Whistlestop Tours: Baltimore

John Wilkes Booth, a vegan restaurant, and a dolphin.

My wife and I had a little money left over and wanted to visit somewhere not too far away where we could spend a few days, we decided on Baltimore. The first downside occurred pretty much immediately, we arrived on a Monday, everything we wanted to see was closed until Wednesday or Thursday, a business choice I'm sure there's a reason for that I will never understand nonetheless.

First thing we did upon arriving was hit the most famous spot in town, the grave of John Wilkes Booth, the famous actor and nothing else. Interred in Green Mount Cemetery, his grave is both large and easy to miss. King Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson had bought a plot at this cemetery too, where her father is buried, but in 1965, Queen Elizabeth told them that would be wild as hell, Baltimore for a former King? Jesus Christ, no, they could be buried in Windsor like the rest of them. It's a pretty place, the graves are packed in there but it's peaceful. I'd recommend it for an afternoon stroll if the weather isn't too much; it was 35 degrees celsius when we visited, I felt closer to the being a resident than a visitor.

We had a lot of plans for this trip which either didn’t go ahead or were all done on our final day, between myself not feeling great the entire time to everything being closed, we had a very activity light visit. Despite this, we managed to get to both The Maryland Zoo and the National Aquarium, it strikes me that neither of these places include the great Baltimore name, burn.

I've been to a lot of zoos and aquariums in the US, were these two good? sure. Were they worth the price of admittance, probably not. We visited them both in the same day and had enough time left over to leave town three hours before our dinner plans in Gaithersburg.

The zoo had pretty basic animals, flamingos as standard, elephants of course, the giraffes were a surprise, I don't often see giraffes in zoos these days but other than that, nothing you couldn't see in most other zoos. They had two female brown bears, they were play fighting and having fun, it's nice to see animals enjoying their captivity, it's a lot to ask.

On the way out, I got a tub of dippin' dots, my first experience with this American Zoo Treat, they were okay, they turned into brown goop which I'm guessing isn’t the appeal. Nonetheless, it was hot and necessary.

Afterwards was the aquariums turn, it was expensive, way too expensive for what it was. It has a lot of floors and lot of fish but besides a few fancy sharks (which I'd say is the main appeal, shark-wise, this aquarium is on top) and a dolphin (in the saddest pool you'll see in your life) there isn't anything you haven't seen in every other aquarium. There's a submarine outside though, that's cool.

Besides the attractions, we visited a small amount of places for food and drinks. Sugarvale in Midtown has a nice atmosphere, outdoor seating is preferable as it's incredibly dark inside. The mixed drinks leave a lot to be desired but they have beer so it's still a vibe. For food, you won't find a better place than Golden West Cafe, a restaurant with a big vegan menu in Hampden. I've been a few times, once detouring from Delaware just for dinner here. It has a wide ranging menu and fully vegan desserts, coffees and cocktails.

Overall, I really like Baltimore. My first thought of it was the east coast Cleveland and although it has some shared attributes, a submarine for one, I like Baltimore a lot more. Baltimore is a town thriving in spite of local government and decades long corruption, red lining and gerrymandering. Baltimore is its people, you can't visit this town and not see the history, a city broken down by institutional racism and terrible governance yet still rising, still moving, still caring about their city, their Baltimore. I can't wait to go back.