Took a Little Walk

I took a little walk around Baltimore Inner Harbor on Saturday. I ended up walking so far that I had to take the water taxi back. Not only the water taxi, but I had to take two of them. One only went so far and then I had to transfer at Fells Point to the next one.

I love to walk in unknown places (unknown to me).But before I took off on my jaunt, I sat down at Phillips Seafood Buffet for a little taste of the ocean. Now, if you haven't been to Phillips you are missing a culinary treat. All you can eat crab legs, shrimp, crayfish, crab cakes, mussels, etc., etc. But be prepared because the bill (along with tip) came to about $38; if I remember right. That is with the luscious strawberry and whipped cream cake and a small pitcher of diet cola. After that, I needed the walk!

Besides the tugboats, military ships, and cargo ships along the many piers, I love the seashore architecture. As in many big cities, many of the warehouses and ports have been reborn as upscale restaurants and residences. I was jealous of the inhabitants. If all I had to do was sit on one of the many balconies all day, I'd gaze at the passing sailboats, ferries, and the many ships in port as they passed me by and I would dream of the far away places they might visit while I sip my Diet Coke.

In Fells Point, there was a fish market with fresh catch on ice that reminded me of the many fish markets I visited in Korea, Mexico, and Japan. Funny how less intriguing it was being in the US. But I still enjoyed it.

The cobblestone streets and the historic register homes in Fells Point were probably the biggest treat. As we found in the Mexican ports we visited on our cruises, when I wandered more than a block into Fells Point, I got extremely uncomfortable. No longer were the inhabitants the young and ambitious residents of the waterfront condos. Instead, the working class, kitchen help, maids, mechanics, and others scurried in and out of broken down store front markets and local drinking establishments looking for dinner and a little something to forget the harshness of their meager lives.

At the end of the day, I caught the evening light rail train back to the BWI airport light rail stop and ultimately my hotel room bed. Exhausted, I spent the night traveling to far away places on those very same ships I saw on my stroll through the harbor.