas - this was not even the smallest area. There was another spot where people slept in what looked like a machine room, but the area was literally too small for me to get a wide enough angle to take a photo!

The tiny kitchen:

In addition to touring the historic ships, there are lots of opportunities to get out on the water yourself. These paddleboats were so cute. I did not try them though, as it was way too hot to do anything nearing exercise!

We also took scenic harbor taxi boats to Fort McHenry (where the Star Spangled Banner was written) and another neighborhood, Fell's Point. Along the way I saw even more boats: small sailboats, huge private yachts, giant tankers, a Red Cross hospital ship, and the Baltimore City Fire Department boats.


p.s. Monday I'll be posting a big clearance sale of my handmade jewelry. I'm taking the line in a new direction this fall so I need to clear things out!