Bald Eagles at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Today we set off to explore the Eastern Shore. Our first area of exploration was Kent Island. We stopped by the Romancoke Pier where we saw a school of rays! There were also some long fish spooking (trying to eat?) big schools of a smaller fish. We saw a sign for nutria, the invasive rodent, and darned of we didn't see one cross the road as we drove back toward the center of the island! http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/bs-md-last-nutria-20111031-story,amp.html

Our next area of exploration was the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge where we saw the above bald eagles nesting! That was very exciting!! The surrounding area was very flat and marshy. We saw a fair number of abandoned houses. The ditches were all filled with water and one can imagine the houses must have had water issues. Additionally, there was just not much around.

We stumbled upon the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park. We had no idea that Harriet Tubman was from that area! It was an informative stop in a well put together visitors center.

Lunch was at a gastropub in Columbia. Now we are heading back to Baltimore to see the Red Sox tonight at Camden Yards.

Nevermore

OK, so probably the most unoriginal blog post title imaginable for this, but there it is anyway. We cautiously walked through some very so-so streets to find Poe's grave. There are some odd stories about his grave site. Firstly, his birthday is listed incorrectly. Secondly, his remains were moved to this location and another stone marks his "original resting place," but that is also incorrect! Earlier on our trip we passed The Horse You Rode In On Tavern in Fells Pt which is supposedly his last stop before collapsing and ending up in the hospital where he died. Poe was born in Boston which explains the statue there, but he identified with Baltimore as the place of his roots.

Aboard the USCGC Taney

We have been getting our fill of Baltimore history. On Wednesday, we took the water taxi out to Fort McHenry to refresh our memories about the War of 1812. Then on Thursday, we took a self-guided tour of the Torsk, a submarine, and the Taney, a coast guard cutter which is noted to be the last combatant ship from Pearl Harbor.

The Good Sport

See her patiently sitting under the wing?

"I'm like a kid in a candy shop!"

...exclaimed Isaac with a wide grin as we entered the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. And that held true for the next few hours! The Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum annex located near Dulles airport. Just the sheer number, size, and variety of the aircraft made it so much more interesting than the main museum in D.C. We got to see the space shuttle Discovery, the Enola Gay, the Concorde, and Blackbird (the first stealth plane). Isaac knew WAY too many planes and was eager to share his knowledge. The Germans were doing some fascinating stuff during WWII. If ever in the area, this is worth a stop!

Quick! Lock them in!

Our hotel was a former bank building built between 1900 and 1905. Down in the basement is the actual bank vault! It is now a conference room. We had plenty of Twilight Zone jokes while we investigated.

The Book Thing of Baltimore

FREE books! Absolutely free. As many as you can carry! What a start to our Baltimore adventure! 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-book-thing

www.the book thing.org

Shelburne Falls

July 8: A suggestion from Atlas Obscura sent us to see the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls , MA. This was originally a trolley bridge constructed in 1908 and was converted in 1929 to a walking bridge. It has over 500 variety of flowers. While there, we also walked to the falls and saw the glacial potholes. There was also a candle pin bowling alley tucked behind the main street of this very small town. It intrigued us but dinner and more travel awaited. 

Tramp House

We discovered the Richmond Tramp House in NH after dropping Adelaide at camp. It was one of several that were erected for those down on their luck. They served this population from after the Civil War until the 1930s. Those wanting to use it needed to check in at the town hall and were given permission to stay one night only with a free meal provided. The one in Richmond was built in 1914 but was restored in 2015. According to the volunteer, this is one of three remaining "tramp houses" left in NH.

Lab Cooking

Welcome summer at beautiful White Lake in NH! After 24 hours of rain and more rain, we had blue skies and sunshine to experiment with breakfast! We seem to have mastered crescent rolls over the fire. Now it is time to try bacon and eggs in a paper bag! The results are mixed at the moment.

Lake play and the great salsa challenge to come later.