NATIONAL AQUARIUM- BALTIMORE
Those of you that have been following me the past few months know that I already went to an aquarium in DC. Well, this aquarium is the "sister" to that small, ancient location. Five levels of exotic aquatic creatures (and more!) are easily visible on Baltimore's Harbor and have been calling to me ever since my first visit to the city in 2002. I went on a thankfully sunny Sunday in October (hey- I told you I was behind on my entries!) with a good friend of mine and her two sons, ages 1 and 3. As someone without kids, I had an interesting time learning to manage toddlers but it was a great time overall.
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| Dolphin Show |
I'll go ahead and say the downsides to my visit first. Frankly, the NAB is EXPENSIVE. Basic adult admission is $24.95 (which is coincidentally about the price I paid to enter an entire amusement park back home in Pittsburgh- but I digress). You can add on the dolphin show for $3 more ($27.95) and a 4D movie on top of that for another $2 ($29.95). In other words, $30 to go in and visit. Because the boys were too young to sit through the 4D movies (we'd missed the last Dora the Explorer showing of the day), we opted to only add on the dolphin show (from what the employees told us, 4D movies are 3D movies where the fourth "D" involves vibrating and moving seats, and water being squirted on you). Thankfully, the ticket agent didn't charge the $19.95 for my friend's 3 year old that she should have- only kids 2 and younger get in for free. Once inside, we paid another $2 to use a locker for our stuff (but a really neat kid-holding backpack thingy was free to use). Already spent more money than I had anticipated and I had yet to see anything! According to the website, there are days/times that are cheaper to enter- I would suggest any grown up sans kids interested in going to utilize those specials.
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| Jelly Fish |
Once inside and actually on the move though, you can see the money they receive is put to good use. Everything looked new- not one sign looked worn or dated. The first stop we made was an employee holding some sort of lizard out for small kids to see and learn about in an open space I'm guessing they use for children's activities. Unfortunately, there was no touching allowed due to salmonella risks (which was really disappointing to me but I understood). Then there was a giant open pool with a humongous tortoise splashing around with sting rays (they were EVERYWHERE) and other random giant fish. There were also some shark tanks overlooking this pool. We went up moving ramps to each floor and saw tanks of all sizes holding a variety of creatures. Surprisingly, there were more than just water creatures on display- a room filled with puffins stands out to me as we tried our best to convince the 3 year old that they weren't penguins. The fifth floor is actually VERY warm- I'm assuming to resemble a rain forest- and is allegedly filled with all sorts of tropical birds, though we only say two pink birds and an old turtle in our time there. The jellyfish have their own separate area (ironically near the cafeteria) in sci-fi looking tubes, panels, and domes that allow you to marvel at how they move around.
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| My friend's son watching the dolphins in their tank |
The dolphin show was kind of neat. Seven or so dolphins did very basic tricks- but nothing on a Sea World level even though there is a splash- zone and you DO get wet if you sit in said splash zone. We learned how to tell dolphin fins apart, and a "random" guest from the audience got to come up and touch the dolphins. Two different women were talking about dolphin information, but between the room echoes distorting the sound and keeping the kids occupied and focused, I have no idea what either of them were talking about.
Overall, a wonderful place. I would certainly return- during a money saving time period- and would love to experience these 4D movies for myself.
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| USS Constellation |
HISTORIC SHIPS IN BALTIMORE (BALTIMORE MARITIME MUSEUM)
It was pretty chilly on the November day I decided to travel to Baltimore from DC and visit the Historic Ships. As the self-proclaimed Queen of Public Transportation, I rode the Metro from my home to Union Station in DC and took the MARC train for $7 to Baltimore Penn Station. From there, I took the free Charm City Circulator down to the Harbor (which is where the Aquarium is also, but when I went with my friend we drove). The entire process took me probably an hour and a half from the Metro station nearest my house and the ticket booth where I purchased my $18 ticket to tour all four ships.
The four ships represent military life at sea from the mid 1800s up through the 1980s. There is also a free lighthouse (the Seven foot Knoll Lighthouse) that has stood in place for more than 130 years- but I didn't get a chance to go in there. I had a friend (who suggested I name this entry Maryland Part II - Holy Ship!!) who was coming to meet me, and I didn't want to totally bore him to death with my exploration of all four ships (though he did end up joining me for the last two).
I think I pretty much entered them in historical order, starting with the USS Constellation- a wooden ship that was used to thwart illegal slave trading in her early years (successfully stopping at least three ships and freeing the African aboard), carried famine relief to Ireland in the years before World War I, and also served as a practice ship for the US Navy. I was amazed at how large the ship was on the inside- from the outside looking in it seems as if everyone would be packed into one tiny space, but I found (after carefully climbing and descending the very steep ladder like stairs) three levels of space used for various purposes, including sleeping quarters for all ranks of men, storage areas, cannons and weapons, etc. A lot of the spaces were under renovation, but there were signs in place explaining what was going on and what the object or area was used for.
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| View of the Chesapeake, the Torsk, and the Aquarium |
From there I went to the LV116 Chesapeake, which was a lighthouse ship that was later used by the US Coast Guard. This was probably the least exciting of the ships (to me) but it prepped me for the ladders and small entry ways I would expect on the next ship I would board. The main highlight aboard was a small exhibit about dogs that served on the ships and how they boosted morale among the crew.
After that I went into the USS Torsk, a World War II submarine that boasts over 10,000 dives and was the last US Navy vessel to sink an enemy ship in that conflict. The deck of the Torsk is kind of rickety looking, but my friend (who joined me by this point) reminded me that in general you wouldn't be walking on top of the ship anyway, seeing as it was designed to be underwater. Again lots of steep stair-ladders, and this time small doorways to squeeze our bodies through as well. This ship was really interesting, getting to walk past torpedoes, radar rooms, and a mini-cafeteria that had a television playing some really great classical music with movie clips. The main downside- other than being slightly too tall and too pudgy to move around freely without having to think about the angle I would approach doors- is that throughout the ship there were touches of things obviously not from that time period (like plastic Bic pens that looked fresh from Office Depot) that were a bit distracting.
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| USS Torsk |
Finally we went to the USCG Taney, the last ship floating that fought in Pearl Harbor. The ship also was a part of the search for Amelia Earhart, fought in the Vietnam War, and was a part of the largest marijuana bust in US history- 160 tons. Certainly the largest of the ships, the Taney was the easiest to move around, and had an entire room dedicated to the attack on Pearl Harbor, with a video playing of interviews of survivors of the events.
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| USCG Taney |
Now, I am sure everyone is wondering "Terri, why haven't you blogged about Maryland crab?" Well, I'm the genius that decided to visit Maryland during the off season for crab. I'll have to come back, maybe on a food centered entry, when crabs are plentiful and don't cost two arms and a third of your soul to get a decent sized cake. As a rule, I don't eat crab legs or pick through crustacean bodies because they look like giant bugs to me- but I'll eat crab cakes and soups and dips and just about anything made with the actual meat. Just an FYI for when I head to Maine and am faced with lobsters!
I also was disappointed that the public isn't allowed to tour the Domino sugar factory located in the city. I'm kind of developing a "thing" of touring factories after visiting Bacardi in Puerto Rico. I'm already plotting on Hershey in Pennsylvania, and Jack Daniels in Tennessee. My friend told me that the dot of the "I" in the glowing sign is over 6 feet tall, and that workers who clean it have to wear special suits to avoid sticking to the lettering because of the sugary fumes that emit from the building. Would have been nice to tour for myself and hear this from an official rep- but alas, that wasn't possible.
With that, I've completed my journey into Maryland! Please feel free to visit (and like!) my Facebook page, leave your comments below, or Tweet me with your thoughts and ideas.
Thanks for reading!
