4th of may 2022
Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. So also in this case. Almost 1 week hotel hopping, that was not planned! The ship's delays were driving me insane. When the ship arrived just before the weekend, it was already clear to me that we wouldn't get the bus until next week, because the paperwork (especially customs clearance) only takes place on weekdays. But maybe just rewind ⏪. I ended the last blog post with our night at the "Worst" Western Hotel. The next morning I tried to put myself in a good mood with a beautiful sunrise.
He succeeded at least halfway. Since Lennox was really brave the day before, we wanted to calm him down with a nice walk with the dogs. So I looked for a doggy park nearby; there was a small fenced area where the dogs were allowed to run and romp freely. However, Lennox was not particularly pleased with the artificial turf and the rather hyperactive dogs. I found that pretty odd too, especially since the doggy park was in St. Patterson Park, which was nice to walk around and pee and poop on real grass (from a dog's point of view, of course). That's what we did... I mean, of course, going for a walk.
After that we wanted to go to a mall, also to pass the time. The search turned out to be a bit difficult, after we drove to the first supposed mall in the city and only looked at it from the outside, we decided to continue driving because the parking possibilities in the middle of the city were quite difficult. We actually saw the second mall from the inside, but felt like we only spent 5 minutes there. No usable stores and rather shady characters in this mini mall. We then ended the mall search for the day and decided to drive to the port and see where we had to go when the carrier "released" the bus. Along the way we experienced a sightseeing tour of the worst parts of Baltimore. Constant sirens, rows of burned down, half collapsed and boarded up buildings or what was left of them. Where did we get to here? First this wrecked airport in Washington and then this filthy and run-down Baltimore. We wanted to get out of town, but we were missing something essential: Skoolie! At this point we were still hoping to get the bus before the weekend.
After the hotel disaster of the day before, I needed a contrast program. So I booked a barrier-free room for the next 2 nights in a 4-star hotel right at the port, appropriately it was called Canopy (in German parachute). When we checked in there in the afternoon I was just happy about this chic, clean and very new building. When I got the key card for the 12th floor, I thought there might be a nice view waiting for us. But when I opened the door I was speechless for a moment and a little milder that Baltimore still has something nice to offer. The view was gigantic.
Apart from a small trip to the hotel restaurant in the evening, we didn't leave the room that day. The next morning, a long shower was the order of the day in the bathroom, which is barrier-free but still in need of improvement. Since we hadn't booked breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to a café (or something similar) that was rated quite well on the internet. I'm not a big breakfast eater and if I were, I'd be very frustrated, because you won't find rolls, croissants or muesli here. So I see it more as brunch and I'm not surprised at the bacon, sausages, waffles and other calorie bombs.
Our brunch was followed by a trip to Fort McHenry National Monument, a historic bastion fortress. Here, in 1814, the US forces successfully repelled an attack by the British Navy. To be honest, that wasn't the reason we went there. I had read that the Annual Pass "America the beautiful" can be purchased there; this is valid for one year and for 1 vehicle or 2 people and allows free entry to most national parks in America. For about $85 a good deal. On this occasion, of course, we also walked or rolled through the park of Fort McHenry and picked up our history reading for the day. In between we always checked if there was anything new in terms of "Skoolie Arrival"... unfortunately in vain. He was so close but so far away.
So we continued through the port area in Baltimore and at least enjoyed the sight of a strange Skoolie: The CannaBus
And let the day end with a last breathtaking view of the harbor basin from the hotel room.
