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Baltimore, 2003
Saturday, February 8th
Once I arrived in
Baltimore, I went to the National Aquarium.
This is an excellent one, probably rivals Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Went to
the the Baltimore Brewing Company/DeGroen's Restaurant for lunch. The beer was excellent
and the food was good. The didn't have any pint
glasses for sale, which kind of annoyed me. Que sara.
Once John Hudgens got
into town, we went to Capital
City Brewery for dinner and a beer. The Inner Harbor is a really cool
place to visit, but you do need to watch for the bums. They aren't
threatening, just something you need to be aware of.
Sunday,
February 9th
I got up early and
decided to go to Fort McHenry. It was
easy to find the bus and pay $1.30 each way to get to the fort. The only
people there at the visitor center were the park ranger and me. His name was
Vince, a very lively fellow who was very enthusiastic about history - a
little too much. He showed me around the visitor center, and then said he had
a video he wanted me to watch. I went into the auditorium, which on the north
side had an entrance and exit, the east side had the video screen, and the
south side had a very long curtain. The video started and I was alone in a
place big enough for 100 people. The video provided information on the War of
1812, which is when the Star-Spangled Banner was written. It was an enjoyable
show. At the end of the video, the big curtain was pulled back by an automatic
pulley system. I could then see Fort McHenry and the flag. At that point, our
nation’s anthem started playing and I saw a sign that asked everyone to
please stand. So here I am, in this large auditorium, with the Star-Spangled
Banner playing, trying to be respectful. Then, after a few seconds after the
music started, the flag outside is lowered (I found out later they were just
changing flags). So the song is playing, I’m the only person in a huge
place, and now there’s no flag.
I stood at attention and was glad when it was all over. It was very
strange.
The conference started
at 1 pm. There were some good talks. We went to Boccaccio's for dinner. A
little more upscale than I would normally do, but I had a great time with the
group I went with.
Monday, February 10th
Conference all day,
then we had the poster presentation from 5 to 8 pm. We talked to a lot of
people. For dinner, we ate at Legal Seafoods, then went to the Wharf Rat for
a beer. Got a couple of pint glasses. Good beer. It was the first time I've
eaten at Legal - I would definitely go again!
Tuesday, Feb 11th
Walked around the Inner
Harbor early in the morning, finished the conference, and came home. A
good trip. Baltimore is a city I wouldn't mind returning to.
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