baltimore

decides2dream · April 2009

recommedations?

places to go, eat, drink...things to see and do, etc. tis our first time actually ever stopping in baltimore, will be there saturday thru tuesday for the 06.15 show...and want to make the most of our little vacation! hubby is totally interested in history, i am into art....we both love just being outide, exploring...and sure, eating, drinking....cool bars and restaurants......always important!

share any tips you've got!

we already booked our hotel, close to the inner harbor...about 3 blocks away i believe. we will have our car, but we far prefer walking around. also, anyone who's been to the venue, feel free to share thoughts too.

looking forward to the trip and ed!

The Champ · April 2009

The Orioles will be playing at home that weekend against Atlanta. You can catch a game Saturday night or Sunday afternoon...the ballpark is beautiful and it's thought to be one of the best in baseball..anyway, have fun!

Travelar · April 2009

There are quite a few suggestions in the Porch under the Baltimore 2 thread... I'm sure you can get some ideas there.

decides2dream · April 2009

TrAvELAr wrote:

There are quite a few suggestions in the Porch under the Baltimore 2 thread... I'm sure you can get some ideas there.

yesi know...i've read/participated in that thread and have it bookmarked. however, i just thought i'd ask here as well, have a different thread b/c the purpose of THAt thread on the porch was more of a rollcall who was going, about the show, etc....with a smattering of info mixed in. just thought a thread simply ABOUT baltimore would be helpful to me, and perhaps others going as well.

champ...yes, everyone keeps saying things like that. hubby and i have zero interest in baseball. thanks anyway tho!

iluvcats · April 2009

I don't go to baseball games either.

did anyone suggest the aquarium at the inner harbor? i bought tix once and never went.

decides2dream · April 2009

iluvcats wrote:

I don't go to baseball games either.

did anyone suggest the aquarium at the inner harbor? i bought tix once and never went.

nope.
most of the suggestions over the porch were in regards to hotels and/or resturants/bars, and different areas to be in. i thought there were some cool things to see/do in baltimore...an aquarium would be good! hubby would definitely like that, and especially good if any one of the days the weather is less than nice. i told a few people at work yesterday that i was taking a trip down to baltimore in june and they all asked......why? :? :P

iluvcats · April 2009

I hope you did not tell your co workers you are coming to B'more to see Ed. I wouldn't. I don't want ppl to know my business.

I noticed in Speedy's Easter thread that you like wine. I've never been to one, but MD has wineries you can tour.
You can have wine and cheese for $15, I believe. Not in B'more, maybe 40 minutes away.

decides2dream · April 2009

iluvcats wrote:

I hope you did not tell your co workers you are coming to B'more to see Ed. I wouldn't. I don't want ppl to know my business.

I noticed in Speedy's Easter thread that you like wine. I've never been to one, but MD has wineries you can tour.
You can have wine and cheese for $15, I believe. Not in B'more, maybe 40 minutes away.

depends who asked.
to the young associates, i did tell em ed.....for the director who asked, i simply said we were going to a concert, thus planned a trip around it.

i am fairly private overall in life period, and definitely at work.....but sure, innocuous details, depending on the audience, i'll share.

i DO love wine! and i do love doing the winery thing too. we've done it here on the island and upstate NY. maybe when we leave baltimore to head home, might be a possibility, but otherwise.....really want to just explore baltimore. we're arriving on saturday and leaving on tuesday, so really, sunday and monday are only FULL days in the city.....so those 2 days i would like to walk wherever we go and explore, and sure hit up a few spots.

if you have the name of a good winery nearby, perhpas i can google it and see if we can fit it in - thanks for the suggestions! told hubby to do some research a nd see what he might like to do...but of course he hasn't yet. :P

meme · April 2009

The Baltimore aquarium is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I went and had fun, and I am not much of an aquarium person. Besides, it is in the inner harbor area, close to your hotel and to a lot of nice restaurants

The Champ · April 2009

meme wrote:

The Baltimore aquarium is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I went and had fun, and I am not much of an aquarium person. Besides, it is in the inner harbor area, close to your hotel and to a lot of nice restaurants

Agreed, enjoyed the aquarium as well..

KR10 · April 2009

The Inner Harbor is truly a beautiful place. My brother lives in Baltimore and I try to get there at least once or twice per year.

Here are a few suggestions:

Even if you dont like baseball, check out Camden Yards. If there is a game you should go. It is one of the most beautiful ball parks in MLB. By the way, try the Boog Powell's BBQ beef pit (found behind the outfield near the Eutah Street entrance to the park). If there is not a game, go there for a tour of the ball park.

I have heard that the Babe Ruth Museum is really cool as well.

Definatley go to the Aquarium. It was stated by someone before (and I am not into that stuff at all) but it really was cool.

For night life there are a bunch of bars in Power Point Live (right near the Inner Harbor - definately within walking distance). I got hammered there by myself a few years back after an Orioles game and had a great time.

There are the typical places like ESPN Zone and the Hard Rock Cafe right in the Inner Harbor.

If you like Irish Bars try a bar called James Joyce right near the entrance to the Little Italy section (again within walking distance to the Inner Harbor).

Fell's Point is also a great little area with a bunch of bars one right after the next. I would recommend taking a cab from your hotel to Fell's Point. Just a recommendation as Baltimore is not exactly the safest city.

Have a great time. I always enjoy myself when I go to Baltimore.

RW81233 · April 2009

I lived in Bmore for 3 years and here's my suggestion for history and art...
Start at the inner harbor and walk North on Charles Street towards John's Hopkins and Loyola and Towson. Along the way you will hit a few art museums, plenty of antique shops, and several cool off-the-beaten path restaurants. I do suggest Tio Pepe's for dinner one night...it's a little pricey but some really cool stuff. Also, on/around Charles Street is the Brewers Art which is nice and has some cool microbrews, as is Iggie's pizza (BYOB which is fun). As for more history and art there is also the Black's in Wax museum. If it's nice you should walk up Federal Hill then water taxi it to Fort McHenry (some cool history stuff there). Near MLK Blvd. you can see Edgar Allen Poe's final resting place, and across town in Fells Point/Canton you can do some cool ghost walks and see where actual pirate ships would come and lay siege to the town...leading to the various ghost walks you could go on in the evening. If you choose to do wineries Boordy Vineyards is just North of the City (20 minutes or so) off of 695 and has some fun stuff to drink and often has summer concerts where you can learn various dances if you are daring.

Unfortunately, in the last year, my favorite pub The Wharf Rat across from the convention center has come under new management (and hence no longer allowing for the drink fest it used to be for me anyway). Finally and at the risk of being crass and overgeneralizing, if you want history and the real B'more STAY AWAY from the Inner Harbor. It's basically where white people go to pretend to experience Baltimore, but it is quite literally designed to visually and spatially separate visitors from experiencing the real Baltimore. That said, Canton, Fed Hill, and Fells Point are similar in that respect, but they also offer much more in the way of historical context. The Inner Harbor is just a rich suburban playground. Have fun, and if you have any other questions let me know.

RW81233 · April 2009

RW81233 wrote:

I lived in Bmore for 3 years and here's my suggestion for history and art...
Start at the inner harbor and walk North on Charles Street towards John's Hopkins and Loyola and Towson. Along the way you will hit a few art museums, plenty of antique shops, and several cool off-the-beaten path restaurants. I do suggest Tio Pepe's for dinner one night...it's a little pricey but some really cool stuff. Also, on/around Charles Street is the Brewers Art which is nice and has some cool microbrews, as is Iggie's pizza (BYOB which is fun). As for more history and art there is also the Black's in Wax museum. If it's nice you should walk up Federal Hill then water taxi it to Fort McHenry (some cool history stuff there). Near MLK Blvd. you can see Edgar Allen Poe's final resting place, and across town in Fells Point/Canton you can do some cool ghost walks and see where actual pirate ships would come and lay siege to the town...leading to the various ghost walks you could go on in the evening. If you choose to do wineries Boordy Vineyards is just North of the City (20 minutes or so) off of 695 and has some fun stuff to drink and often has summer concerts where you can learn various dances if you are daring.

Unfortunately, in the last year, my favorite pub The Wharf Rat across from the convention center has come under new management (and hence no longer allowing for the drink fest it used to be for me anyway). Finally and at the risk of being crass and overgeneralizing, if you want history and the real B'more STAY AWAY from the Inner Harbor. It's basically where white people go to pretend to experience Baltimore, but it is quite literally designed to visually and spatially separate visitors from experiencing the real Baltimore. That said, Canton, Fed Hill, and Fells Point are similar in that respect, but they also offer much more in the way of historical context. The Inner Harbor is just a rich suburban playground. Have fun, and if you have any other questions let me know.

P.S. Full disclosure I lived 4 blocks from the inner harbor as part of the B'more Westside restoration project which essentially allowed up and coming suburbanites to come live in the city for a bit, and said favorite bar of mine bordered the Inner Harbor. So, essentially, I'm not above the Inner Harbor thing, I'm just trying to direct someone who probably isn't looking for that to more 'cultural' places.

decides2dream · April 2009

awesome, awesome, awesome information and suggestions...thank you! i think the aquarium will be a must-see...and i truly appreciate the art and history suggestions, definite plus for hubby and me, our likes. also like the restuarnat suggestions! if anyone thinks of anything else...always feel free to suggest more, many choices is always a GOOD thing.

OceansJenny · April 2009

I SUGGEST THE AQUARIUM!

I'm a baltimorian born n' raised (baltimore county, but whatever).

Stuff to do!!:
AQUARIUM
AQUARIUM
Walk the harbor, go through the little shops n' stuff
Eat at a Seafood place - it will be expensive but it will be good Maryland seafood! (disclaimer: Phillips Crabs are not really Maryland, they are mostly Alaskan crabs (boo sell outs))
AQUARIUM
The Science Center has an IMAX which might have some cool shows. OR just visit the science center (not only for kids!)
Camden Yards is always fun! (can find cheap tix, ppl are always selling)
AQUARIUM
Theres a Babe Ruth Museum if you're into baseball, also a Sports Museum but it's really only about teams in Maryland so you may not be interested in that...
Uhh... Aquarium? Don't forget to go to a dolphin show!

Thats what I usually look to do when I go downtown (which is what I was assuming you were looking to do). Out of the harbor is a different story... don't go down any wrong streets! (but seriously, if you have major time to kill, I can point out some stuff in Baltimore County).

Good luck, have fun, let me know if you want more activities!

decides2dream · April 2009

hey jenny...

so do you think we should hit up the aquarium?

already put it on the *list* as a must-see!
baseball truly is not our thing, but given the history of camden yards, i'll ask hubby if he's interested in checking it out...but he most definitely will NOT be interested in attending a game, and i love him for it! :P

so we are coming down from long island, bout a 3.5 hour drive...so say we have a half day saturday, full days/nights sunday and monday - ED MONDAY! - and half day tuesday. how long you think the aquarium would take? exploring inner harbor? what else *should* we do?

and specific restaurant suggestions - always welcome. definitely will be hitting up seafood....and i think someone recommended a mex place earlier - love mex food, so that's a given!

also, i keep reading to be *careful* at night.....don't walk down the *wrong* streets...so um, what areas should absolutely be avioded? and yes, i am a NYer, work in manhattan, and i feel perfectly *safe* there..sure a few dodgy areas, but you think baltimore is more dangerous/shady? do please share...

and thanks again all, this thread is really shaping up with some awesome, specific suggestions!

iluvcats · April 2009

did you see the aquarium's site, it says to buy your tix online!
http://www.aqua.org/

as for the wineries, I know of some that are west of b'more, probably too far from where you'll be

but i have never been to any. i don't get out much.

PJaddicted · April 2009

Such a nice city! My parents lived near there for many years. I love the Aquarium, http://www.aqua.org/ I highly recommend it! But animals are my thing. The zoo http://www.marylandzoo.org/ has some nice things about it, but it has some dated parts, unless it has been upgraded in the last few years. There is also lots of art museums that hubby and my oldest son went to a couple of different ones over the years, not sure of the names though. http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&gf ... sults&cd=1 Good food, Phillips Crab House http://www.epictrip.com/Phillips-restau ... yland.html right on the water down in the inner harbor, nothing like the Maryland Crabs and very cold beer! Longwood Gardens is in PA....GORGEOUS PLACE! You could route your trip and see it on the way in or out http://www.longwoodgardens.org/TheGardens_1_3_2.html

Have a great mini vacation!!!

Spot In The Sky · April 2009

decides2dream wrote:

recommedations?

places to go, eat, drink...things to see and do, etc. tis our first time actually ever stopping in baltimore, will be there saturday thru tuesday for the 06.15 show...and want to make the most of our little vacation! hubby is totally interested in history, i am into art....we both love just being outide, exploring...and sure, eating, drinking....cool bars and restaurants......always important!

share any tips you've got!

we already booked our hotel, close to the inner harbor...about 3 blocks away i believe. we will have our car, but we far prefer walking around. also, anyone who's been to the venue, feel free to share thoughts too.

looking forward to the trip and ed!

hey- PM me if you need help finding a place to stay at a good rate- since ill be in town that day cause im going to both shows i can get you a room at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore which is in a great spot for like $101.70.

decides2dream · April 2009

PJaddicted wrote:

Such a nice city! My parents lived near there for many years. I love the Aquarium, http://www.aqua.org/ I highly recommend it! But animals are my thing. The zoo http://www.marylandzoo.org/ has some nice things about it, but it has some dated parts, unless it has been upgraded in the last few years. There is also lots of art museums that hubby and my oldest son went to a couple of different ones over the years, not sure of the names though. http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&gf ... sults&cd=1 Good food, Phillips Crab House http://www.epictrip.com/Phillips-restau ... yland.html right on the water down in the inner harbor, nothing like the Maryland Crabs and very cold beer! Longwood Gardens is in PA....GORGEOUS PLACE! You could route your trip and see it on the way in or out http://www.longwoodgardens.org/TheGardens_1_3_2.html

Have a great mini vacation!!!

awedsome post - thank you!
as i said, the aquarium is definitely on the agenda. i know they recommend buying tix online, but we may just wait....not 100% what day we want to go and such. that longwood gardens looks spectacular and i LOVE visiting gardens like that, as does hubby....so see if he's up to adding it to our return home. a wee bit out of the way, but looks like it could be worth it.

spotinthesky...thanks for the offer! however, one of the first things i did after securing our tix was book our hotel. got a great rate w/ sheraton b/c we're starpoint members and they have a special promotion going on, so all good.

CJMST3K · April 2009

Spot In The Sky wrote:

hey- PM me if you need help finding a place to stay at a good rate- since ill be in town that day cause im going to both shows i can get you a room at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore which is in a great spot for like $101.70.

PM sent!

OceansJenny · June 2009

decides2dream! The aquarium will probably take maybe an hour or so, it really depends on how long you like to spend at each exhibit. If you do a dolphin show (a must if you've never been to one!), that will probably add another 45 mins. Baltimore itself is really known for being a port city, so outside the harbor it really doesn't have anything special.

Has anyone pointed out baltimore.org to you yet? There might be something interesting on there; I don't keep up with current Baltimore stuff, I live outside DC now.

WAIT, ok, so I just clicked on the Arts and Culture portion of the baltimore.org site... totally forgot some cool stuff! WALTERS ART MUSEUM... if you have ANY interest in art and history, this is a must. My father and I went recently and we couldn't finish the museum because we had spent hours there and he was tired out! They have 3 or 4 different floors of historical history, from suits of armor and swords to lots of interesting religious paintings and sculptures to ancient egypt stuff to modernish art... again we didn't finish the museum, but it was really really cool. Stuff like that really interests me (everything was labeled with its historical significance), but I recognize its not for everyone.

And the best part is that the museum is FREE! http://thewalters.org/default.aspx

The Visionary Art Museum is also a good one; I went on a field trip in middle school so I don't remember it too too well but I remember it had a lot of cool abstract art, like a giant spiny windmill thing made out of crazy metal sculptures. http://www.avam.org/

I also really really love the B&O Railroad Museum... the B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio) was one of the originals, so they have a lot of history packed into this museum along with the "turntable" portion of the museum (I don't remember the real name - its where the trains would go into the big circle portion and get turned around) full of real historical trains. Really really neat! http://www.borail.org/

Ok recap... if this was MY Baltimore vacation, I would go to the Aquarium with a dolphin show, hit up the B&O Railroad museum, walk the harbor and get some lunch/dinner, then make my way to the Walters Art Gallery and explore as much as possible. That's my suggestion, but of course do as you wish.

ALSO, if you make it to a good seafood place with actual Maryland crabs, I suggest a softshell crab sandwich... it may freak you and hubby out, since it comes out on a bun fully shelled and everything, and you eat the softshell, but they are DELISH TRUST ME if you are adventurous.

OceansJenny · June 2009

Ok so I just read the thread again and I see you like Wine and Gardens... well I have more suggestions!

My favorite Maryland winery is Boordy Winery... its right near Towson, so maybe 45 mins from the harbor... excellent, excellent wine IMO. http://www.boordy.com/

Gardens - my FAVORITE gardens is Ladew Topiary Gardens. They have topiary everywhere and cool set-ups and OH I just love it! I believe its near Towson as well, so it may be out of the way. http://www.ladewgardens.com/index2.html Worthy runner up - Sherwood Gardens. They have a lot of pretty flowers everywhere... haven't been in years so I can't give you specific details. http://search.visitmaryland.org/visitse ... nID=207103

OK, let me know what you think, hopes this helps!

aspoonfulweighsaton · June 2009

I tried starting a thread about this without much feedback so I figured I'd ask here since some locals are posting.

Is it within reason to walk from the Lyric Opera House to Camden Yards, or should I definitely take the rail?

iluvcats · June 2009

aspoonfulweighsaton wrote:

I tried starting a thread about this without much feedback so I figured I'd ask here since some locals are posting.

Is it within reason to walk from the Lyric Opera House to Camden Yards, or should I definitely take the rail?

not sure how long it would take to walk. i'll send you a pm. see mapquest.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1a=333+W.+ ... e&2z=21201

embrace · June 2009

Hi D2D- Just wanted to throw this out there...we went down to the aquarium a few weeks ago on a Saturday- we wanted to go at 9am so bought our tickets online and socred 9am entry. When we arrived to enter (9ish) the tickets they were selling was for 11:15am entry time- so if you want to go at a specific time, purchase ahead but if you don't mind waiting a bit (and meandering the inner harbour) then you should be fine waiting.

BTW-Thanks for starting this thread (and thanks to all who have posted!) We are heading down for the show on the 15th and now have some great tips! Cheers!

decides2dream wrote:

PJaddicted wrote:

Such a nice city! My parents lived near there for many years. I love the Aquarium, http://www.aqua.org/ I highly recommend it! But animals are my thing. The zoo http://www.marylandzoo.org/ has some nice things about it, but it has some dated parts, unless it has been upgraded in the last few years. There is also lots of art museums that hubby and my oldest son went to a couple of different ones over the years, not sure of the names though. http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&gf ... sults&cd=1 Good food, Phillips Crab House http://www.epictrip.com/Phillips-restau ... yland.html right on the water down in the inner harbor, nothing like the Maryland Crabs and very cold beer! Longwood Gardens is in PA....GORGEOUS PLACE! You could route your trip and see it on the way in or out http://www.longwoodgardens.org/TheGardens_1_3_2.html

Have a great mini vacation!!!

awedsome post - thank you!
as i said, the aquarium is definitely on the agenda. i know they recommend buying tix online, but we may just wait....not 100% what day we want to go and such. that longwood gardens looks spectacular and i LOVE visiting gardens like that, as does hubby....so see if he's up to adding it to our return home. a wee bit out of the way, but looks like it could be worth it.

spotinthesky...thanks for the offer! however, one of the first things i did after securing our tix was book our hotel. got a great rate w/ sheraton b/c we're starpoint members and they have a special promotion going on, so all good.

mca47 · June 2009

I was in Baltimore last week for work (4 days). Def. check out the inner harbor...really cool.

Also while you're there, be sure to get some crabcakes!

I can't remember which restaurant I was at (was the winner of 'Best Crabcakes in Baltimore' for 8 years)...but my god they were incredible! Mmmmm!

yellowporch · June 2009

Okay I know there is an Italian Festival the weekend of the show. I'm going to be hittin that up! I think 'Ace of Cakes' on the Food Network is in the Inner Harbor too and my girlfriend loves that show so we'll be visiting Charm City Cakes. Camden Yards and the Aquarium sound awesome too. I'm turning 21 the night of eV's show so I need a decent bar... :twisted:

IamMine · June 2009

awesome, d2d - hope all goes well on your mini vacation with hubby!

It was also good to see PJAddicted posting...been a good while! *waves*

Anyway two reasons why I'm here...

1) aquarium sounds like a MUST - hubby went to one in chicago when he went with friends years ago and he loved it - one of the best parts on his trip. Hope you can find the time to do that...if not, the show itself is pretty much sufficient, eh?

2) I saw this thread yesterday and last night had a dream that I was standing under a glass bridge...saw some glass boxes on top of it and the first thing came to my mind in that dream was "Oh, this must be an aquarium - wonder if decides2dream is here?" :P

Weird how once in a great blue moon some people from this board show up in my dreams.

An indication that I'm spending way too much time here... lol

All good - I did NOT realize our show was coming up NEXT week until hubby mentioned last night! I said what? No.... TWO weeks away. He said no.... next week. :shock:

Ahh feck! I'm not ready.... my situation has not been sorted out for that show... groans. Long story... it hasn't been easy. Oh well... hopefully this week and make the best out of it.

Looking forward to the fanviews, including yours!!

decides2dream · June 2009

OceansJenny wrote:

decides2dream! The aquarium will probably take maybe an hour or so, it really depends on how long you like to spend at each exhibit. If you do a dolphin show (a must if you've never been to one!), that will probably add another 45 mins. Baltimore itself is really known for being a port city, so outside the harbor it really doesn't have anything special.

Has anyone pointed out baltimore.org to you yet? There might be something interesting on there; I don't keep up with current Baltimore stuff, I live outside DC now.

WAIT, ok, so I just clicked on the Arts and Culture portion of the baltimore.org site... totally forgot some cool stuff! WALTERS ART MUSEUM... if you have ANY interest in art and history, this is a must. My father and I went recently and we couldn't finish the museum because we had spent hours there and he was tired out! They have 3 or 4 different floors of historical history, from suits of armor and swords to lots of interesting religious paintings and sculptures to ancient egypt stuff to modernish art... again we didn't finish the museum, but it was really really cool. Stuff like that really interests me (everything was labeled with its historical significance), but I recognize its not for everyone. And the best part is that the museum is FREE! http://thewalters.org/default.aspx

The Visionary Art Museum is also a good one; I went on a field trip in middle school so I don't remember it too too well but I remember it had a lot of cool abstract art, like a giant spiny windmill thing made out of crazy metal sculptures. http://www.avam.org/

I also really really love the B&O Railroad Museum... the B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio) was one of the originals, so they have a lot of history packed into this museum along with the "turntable" portion of the museum (I don't remember the real name - its where the trains would go into the big circle portion and get turned around) full of real historical trains. Really really neat! http://www.borail.org/

Ok recap... if this was MY Baltimore vacation, I would go to the Aquarium with a dolphin show, hit up the B&O Railroad museum, walk the harbor and get some lunch/dinner, then make my way to the Walters Art Gallery and explore as much as possible. That's my suggestion, but of course do as you wish. ALSO, if you make it to a good seafood place with actual Maryland crabs, I suggest a softshell crab sandwich... it may freak you and hubby out, since it comes out on a bun fully shelled and everything, and you eat the softshell, but they are DELISH TRUST ME if you are adventurous.

wow jenny.....THANKS for the excellent info!
really appreciated.

that winery sounds interesting too......we'll see how it all shakes out, may well hit it up. we were actually thinking of hitting up the longwood gardens in PA that pjaddicted recommended, but that topiary garden sounds cool too. have to wait and see.

embrace - hmmmm....perhaps i will get tix online. i guess you can just print them out at home, they don't mail em? given that we're leaving saturday, probably hitting up the aquarium sunday, not much time. haha. i am all for entrance at 11 am, i just don't want to have to be there at 9 to buy those tix. btw - we're hitting up the show on the 15th too!

iammine..........

you crack me up!

enjoy your show!

embrace · June 2009

We actually live about 20 minutes from Longwood Gardens- it's not too far off 95 if that's how you are travelling and it's lovely. My favorite part is the conservatory - the smell is amazing. (It's where I go when the snow is deep to remind us of the spring to come!) Also, quite close to LG is Winterthur (old DuPont estate) which also has lovely gardens, koi pond and a fantastic children's garden, complete with faerie and gnome homes and a mushroom circle that mists when you walk in. I guess they are about 1 hour from Baltimore- we are about 1.5 door to door.

Regarding the aquarium, if you order online you get a ticket confirm number and when you arrive at the aquarium they have little kiosks where you can print your tickets by providing the credit card you used and the confirm number. I believe you can pick any time of day to go and reserve your spot for that entry (we chose 9am as we have a 2 year old and he is raring to go at 7am) so you can easily choose to go at 11 and pick a dolphin show time as well. They've really got it together over there.

I think we are going to try and hit the Fells point area and meander the boutiques and perhaps one of the galleries mentioned here. We are all for a good glass of wine so perhaps we'll find a good spot to enjoy one prior to the show!

decides2dream wrote:

OceansJenny wrote:

decides2dream! The aquarium will probably take maybe an hour or so, it really depends on how long you like to spend at each exhibit. If you do a dolphin show (a must if you've never been to one!), that will probably add another 45 mins. Baltimore itself is really known for being a port city, so outside the harbor it really doesn't have anything special.

Has anyone pointed out baltimore.org to you yet? There might be something interesting on there; I don't keep up with current Baltimore stuff, I live outside DC now.

WAIT, ok, so I just clicked on the Arts and Culture portion of the baltimore.org site... totally forgot some cool stuff! WALTERS ART MUSEUM... if you have ANY interest in art and history, this is a must. My father and I went recently and we couldn't finish the museum because we had spent hours there and he was tired out! They have 3 or 4 different floors of historical history, from suits of armor and swords to lots of interesting religious paintings and sculptures to ancient egypt stuff to modernish art... again we didn't finish the museum, but it was really really cool. Stuff like that really interests me (everything was labeled with its historical significance), but I recognize its not for everyone. And the best part is that the museum is FREE! http://thewalters.org/default.aspx

The Visionary Art Museum is also a good one; I went on a field trip in middle school so I don't remember it too too well but I remember it had a lot of cool abstract art, like a giant spiny windmill thing made out of crazy metal sculptures. http://www.avam.org/

I also really really love the B&O Railroad Museum... the B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio) was one of the originals, so they have a lot of history packed into this museum along with the "turntable" portion of the museum (I don't remember the real name - its where the trains would go into the big circle portion and get turned around) full of real historical trains. Really really neat! http://www.borail.org/

Ok recap... if this was MY Baltimore vacation, I would go to the Aquarium with a dolphin show, hit up the B&O Railroad museum, walk the harbor and get some lunch/dinner, then make my way to the Walters Art Gallery and explore as much as possible. That's my suggestion, but of course do as you wish. ALSO, if you make it to a good seafood place with actual Maryland crabs, I suggest a softshell crab sandwich... it may freak you and hubby out, since it comes out on a bun fully shelled and everything, and you eat the softshell, but they are DELISH TRUST ME if you are adventurous.

wow jenny.....THANKS for the excellent info!
really appreciated.

that winery sounds interesting too......we'll see how it all shakes out, may well hit it up. we were actually thinking of hitting up the longwood gardens in PA that pjaddicted recommended, but that topiary garden sounds cool too. have to wait and see.

embrace - hmmmm....perhaps i will get tix online. i guess you can just print them out at home, they don't mail em? given that we're leaving saturday, probably hitting up the aquarium sunday, not much time. haha. i am all for entrance at 11 am, i just don't want to have to be there at 9 to buy those tix. btw - we're hitting up the show on the 15th too!

iammine..........
you crack me up!
enjoy your show!

baltimore

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