baltimore

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!

decides2dream · June 2009

embrace wrote:

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!

thanks for the info!
i was looking ahead at the weather, looks like there may be a few showers on monday and thunderstorms on tuesday....not great for walking around the city, nor gardens. i was initially thinking of the aquarium for sunday, like to leave monday wide open for ed that evening, more spur of the moment stuff. hmmm. may just stick with that plan. you go in thinking, wtf can i do with my time...then you see.....wow.....how can i fit in everything! :P we'll see how much we enjoy baltimore and go from there. figured we have 2 solid days within the city, and then half day saturday, and tuesday plan on leaving....hitting up longwood gardens, or the winery, or idk. haha. i am pretty sure i've been to winterthur before, tho a million years ago.

while in baltimore sure to spend the bulk of our time in the inner harbor area.....but depending how the weather is and all, love to meander everywhere! if you know of a good spot for wine before the show, do post, we're up for it too!

embrace · June 2009

Well work is getting in the way of my Baltimore searching today, but thus far I've found two restaurants that peak my wine interest and that my hubba hubbsie could be into...

http://sites.google.com/site/chesapeake ... t-bar-menu

http://www.thebrewersart.com/

if you know of a good spot for wine before the show, do post, we're up for it too!

[/quote]

decides2dream · June 2009

embrace wrote:

Well work is getting in the way of my Baltimore searching today, but thus far I've found two restaurants that peak my wine interest and that my hubba hubbsie could be into...

http://sites.google.com/site/chesapeake ... t-bar-menu

http://www.thebrewersart.com/

hmmmm....that brewer's art place looks very interesting!

btw - do you know where the lyric opera house is even located? hahaha. i know i can google it, just askin'. is it walkable from the inner harbor area? we're staying at a sheraton about 2-3 blocks from inner harbor...so would love to park the car when we arrive and not start it up again until we're ready to leave. can always take a cab or public transport - if it exists? - of course....but i far prefer walking whenever possible.

definitely plan on having some nice meals and drinks the whole 4 days......

edit - ok i googled it......hmmmm...doesn't look to be too walkable. :( bummer. doesn't look too far tho either, so that's good. nice. inner harbor, little italy and fells point....all look to be enjoyable/walkable/fun!

embrace · June 2009

I need to look into the cab/public transport myself- I think we are staying at a sheraton too but for some reason I thought it was walking distance (under 1.5 miles)...We are the same way about parking and walking (though now I have my instincts on since reading about the questionable areas)

decides2dream wrote:

embrace wrote:

Well work is getting in the way of my Baltimore searching today, but thus far I've found two restaurants that peak my wine interest and that my hubba hubbsie could be into...

http://sites.google.com/site/chesapeake ... t-bar-menu

http://www.thebrewersart.com/

hmmmm....that brewer's art place looks very interesting!

btw - do you know where the lyric opera house is even located? hahaha. i know i can google it, just askin'. is it walkable from the inner harbor area? we're staying at a sheraton about 2-3 blocks from inner harbor...so would love to park the car when we arrive and not start it up again until we're ready to leave. can always take a cab or public transport - if it exists? - of course....but i far prefer walking whenever possible.

definitely plan on having some nice meals and drinks the whole 4 days......

edit - ok i googled it......hmmmm...doesn't look to be too walkable. :( bummer. doesn't look too far tho either, so that's good. nice. inner harbor, little italy and fells point....all look to be enjoyable/walkable/fun!

decides2dream · June 2009

embrace wrote:

I need to look into the cab/public transport myself- I think we are staying at a sheraton too but for some reason I thought it was walking distance (under 1.5 miles)...We are the same way about parking and walking (though now I have my instincts on since reading about the questionable areas)

yea...i think we may simply end up cabbing it if we can't walk. i just wonder, are there many cabs avaiable AFTER the show, especially since supposedly we're not supposed to even bring cell phones that have cameras! (idk of any cellphone nowadays that doesn't have a camera!) 1.5 miles would be fine, especially preshow....as long as it isn't too hot/humid, and we didn't drink too much

.....tho i am concerned about aftershow, especially for the reason you mention.

anyone know the area around the lyric?

Jenfarr · June 2009

Hey D2D, John and I will be in Balitmore on Sat. and Sunday too! And staying at the Sheraton Sat. night! (only, drving back Sunday after the show - ugh!) I know I had read awhile back you were going to the Monday show, but we are only going to the Sunday show and heading back to 'boken afterwards because both of us have to work Monday.

We'll have to meet up at some point. We are going to the O's game Sat. night (sorry, big baseball fans) and probably the Aquarium on Sunday, but a college friend and her family are coming into town for that, so I don't know our timing yet.

Lyric Opera House isn't really within walking distance of the Sheraton/Inner Harbor, since you have to walk through a somewhat dicey area to get there. And not sure about the taxi situation post-show. Since we are hitting the road post-show, we are just going to drive. You may be able to take the Light Rail there.

embrace · June 2009

BTW- do you know where the "rules" are regarding the cell phones... I get the whole respect thing but I also have to have my phone so that my sitters can reach us. I couldn't imagine that they wouldn't let us have them in our pockets for such things, right?!

I'll give the lyric a ring and post what I find out- perhaps a local will read and post via experience. I hear ya about walking after the show- I think we were in Montreal and totally misjudged the number of blocks to our hotel- needless to say we were whipped after touring all day/preshow/almost 3 hour show and the trek back to the hotel... we vowed not to make that "whoops" again ;0

decides2dream wrote:

embrace wrote:

I need to look into the cab/public transport myself- I think we are staying at a sheraton too but for some reason I thought it was walking distance (under 1.5 miles)...We are the same way about parking and walking (though now I have my instincts on since reading about the questionable areas)

yea...i think we may simply end up cabbing it if we can't walk. i just wonder, are there many cabs avaiable AFTER the show, especially since supposedly we're not supposed to even bring cell phones that have cameras! (idk of any cellphone nowadays that doesn't have a camera!) 1.5 miles would be fine, especially preshow....as long as it isn't too hot/humid, and we didn't drink too much .....tho i am concerned about aftershow, especially for the reason you mention.

anyone know the area around the lyric?

decides2dream · June 2009

Jenfarr wrote:

Hey D2D, John and I will be in Balitmore on Sat. and Sunday too! And staying at the Sheraton Sat. night! (only, drving back Sunday after the show - ugh!) I know I had read awhile back you were going to the Monday show, but we are only going to the Sunday show and heading back to 'boken afterwards because both of us have to work Monday.

We'll have to meet up at some point. We are going to the O's game Sat. night (sorry, big baseball fans) and probably the Aquarium on Sunday, but a college friend and her family are coming into town for that, so I don't know our timing yet.

Lyric Opera House isn't really within walking distance of the Sheraton/Inner Harbor, since you have to walk through a somewhat dicey area to get there. And not sure about the taxi situation post-show. Since we are hitting the road post-show, we are just going to drive. You may be able to take the Light Rail there.

cool!
i believe tony will be in town for both shows as well. we definitely should all get together at some point. would be great.

thanks for the info re - the lyric.
we're not staying at the sheraton inner harbor - but another within i think 3 blocks of it. i know there were 2, very close to each other, why idk...but ours was less expensive, and thereya go. :P i guess we could drive...but liked the idea of not driving in case we are drinking before/after. who am i kidding...in case? hahaha. b/c we ARE drinking.

i do have your cell #, so unless you changed it....i'm set. i think you have mine as well, but i'll PM it just in case too. we will more than likely be hitting up the aquarium sunday too...so definitely at some point, food, drinks, whatever.......

embrace - it's not lyric's policy, it's the 10c/ed solo show policy. i too am hoping they will allow the cell phones, even with cameras....b/c i too just feel safer having a phone on me, especially somewhere unfamiliar. i just know i read it somewhere about these shows, saying no cameras, including camera phones...and thinking...wtf? idk of a phone without one nowadays!

embrace · June 2009

D2D- No luck with a live person at the Lyric, but the map shows it in a place near hotels and bars (within 3 blocks) so I imagine that cabs won't be too difficult- It might call for a bar detour (stop and have a drink while waiting for the cab) I did stumble across some policies listed for the Lyric and it seems in line with the EV policies- No cameras or recording devices allowed. I can't imagine that the security wouldn't allow people to carry their cell phones or have them on their person (like you said idk if a phone exists these days without the cameras) but I think they do reserve the right to kick you out for inappropriate behavior. That would make the most sense right?!

It's going to be a great time! Hear's hoping those rain showers hold off. Cheers!

decides2dream · June 2009

embrace wrote:

D2D- No luck with a live person at the Lyric, but the map shows it in a place near hotels and bars (within 3 blocks) so I imagine that cabs won't be too difficult- It might call for a bar detour (stop and have a drink while waiting for the cab) I did stumble across some policies listed for the Lyric and it seems in line with the EV policies- No cameras or recording devices allowed. I can't imagine that the security wouldn't allow people to carry their cell phones or have them on their person (like you said idk if a phone exists these days without the cameras) but I think they do reserve the right to kick you out for inappropriate behavior. That would make the most sense right?!

It's going to be a great time! Hear's hoping those rain showers hold off. Cheers!

well i figure from the hotel, ask about a cab and perhaps get a phone # to call and request a cab after the fact...so yea....may have to hit a bar afterwards, but that's ok. idk what kinda city baltimore really is...but i hope their bar stay open at least until midnight, even on a monday night.

and i too am hoping they'll allow the cell phones in.....it's only a stern warning NOT to break it out and take pics! i promise i won't!

*crosses heart*

yea....overall the weather looks gorgeous for the weekend, chance of showers monday....and the real worry is thunderstorms tuesday. that would ruin any garden/winery explorations....and not fun to make the return trek to NY either. so definitely hoping it waits a bit at least. temps are meant to be around low 80s...that's fine with me!

baltimore

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