June 28-July 7                              Baltimore, Maryland

We wanted to spend some time in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore.  Dockage at the city marina is on a first come basis with a 7 day limit.  We decided to go in and stay through the Fourth of July before returning to Henderson’s Wharf in the Fells Point area.  We would have a great view of the fireworks display on the Fourth and would be near historic Federal Hill with its market, restaurants, and one of my favorite book stores.

The water was calm as we made our three hour journey to Baltimore, a place we have been often since buying The Bottom Line. We were assigned a great dock position with views of the harbor and the busy downtown scene.  Unfortunately, the next day a huge working barge with an enormous crane came in front of us and ruined our downtown view.  After two days, workers departed and left the barge.  We were not pleased.

On a walking tour of Federal Hill, we discovered the newly opened Blue Moon Café, whose parent restaurant in Fells Point has been a favorite of diners for twenty years. Serving only breakfasts, they are renowned for their Captain Crunch French Toast.  The new place has the same quirky décor, tattooed-pierced waitstaff, excellent service, and fantastic food.  With more space, the wait time was far less than the hour plus that is usually necessary at the original café.  

Timberly and Craig Smith joined us on the Fourth.  The weather was rainy but they braved the torrents to come to the Inner Harbor for dinner and the fireworks show.  We were delighted they brought two bottles of wine (our supply had diminished and efforts failed to find wine near the boat).  Jocelyn, their twelve year old daughter and an absolute charmer, was visiting grandparents, Bill and Jocelyn Wuester, in New Hampshire.  David cooked pork ribs and they were the best ever!  After gluttonous dining, we watched a great fireworks display from our aft deck.  The rain, which had been steady earlier, cleared and the display was conducted as planned.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a leisurely visit with two of our favorite people before they departed (once again in rain).  It was a wonderful holiday for us!

We moved to Henderson’s Wharf marina before noon on July 5 and were warmly greeted by the staff.  It felt like a homecoming!  Unfortunately, the weather turned very hot and humid.  The electrical power at our slip seemed to be inadequate for our demands so we struggled for several hours before turning on our generator.  DUH!  Problem solved for the short term. 

Cleaning and packing ensued for our return trip to Texas.  We left the dock at 4:30 AM in heat and excessive humidity.  Hoping this will not meet us when we return.