Non-Mercer Related: Baltimore, part 1

Mom and Pop traveled down to Baltimore this past weekend for some relaxation and exploration. We've both been to the city, but never together and never out of the Inner Harbor. Our first stop on Friday morning was the Canton neighborhood, a small area east of downtown. The main square is easy on the eyes and I imagine a real active area for nightlife (which we did not sample, unfortunately). We grabbed an iced coffee at Firehouse and strolled down to a very serene waterfront park. I'm not positive, but I think this part of town was named after all of the canning that went on here. Not so much anymore.






It was still too early to check into our hotel, so we drove north of downtown to 36th Street in the Hampden neighborhood. Recently voted as one of the best shopping streets in the city, Mom went to town perusing all of the items on offer. Kitsch, second hand, chocolate, auctions, high end brands...this street had it all. We had a tasty lunch at Dogwood, feasting on roasted garlic cloves with delicious olive oil, blue mac and cheese, farfalle pasta with sausage, and a refreshing glass of wine. Not bad.




We checked into our hotel located on the east end of the harbor and took a dip in the pool, tested out the gym, and roasted in the sauna. After relaxing a bit in the room, we walked over to the unbelievable Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Completed in 1992, this stadium became the blueprint for new ballparks all over the country; both major and minor. I've never seen a stadium so clean and welcoming. It's a shame that the faithful fans of this city haven't seen playoff baseball more than twice since the park opened (and none since 1997). The atmosphere surrounding the stadium was decent, too, especially for a team with the worst record in baseball.

We didn't stay for the entire game, but moved to a nearby bar/brewery to finish watching the Orioles beat the White Sox in extra innings.





It was a long day, so we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap in the hotel bar. Turns out it was free movie night at the hotel so we took a look to see what the movie was. Amazingly, it was Spongebob Squarepants, a movie Mercer has seen a thousand times.