October 15-24 Baltimore, Maryland
It was
raining when we arrived in Baltimore but the sun had appeared before we drove
away from the airport. The autumnal
foliage of the trees and bushes were in splendid golds and reds, the
temperature was cool, and the rain had left everything looking pristine. It was good to be back in Baltimore.
The Bottom Line looked
just as it had when we left in August.
The rain had left its exterior clean and nothing had been disturbed
inside except for the ongoing repair work in the galley. Glenn Petersen had finally been able to
repair the broken drain hose behind the dishwasher, the source of the water in
the compressor area ( discovered before we left the boat). He had considerable difficulty in dislodging
the machine from its place beneath the stove top. Apparently when installed by the previous
owner, the protective metal top had been removed in order to make it fit in the
small space. This had exposed the
rubber-like insulation on the top to the heat of the stove top which resulted
in the rubber melting and adhering to the bottom of the stove top. Glenn was shocked that anyone would install a
dishwasher in such a manner for it easily could have caused a fire. He assured us he could solve the problem and
within two days, he had everything back in place and the fire hazard was
corrected.
On the
following day, I took advantage of the cool weather and walked approximately
two miles to the grocery store. David
came in the car and we finished buying the few supplies needed. After a quick lunch on the boat, we took
advantage of the rental car to see more of Baltimore. Needing a destination, I suggested we seek
the home of Timberly and Craig Smith.
This was a serendipitous choice for we had a delightful afternoon
exploring the lovely suburban areas.
Timberly
and Craig, with their precious daughter Jocelyn, live in a wooded area of older
homes, probably of 1920’s vintage, mostly of Tudor style. Their home at 301 Paddington Lane was a white
painted brick two story with a red door.
The neighborhood was lovely and appeared to be a great place to live.
Only a
few blocks from our destination, we had seen an imposing yellow mansion sitting
atop a hill surrounded by an expansive lawn.
A sign on the gate indicated this was the Evergreen Museum. Thank goodness for Google. I quickly “goggled” the name on my phone and
learned it was a very special historic home and was open for tours. We were eager to see it and were just in time
to make the last tour at 3:00 PM.
Evergreen
is a three story Italianate-style home built in 1857 by the wealthy Garrett
family. Their money came from ownership
in the B & O Railroad. Several
generations of the family had lived there and each had made alterations to the
original structure but all had been careful to retain the finest architectural
and decorative elements of the house. We
were the only ones on the tour and our docent was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We had a wonderful tour and were amazed by
the incredible treasures that were shown us.
The many
rooms of Evergreen were filled with exquisite antique furniture, Tiffany lamps,
chandeliers, and glassware in abundance (it could rightly be called a museum
for Tiffany) with paintings by Raoul Dufy, Pablo Picasso, Amadeo Modigliani,
Maurice Utrillo, and Spanish artist Ignacio Zuloago. A magnificent library held a valuable
collection of incunabula (late 15th century editions), double
elephant folios of Audubon’s Birds of
America, four folios of Shakespeare’s works, and multiple early editions on
architecture, travel, and discovery. The
library is available to qualified scholars.
Leon Bakst, the renowned set and costume designer for Serge Diaghilev
and the Ballet Russe in Paris, a friend of the last family owners of the
mansion, John Garrett and Alice Warder Garrett, came to Evergreen to change the
gymnasium/schoolroom area into a magnificent theater. Decorated in colorful Russian peasant stencil
designs, the colorful walls and black floor complemented the exquisite small
stage area with its Bakst designed backdrop.
Another astonishing feature of this amazing house is the 23 karat gold
embellished bathroom. The fixtures, toilet,
bathtub, walls, and ceiling are covered in sheets of gold. It looks like something from an Arabian fairy
tale.
To our
dismay, we realized the following morning our large refrigerator in the galley
was warm. The freezer was working
properly but all the food had to be removed from the refrigerator area and
stored in the small freezer on the aft deck (fortunately empty). By turning it on and off at intervals, we
were able to keep the food cold but not frozen.
A repair person arrived the next morning and quickly determined a drain
hose had become clogged, ice had formed, and the defrost fan had stopped. It was repaired in an hour and we were
finally ready to leave Henderson Wharf for the Baltimore City Docks in the
Inner harbor.
It was
great to once again to be cruising, if only for the twenty minutes it took to
arrive at the City Docks. A huge naval
vessel from Brazil was docked horizontally across the main docking area and the
tour boats had been moved into places usually reserved for transits. Docking space was limited and we were given a
slip between two large tour boats, completely blocking our northern and
southern views of the city. We still had
visible the active harbor scene from the aft deck and the constantly evolving
panorama of the city from the bow but only occasionally were able to view the
spectacular night lights of downtown Baltimore.
On
Friday, we had a visit and lunch with good friend, Patsy Johnston and her
daughter Kim. They were on a weekend
holiday in Baltimore. Lunch was at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company located dockside at the Inner Harbor. The food was mediocre but we had a great time
talking with Patsy and Kim. That evening
our Fort Worth neighbors, Bill and Jocelyn Wuester came for a tour of the boat
and to transport us to Timberly and Craig’s home for dinner. They were on their annual trek from their
summer home on Bear Island, New Hampshire back to Texas and had made a long
stop in Baltimore to visit their daughter and her family.
On our
journey to Paddington Lane, Jocelyn took us through another lovely wooded area
with stately homes and winding streets bordered by pocket parks and ponds. The landscaping plan was by Frederick Law
Olmsted, the designer of Central Park in New York City and the integrity of the
plan had been carefully maintained by an active homeowners’ association. Timberly and Craig’s home was adjacent to the
area and they frequently take walks through it with their dogs.
It is
always immensely gratifying to see a person one has known as a child become a
responsible, intelligent, accomplished adult and a caring, loving parent. Timberly was first known to us as a ten year
old neighbor who quickly bonded with Suzanne and kept us constantly intrigued
with her fascination for turtles, lizards, bugs, dogs, and any number of small
creatures that she found, adopted, or bought.
She has imparted this same interest to her daughter and Jocelyn (J II)
demonstrates a similar love for animals.
Timberly
and Craig recently painted the interior of their home and their exquisite taste
is readily apparent. The Chinese red of
the living room is brilliantly accented with a beautiful gold fireplace
façade. The adjacent dining room and
kitchen area are in a soft, pale green with white wainscoting and trim. Upstairs they have three bedrooms and a newly
remodeling bath. To our amazement, they
showed us a spacious basement area holding an office area for Timberly, laundry
room, storage, bath, and bedroom area.
This serves as a wonderful guest room. All the rooms have been newly
painted. David was amazed that they did
the work themselves with such skill. Furnished in a lovely assortment of
antiques and family favorites with outstanding contemporary art items, their
home is warm, welcoming, and charming.
We
enjoyed a delicious dinner cooked by Timberly, served by J II, and cleared by
Craig. With their enormous white bulldog
with its long tail and their teensy black pug with its tiny curled tail, two
rats, and a lizard, they make a lovely family.
We had a delightful evening getting to know them better and visiting
with Bill and Jocelyn.
The
Federal Hill neighborhood is readily accessible from the marina and holds one
of my favorite small bookstores, numerous restaurants, eclectic shops, and
interesting people. It is within walking
distance of the Ravens and Orioles stadiums and is a popular gathering place
for fans before and after the game. We
were delighted to see this area cleaner and lovelier than on our previous
visits. Residence doors were decorated
with fall flowers and Halloween objects, sidewalks were neat, and many
buildings appeared to be newly painted.
This once disheveled area is now a very desirable place to live and
visit.
Our
plans to leave Baltimore and go to St. Michaels for a brief stay have been
changed. Circumstances with our friend
Don seem to becoming more serious and we feel we need to be near him in this
sad time. David is having considerable
difficulty walking for any distance due to problems with his left knee (not the
one broken in May). He is limited to
short strolls and cannot do many of the things he enjoys. We will return to Henderson Wharf and begin
the winterizing process before our departure on October 24. We have agreed it was a good decision to come
to Baltimore, reunite with The Bottom
Line, and adopt for a short time our favorite nautical lifestyle. We look forward to returning in the Spring.
