Baltimore and Land-Locked Colorado Springs
09 October 2017 | Baltimore MD and Colorado Springs, CO
Barbara/nice
Baltimore, MD
Sept.4-12, 2017
It was exciting sailing into the historic Baltimore Harbor- one of the busiest ports in the country. Particularly moving was passing by Fort McHenry where in 1814 after 25 hours of continuous bombing by the British, Francis Scott Key saw to his relief the American flag was still standing. This inspired him to compose the famous poem -the "Defence of Fort McHenry" which was later set to music and became our national anthem- the Star Spangled Banner.
We docked in a nice marina within easy walking distance to the sights, shops and restaurants of the Inner Harbor. One highlight of our stay was touring the USS Constellation-the U.S. Navy's last all-sail vessel and the USS Torsk. Torpedoes launched from USS Torsk sank the last enemy ships during WWII. Very interesting tours allowing us to get a glimpse of how these brave sailors lived and worked.
Fortunately for our waistlines, Baltimore is a great walking city because restaurant choices are endless. By chance, we mostly chose ethnic establishments since we were getting a little burned out on crab, fish and lobster. A few places we sampled were - Little Havana- outstanding Cuban specialties, Kumari - delicious Indian/ Nepalese dishes and Di Pasquale's - where in Pete's opinion had out-of -this world pizza!
Colorado Springs, CO
Getting to Baltimore by September 4th was a "hard date" we planned into our schedule. The MS Society Tour of Champions bike trip in Colorado Springs was scheduled for September 7th-10th. Pete was riding in it and our flight was out of Baltimore. Then Hurricane Harvey hit! Thanks to the hard work of the Houston MS Society staff the trip went on as planned despite their offices getting flooded thus preventing the bikes being shipped to Colorado. The riders took it in stride and rode rented bikes. Having been on several Tour of Champion trips, we enjoyed connecting with other biking friends. It was a glorious fall day for the ride. The bike ride was as expected, strenuous. The altitude, steep climbs, and Pete's lack of training were factors, but the scenery and meeting up with friends made the ride great. We non- bikers joined them for lunch in the Garden of the Gods. As you can tell from the photo (see Album), a very popular guy was Joe, a charming 92-year -old WWII veteran who achieved Tour of Champions status for the second time but wisely decided not to do the Colorado ride.
On our last day in Baltimore we did a bit more sightseeing. The city's World Trade Center has a striking 911 Memorial comprised of steel from the NY World Trade Center and limestone from the Pentagon to remind us that we were all transformed that day. The third component is polished black granite which reflects the heroism of the passengers and crew of Flight 93.
We enjoyed our stay in Baltimore. The Harbor area was home to many millennials as evidenced by the many young people we saw out jogging, walking their dogs and gathering in the establishments along the beautiful waterfront.
From Baltimore we made the short 27 mile journey to Annapolis- the sailing capital of the world.
Take care,
Barbara and Captain Pete
Photo below: Pike's Peak