Day 211 - May 21, 2013: Touring Baltimore, MD

Instead of the sounds of nature, last night we were entertained with trains in the distance, planes landing overhead, and an occasional siren in the city. The evening air cooled off quickly, and it became another "one sheet" night.

We took the bikes out early in full sun and rode the full length of the horseshoe-shaped Inner Harbor following the base of the Baltimore skyline. There were the usual young people running with earphones, local entrepreneurs selling their wares to tourists, and many groups of school children led by teachers who were perhaps tired of the classroom and needed a day outside.

Inner Harbor inlets with sidewalks and bridges

Looking north across the Inner Harbor 

There are many sign boards of local history to read, a group of historical ships to see and tour, the National Aquarium and more. We passed the famous USS Constellation that was the last all sail ship in the U.S. Navy, the USS Torsk submarine that served in WWII and holds the record for the most number of dives (11,884), and the United States Chesapeake light ship, built in 1933, that lighted a number of points along the East Coast and the Chesapeake Bay.

USS Constellation

USS Torsk

After a really fabulous lunch at the award winning Gia's Ristorante in Little Italy, we stopped over at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House which tells the story of Mary Pickersgill sewing the flag that inspired the national anthem.

Gia's Ristorante

Mary Pickersgill's house where the flag was sewn

I took a quick trip over to West Marine to get a small inverter to power Anne's computer and chargers while we are not on shore power, and I began installing it. Later, we rode up to Little Italy's Viccaro's Italian Pastry Shop and stood in line to get some great gelato and pignoli cookies. It is nice to be so close to so many things to do and places to eat.