Takeaways:

• Eat crab!  Especially if you can get someone to make their own recipe for you.  Or just go to L.P. Steamers.  Try to sit at the rooftop picnic tables.  You will NOT regret this decision (*mouth starts watering*).
• Say yes to experiences, even when it’s giving your phone number to interesting strangers.  You never know where it might lead.
• When in the harbor, get on the water!  But if you are on a tour and your boat docks, don’t forget to tip your wonderful tour guides.  (For info on amounts to tip, visit here and scroll down to tour guides.)
• Pickle juice and vodka actually goes together.  However I do not suggest it in large quantities.
• My name is Johanna and I am the ultimate baseball good luck charm.

I was lucky to visit Baltimore (and check off Maryland) during layovers with work.  During my first layover I simply wandered around the Inner Harbor with a couple coworkers.  A girl on her way to work taught us about a free boat shuttle from one side of the harbor to the other (connects the Rusty Scupper area with Harbor East).  It was a good way to get a feel for the area and plan my next layover.  It was also a great way to see one of my favorite Baltimore residents, Mr. Trash Wheel, AKA Canton Water Wheel.  He is great for the environment and cracks me up with his twitter account.

Layover numero dos sent me to the Inner Harbor again where I just
happened to book a last minute tour on the SeaDog.  It’s fun and I ended up going again with a crew the following month and had an amazing time.  Going alone was a little less fun, HOWEVER, I highly suggest it because you might HAPPEN to have a very handsome boat captain who will befriend you, make you an assortment of sea food and give you a local’s tour of the harbor over the next month, eventually taking you on a trip to his hometown AND letting you bum a ride on a cross country road trip (see North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, New Mexico and Arizona – coming at a later date).

Post tour I met up with my also super handsome friend Michael David who I met years, not sure I want to mention how many, ago in college (go Tigers!).  He took me to Pickle’s Pub for vodka & pickle juice shots (you can also have whiskey with a pickle back, no I did not try that one) and the traditional Baltimore beer, National Bohemian
(Natty Boh) before we wandered to the game.  We had awesome seats (thank you M.D. 🙂 ) AND the Orioles won.  You’re welcome, Baltimore.  I mean, I feel like if you take Johanna, mix with a little bit of pickle juice, vodka and ballpark hot dogs, you have a good luck charm.  Unless of course you are Johanna . . . and then you will be sick for a couple weeks.

I visited Baltimore a couple more times the following month and found the city absolutely charming.  I learned a bit on my boat tours, including it is the location where the National Anthem was written.  I also visited the American Visionary Art Museum.  It’s small, but most artists on display are self taught and they have interesting, rotating exhibits.  The building and sculpture gardens are also beautiful and the top floor boasts a bar/restaurant with some delish choices to revive you after exhausting the exhibits and yourself.

I do plan to return and explore more of Baltimore and the rest of Maryland (I feel like this is the theme of my trip so far).  I know there is a lot I haven’t yet experienced but I think one of the things I enjoyed the most was the spirit of the city.  You can find a little bit of everything throughout Baltimore and I think I have touched just the tip of an iceberg this city (and state) that has so much more to offer.