We started up the new engine and slipped away from the
quiet of Rock Hall and headed out into the Bay. The engine purred and pushed us
over Sandy Point shoal in a route that cut an hour of our time. The fact
that the depths are greater than charted was shared by Hayden Cochran. Local
knowledge is a wonderful thing. The winds were out of the North, so the bay was
building some interesting waves that bounced us around a little as we headed
West to Baltimore. Once across the bay, the river was much calmer and made for
a pleasant cruise. Heavy industry and cargo terminals line the banks of the
Patapsco River and there was quite a bit of ship traffic. The traffic made the
AIS system fun because we could identify the ship and knew their destination,
direction, speed and size, although their were a couple of tugs that passed us
without showing up on screen, so you always need to keep a good lookout.
quiet of Rock Hall and headed out into the Bay. The engine purred and pushed us
over Sandy Point shoal in a route that cut an hour of our time. The fact
that the depths are greater than charted was shared by Hayden Cochran. Local
knowledge is a wonderful thing. The winds were out of the North, so the bay was
building some interesting waves that bounced us around a little as we headed
West to Baltimore. Once across the bay, the river was much calmer and made for
a pleasant cruise. Heavy industry and cargo terminals line the banks of the
Patapsco River and there was quite a bit of ship traffic. The traffic made the
AIS system fun because we could identify the ship and knew their destination,
direction, speed and size, although their were a couple of tugs that passed us
without showing up on screen, so you always need to keep a good lookout.
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a real contrast to sleepy
little Rock Hall. Beth found us a place to tie up between the cruise ships at
the City Pier which only charges $1/foot and is in the middle of everything.
The only disadvantage is the 10 minute walk to the bathrooms, but that is a
minor inconvenience. Since we can see the dinosaurs in the science museum from
the deck, that was the first place we explored. A family was leaving as we entered
and gave us tickets to the Norman Rockwell special exhibit. Highlights of his
paintings were recreated so you could stroll through the small town america of
Rockwell’s imagination. All the exhibits were interactive including “old
fashioned” dial telephones, Jeep Willys, and radio shows. The exhibit concluded
with all of his magazine covers and full sized paintings of his “Four Freedoms”
inspirational paintings from World War II. The rest of the museum was also a
big hit. We didn’t see everything, but Noah’s favorites were a Rube Goldberg
machine, a bed of nails, and a Nasa exhibit where kids could design and
construct their own mars rover robots. The only way we got him
out of the robot area was when they announced that the museum was closing. We
could see Intuition from the dinosaur gallery and it looks like we might be in
danger if the dinosaurs ever get hungry. We had dinner at the California Pizza
Kitchen overlooking the USS Constellation, one of the few remaining civil war
US Navy ships and we could keep an eye on our little cutter as well. We plan to
ride out the remnants of Ernesto here. You couldn’t ask for a place with more
things to do on a rainy day.
little Rock Hall. Beth found us a place to tie up between the cruise ships at
the City Pier which only charges $1/foot and is in the middle of everything.
The only disadvantage is the 10 minute walk to the bathrooms, but that is a
minor inconvenience. Since we can see the dinosaurs in the science museum from
the deck, that was the first place we explored. A family was leaving as we entered
and gave us tickets to the Norman Rockwell special exhibit. Highlights of his
paintings were recreated so you could stroll through the small town america of
Rockwell’s imagination. All the exhibits were interactive including “old
fashioned” dial telephones, Jeep Willys, and radio shows. The exhibit concluded
with all of his magazine covers and full sized paintings of his “Four Freedoms”
inspirational paintings from World War II. The rest of the museum was also a
big hit. We didn’t see everything, but Noah’s favorites were a Rube Goldberg
machine, a bed of nails, and a Nasa exhibit where kids could design and
construct their own mars rover robots. The only way we got him
out of the robot area was when they announced that the museum was closing. We
could see Intuition from the dinosaur gallery and it looks like we might be in
danger if the dinosaurs ever get hungry. We had dinner at the California Pizza
Kitchen overlooking the USS Constellation, one of the few remaining civil war
US Navy ships and we could keep an eye on our little cutter as well. We plan to
ride out the remnants of Ernesto here. You couldn’t ask for a place with more
things to do on a rainy day.