June 20-22                                    Baltimore, Maryland

After a busy ten days in Fort Worth with family and friends, we returned early to Baltimore and the boat.  The weather was delightfully cool and pleasant. To our dismay, we had a warm refrigerator in the galley.  This had happened several times in the past and we had learned that turning off the power for 24 hours usually solved the problem.  The fan for the motor had probably iced.  Fortunately, the freezer section was working well so we did not have a gross, stinking mess.  Everything in the freezer was placed in our chest freezer on the aft deck and the few items in the refrigerator were discarded.

The marina staff insisted on moving us to a location where we had adequate power supply to run our AC.  We were docked in a space that provided a great view of the Penobscot River with the huge naval vessels on one side and the Inner Harbor on the other.  Despite our limited supplies, we had a delightful dinner on the aft deck and enjoyed the beautiful nautical scene.

Thursday evening we walked to the picturesque center of Fells Point.  We were amazed the massive derelict Customs Building was being remodeled.  This great architectural triumph had been an eyesore for years with broken windows, graffiti, and peeling paint.  It has been cleaned, windows have been replaced, and an enormous addition is being constructed.  It will be a boutique hotel and a wonderful addition to this historical area.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Mare Nostrum, a Mediterranean restaurant.  I had a delicious grilled bronzino (a fish imported from Europe and one I always order when available) and David enjoyed grilled octopus.

The refrigerator began working and we were ready to shop for food.  We acquired a rental car on Friday and David made a trip to the nearby Harris-Teeter, one of his favorite places to shop.  I chose to stay onboard and allow him the luxury of shopping at a leisurely pace.  Thus, both of us were happy!  The predicted heat wave made a significant change in the weather and aft deck dining was no longer preferable.