Saturday — November 28
Light traffic on a cold, but sunny morning allowed us to make the drive to Baltimore in under one hour — a great start to our pre-cruise weekend in “Charm City.” By 10:30a, we were checked into room 604 at the Hyatt Regency.
Hyatt Regency Baltimore is centrally located.
We’d booked the hotel well in advance, taking advantage of a business rate that included free wi-fi, breakfast for one each day, and a few other amenities. The cherry on the sundae (forgive the food analogy) — a great view of the Inner Harbor. Upon glimpsing the scenery laid out before my eyes, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t mind watching the world go by from here if the weather doesn’t cooperate.” As it turns out, the weather was perfect for a day of sightseeing — about 55F (13C) with plenty of sunshine to counteract the light chill of the occasional breeze.
Room 604 has all the conveniences we need for our pre-cruise stay.
View of the Inner Harbor from Room 604.
We made short work of settling into the room and headed out to do some drive-and-walk-seeing (yes, I made that up) on Charles Street, recently designated a National Scenic Byway. A city street as a scenic byway? Yeah, that was my thought too, but it turns out that there really is a lot to see and do on Charles Street. (We barely scratched the surface today.) On this Saturday-after-Thanksgiving, there were few people out and about; traffic was light; on-street parking was easy to find. In other words — a great day for a driving tour.
Map of Charles Street
(from America's Byways website)
Our first stop was at Mount Vernon Place, which is dominated by the first monument to be built in honor of George Washington and the United Methodist Church, a Gothic-style edifice with imposing spires and brilliant red doors.
Left: The Washington Monument in Baltimore pre-dates the one in DC.
Right: The Mt Vernon Place United Methodist church was built in 1872.
Postponing our climb to the top of the monument until later in the day, we continued our drive north. At the beaux-arts style Penn Station, we stopped to check out what Kathy Lally (the author of the article that inspired our Charles Street plans) describes as “… the aggressively modern Man/Woman sculpture … .” She goes on to say, “Better not to look,” but I actually found the 50-foot (~15 m) tall (Wo)Man sculpture, which shifts from man-to-woman-to-man-to-woman as your angle of view changes, to be quite interesting.
There’s the man … and … there’s the woman.
By the time we were back in the car, Mui was making noises about needing to “feed the beast.” Deciding to take advantage of the nice weather, we stopped at a Safeway grocery store to pick up the makings of an al fresco lunch. We enjoyed our midday meal — a cup of Italian wedding soup and a ham/havarti panini, supplemented with baby carrots and apple slices that we’d brought from home — at a picnic table on the grounds of the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University. We had a nice picnic lunch, which was made all the more enjoyable by the un-November-like blue skies, bright sunshine, and warm temps.
Al fresco dining in November? You bet!
After lunch, we continued our sightseeing at Evergreen House. The mainly Italianate mansion, built in 1857, is one of the Johns Hopkins University museums. We had every intention of touring the house, but upon seeing it, we decided mom would enjoy the place as well. So, we postponed taking the guided tour and simply explored the beautifully landscaped grounds.
A mansion of the Gilded Age.
For now, we’re satisfied with exploring the Italian-style garden.
A few more photo ops at charming buildings that caught our eye and we were ready to head south down Charles Street. When we reached Mount Vernon Place once again, we parked the car and walked over to the Washington Monument. The structure consists of a white marble Doric column, topped by a statue of George Washington dressed in his uniform and wearing a toga. Kathy Lally describes the statue as being “… reminiscent of his [Washington’s] hero Cincinnatus, the Roman leader who gave up command of the army and dictatorship to return to his farm.” Those who know their American presidential history will recognize the similarities.
Inside, we were welcomed by Anthony Carter, the very enthusiastic attendant at the museum on the ground floor. He immediately launched into the spiel that I am sure he gives everyone who ventures through the door. The gist of what he said — completed in 1829, the monument pre-dates its better-known cousin in Washington DC; it is the first-ever monument built to honor the nation’s first president; it is 178 feet (~54 m) tall; it has three main elements: a low, rectangular base containing a museum, a plain, unfluted column, and a statue of Washington. Anthony then delivered, very theatrically I might add, his favorite quote about the monument:
“Great Washington stands high aloft on his towering mainmast in Baltimore, and like one of Hercules' pillars, his column marks that point of human grandeur beyond which few mortals will go.” (Credit where credit's due: Herman Melville, from Moby Dick.)
After his welcome message, Anthony encouraged us to try out his “stairmaster” — the 228-step circular staircase that leads to the top of the monument. Paying our $1/person donation, we headed up. The short-steps were not difficult to climb and we arrived at the narrow ledge just below the statue without too much huffing and puffing. That we had to view the scenery from behind glass was disappointing. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the crystal-clear, bird’s eye view of the city in all four directions.
Left: A statue of Washington, draped in a toga, tops the first monument built in his honor.
Right: Keep walking Mui; there are 228 steps to the top.
Even through the dirty glass, the city views from the top are very nice.
Back on ground level, we took a quick stroll through the museum, bid Anthony goodbye, and walked over to the nearby Walters Art Museum. Our time there was limited by the 5:00p closing, but we managed to do a quick tour of some of the exhibits, including the mummies featured in the Egyptian Art Salon. We plan on making a return trip for an in depth visit of the exhibits.
Left: “Nehy” — Egyptian, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty - ca. 1250-1200 BC
Right: “Mery,” the Walters Mummy
“The Toilet of Madame” — French (Sèvres), 1775
The early evening hours found us wandering around the Inner Harbor, enjoying the last rays of the sun while we did some people-watching. The crowds were out in force, some having come to enjoy the warm November evening, others to dine at one of the many restaurants, and yet others to visit Santa Claus at his little hut overlooking the harbor.
Santa’s Place adds holiday cheer to the Inner Harbor.
Eventually, we found ourselves in front of McCormick & Schmick’s on the far side of the Inner Harbor — a good place to have dinner. Wanting a casual experience, we sat at a booth in the bar and ordered off the same menu served in the dining room — the best of both worlds. We split a crab and artichoke dip, served with pita chips, and a main course consisting of prawns, lemon sole, and crabcake. Our plans for keeping the meal light were derailed by the size of the appetizer, which was big enough to easily feed four people. Oh well — we skipped dessert and went for an after-dinner stroll to walk off some of the calories.
Left: The bar offers a more casual dining venue.
Right: The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse is one of the attractions at the Inner Harbor.
Stopping frequently to capture digital images of the nighttime scenery, we followed the waterfront promenade towards the Baltimore Visitor Center. It was here that we finally solved the mystery of the Sousa march that we’d been hearing off and on all evening — a light and sound show at the nearby Walter Sondheim Fountain. Finding a perch, we sat for a while to enjoy the show. Was it a spectacular display? No, but it sure was a fun way to bring our day to a close.
Inner Harbor aglow.
A very nice way to bring our day to a close.
A short walk to the Hyatt and we were back in our room by 8:00p, with plenty of time to take advantage of the wi-fi to check in with family and friends, send a couple of emails, and read a few blogs of round-the-world travels I’m following.
More from “Charm City” tomorrow.
Next Up: Baltimore — O! Say Can You See
Beautiful. I live in Baltimore and it is nice to see our city through someone else's eyes. Thanks.
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