Back in April, I was chosen along with a couple of other teachers to accompany our principal to a literacy workshop in Baltimore, Maryland. We left from school Tuesday afternoon. The workshop was two day and a half (beginning Wednesday morning and ending Friday afternoon). In order to make the most of my Spring Break Vacation, I had my return train ticket changed to a later date. Instead of leaving on Friday, I would be leaving on Monday. Below is a continuation of my time in Baltimore; it picks up on Friday the day the other teachers and our principal left Baltimore, but I stayed:
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Friday, April 18th.
Friday morning gave us one more workshop to attend. Although our reservations said that 11am was the check out time, we were told that we had until 12pm to check out. I was a bit worried about what to do with my luggage. I didn't feel like bringing my luggage to the hostel, only to have to return to the pier area. I was happy when I was told that I could leave my luggage at the hotel and pick it up later that day. While I was getting my luggage checked into the hotel holding area, The others immediately took a cab to the train station. Our principal wanted to try catching an earlier train. My first stop (baggage free) was at the National Aquarium.
The Baltimore National Aquarium entrance fee was $28. At first I was not impressed; the dolphin show was identical to the dolphin show in NYC. They showed the same moves and the same tricks. I was also not impressed with the beginning of the fish display. But later, I realized that the aquarium was actually nice. The Baltimore Aquarium is much bigger than the little NYC aquarium. The Baltimore aquarium was housed in two buildings with one being about 4 or 5 stories high.
Next stop was the Marina Museum. I toured a submarine. There were 3 other types of ships to see, but it was about 5PM (closing time). However, the ticket I had is good for the life of the museum. As long as I keep my ticket, I can return at another time to see the remaining ships(even years later).
Another trip to Barnes & Nobles in the PowerStation shopping center, a walk around the pier, then it was time for me to head to the hostel.
About 7PM, I picked up my luggage from the hotel. I was planning to walk to the hostel, but I was too tired, so I took a taxi. After getting my room and bedding, I went to a nearby restaurant. The music was blasting, and the air conditioning was directly over my head blowing directly on me. I thought it was such a waste to have the air conditioner on with the floor to ceiling windows in the front of the restaurant wide open.
My first night in the hostel was nice. Basically, the way a hostel works is that you are renting a bed for the night with the understanding that you will leave the next day before 10am and not return until 4pm. Different hostels have their own rules, but they are all basically the same. I was happy that they dropped the “Youth” from their name, now, they are just known as hostels. With the hostels, you can find sleeping arrangements in most of the main cities around the world. The rental fee is about $25~30 dollars per night plus taxes.
Saturday, April 19th
I started the day with a quick tour through the famous Cathedral across the street from the hostel.
I had breakfast at a tiny basement restaurant called "Cozy Corner". The place was empty. The owner/cook was an older Asian lady, who seemed a bit nervous when I first walked through the door, but once I ordered and paid, she became much nicer. For breakfast, I ordered a heart attack on plate (eggs, bacon, and toast with butter).
My plan was to go to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum [or (Wiki)] in the northern part of Baltimore. I walked about an hour through the poor area of Baltimore. It was a bit depressing to see so many gutted and abandon houses and apartments. I thought the museum was very interesting. I felt I got more out of the (much smaller, and less financially supported) wax museum than I did out of the bigger (and obviously better financed) black museum downtown.
Next stop was to ride the light rail back to downtown Baltimore. I then walked west to the B&O railroad museum. I didn't know how far the train museum was from the light rail, but I was in a walking mood, and did not want to wait for the bus. Usually buses here in NYC are extremely irregular in terms of their arrival times -- in Japan the buses were just as punctual as the trains...most of the time. Anyway, the walk which I thought would only be a few city blocks turned into about a 45 minute walk. I finally arrived at the museum, but I arrived with about 10 minutes before the museum was about to close. I didn't think it was worth the admission for 10 minutes, so I didn't go. This time I decided to wait for the bus. I took the bus back to the pier. I went to Baltimore's World Trade Center (27th floor) observation.
I was planning to eat in the mall, but it was too crowded, everyplace had a line of customers waiting to eat.
The attached photo at the beginning of this blog was taken from the Baltimore World Trade Center building (27th floor). The photos shows the (two building connected with a bridge) National Aquarium in the lower right edge of the pier. The Marriott Hotel in the upper edge of the pier was the hotel where I stayed with my colleagues.
Below is the same slide show from my "Baltimore, Part 1 entry, but I'm reposting it for those that have not see it yet.
To be continued...
Completion Date - Saturday, July 12, 2008 6:15PM
Post Date - Post Date - Wednesday, July 30, 2008 11:53AM
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