Baltimore in January - Yes, It's a Great Time to Visit!

Okay, it's not Palm Beach or LA so you can't expect balmy weather. Baltimore is in the mid-Atlantic and that means we get chilly in January. But it's still a good time to visit, and I'm glad to have a chance to point out some of my favorite things about this city. Thanks to Margaret Harrington for asking!

There's no season for history, and Baltimore has plenty. Oh say can you see? Of course you can at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. In September 1814, the star-shaped fort was the site of the Baltimore of Baltimore. On a ship some eight miles away, Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment and, when the smoke cleared, saw that the flag still waved. We still sing about it today.

Fell's Point combines history and the pleasures of eating and shopping. This historic area dates to the 1700's and you'll find the oldest house in Baltimore here. The cobblestone streets add to the charm, just be sure to wear good walking shoes! There are many restaurants in the area, and the Broadway market is a sight, sound, and scent experience. It's open every day but Sunday, and right there in Fell's Point. Closer to the Inner Harbor you'll find floating history on the U.S.S. Constellation and the other ships of the Baltimore Maritime Museum.

When you've had your fill of history – and are perhaps ready for some indoors time - we have plenty of arts and entertainment. The world-class Walters Art Museum has works from Egyptian to American art, and is know especially for its collection of Asian art and rare books. A bit further north, near the Johns Hopkins University campus, is the Baltimore Museum of Art. In January the museum has special exhibitions works by Matisse and Rodin. For something a bit less classic, try the American Visionary Art Museum just down Key Highway from the Inner Harbor. This unique collection showcases works by self-taught artists. If you like something out of the ordinary, this is your museum. Not far away is another quirky collection in the Baltimore Museum of Industry. This one celebrates Baltimore's history as a working-man's town with thousands of tools, machines, and pieces of Baltimore's historic firsts.

After all that cultural enrichment, how about some food for the body? There are as many cuisines as there are nationalities, so you're sure to find something to suit your taste. Just be sure to try a local crab cake or crab imperial before you leave town. If you're feeling adventurous, try the steamed hard crabs experience – you'll quickly learn how to swing that mallet and extract the sweet lump of crabmeat so prized by aficionados. My favorite restaurants are Tio Pepe for just wonderful food and service, Sabatino's in Little Italy, Kali's Court in Fell's Point, Suburban House in Pikesville for the ultimate Jewish deli experience, G&M for great crab cakes (Margaret, this one is in Linthicum Heights!) And, of course, Lexington Market for grazing.

Now that you're full of history and culture and good food, how about a bit of entertainment? Depending on when you visit, you can hear the excellent Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. (It happens that during Margaret's visit, the concert is "SciFi Spectacular" with the BSO Pops playing selections for Star Wars, ET, and Superman, with George Takei as narrator, and a laser light show!) Unfortunately, those January dates don't correspond to performances by the Baltimore Opera or Center Stage, but there are other entertainment options depending on your tastes.

Which brings us to what might actually be the start of your visit to Baltimore – the Visitors Center. Located at the Inner Harbor on Light Street (1-877-BALTIMORE), it's open every day to provide visitors with information about current happenings and services like ticket purchases.

Welcome to my town!

It's Weird Down Here!

It was another beautiful day, and we decided to have a "vacation" in Baltimore one day at a time. We recently visited Fell's Point, and this day it was our own Inner Harbor.

We slipped into a convenient parking space and proceeded to act like tourists, enjoying the sights along the waterfront. The dragon paddle boats are always popular in the summer, and there's a water taxi for those of us who prefer to let an engine do the paddling. Baltimore's World Trade Center soars above the harbor, with a 27th floor observation deck for stunning views. Moored down below along the harbor are historic ships that are National Historic Landmarks and also serve as living classrooms.

The queen of the harbor is, of course, the USS Constellation. She is the last all-sail warship built by the U.S. Navy, and the last Civil War era vessel still afloat. The ship is open year-round and offers a variety of special educational tours. Youngsters enjoy the Powder Monkey Tour that includes some hands-on learning of what it was like for boys 11 to 18 who served on warships in mid-19th century America.

A bit further along the harbor is the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Taney, a veteran of Pearl Harbor, and the only surviving vessel still afloat of the 101 that were present and fought during the attack on December 7, 1941. She went on to serve in the Okinawa campaign, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and in the war on drugs in the Caribbean.

And then moored at another pier are the Lightship Chesapeake and the submarine USS Torsk. Once there were ships like Chesapeake anchored all along the coast, marking entrances to channels, and warning of hazards to navigation. The ships provided weather information and helped in rescue operations. During World War II the ship was "drafted" and did harbor patrol duty near the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts. With peace, Chesapeake came back to Maryland, then to the Delaware Bay until 1971 when she became an ocean-going environmental classroom for the National Park Service. She came home to Baltimore in 1981 to join the Baltimore Maritime Museum.

The submarine Torsk was late getting into the action of World War II when commissioned in December 1944. She headed for the Pacific in early 1945 and took up patrol in the Sea of Japan. Her crew made history on August 14, 1945, when they sunk the last ship of World War II; less than 24 hours later hostilities ended. Until her retirement in 1967, Torsk was in the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets, and was part of the blockade keeping Soviet missiles out of Cuba in 1962.

The National Aquarium is worth a day trip itself. Visit Australia, experience a tropical rain forest, and enjoy the dolphin show, all in the glass pyramid buildings on Pier 4. That sign, "It's Weird Down Here" is advertising the strange fish you can find at the aquarium.

We didn't realize just how right that sign was until we were headed back to our car. Just as we stepped out from a building entrance we heard the sickening crunch of metal on metal as two SUV's collided just feet from us. One of them ran up on the sidewalk, took out a huge light pole, threw it's bumper in our direction, and ended up way too close for comfort. We had to jump to get out of the way of flying debris – talk about scary! Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it is definitely weird down here!

We were leaving any way, but after that it was time to head home. Even with that unwelcome adrenaline rush, we still enjoyed our one-day vacation. When you visit Baltimore, be sure to plan on spending some time walking along the harbor. I promise – SUV's on the sidewalk really are quite rare.