Good Morning Baltimore!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip that started here in Baltimore,

. . . aboard this tiny ship.

The Mate was a mighty sailing man, the Skipper brave and sure.

Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour . . . . a six hour tour.

Sorry, I just couldn't help it! Our day in Baltimore was great, but it was also a test of endurance and patience in waiting for our water taxi. Neil had read the guidebook, so he was our guide.

He knew where to get the taxi, and where to get off. He also knew where to get delicious cinnamon rolls at the Blue Moon Cafe.

It's a good thing we ate those cinnamon rolls, because we made a fateful decision at the last second. You see, we left our lunch in the van thinking we would ride the taxi around the harbor and then go back to get our lunch before driving to Fort McHenry. But, two taxi's pulled up at the same time. Neil and I shrugged our shoulders and said, let's just go to the Fort on the water taxi!

We saw some amazing sites on the way. The ships in the harbor were enormous!

The fort was very interesting. It was the fort the British attacked during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key was being held on board a British ship and "by the dawn's early light" the sight of the American flag still flying above the bulwarks inspired his immortal lines, "Oh say, can you see? . . ."

The boys liked the big guns.

And the Star Spangled Banner yet waves! But we were getting hungry and tired and we really wished we had our lunch with us! We went back to the dock to get our water taxi, but there was a big crowd and no taxi in sight! Neil and I sat on the hot pavement to keep our place in line. The kids sought out the shade. Our provisions were low--a few cheese and peanut butter crackers and water.

"If only . . ." But the wait wasn't as long as we at first assumed. We made it back to the Baltimore harbor. Several taxi changes, and about an hour later, we were back at our parking spot. We didn't die of hunger and the kids were actually still in pretty good spirits! After replenishing ourselves we did one last drive around the city in search of crab cakes!

We found just the place! We bought one crab cake (very pricey!) and all shared. Three of the kids had instant gag reactions, but two of them tolerated it rather well, and Neil and I loved it. Then we drove through Little Italy and found a bakery recommended in the guidebook and bought cannollis for everyone. That helped make up for the crab cake. :)