One of the things we knew before starting our month stay in Sharpsburg was that there was going to be plenty to see and do here. What we underestimated was just how much. Many Civil War historic sites, the Pennsylvania Amish Country (Lancaster County) and places like Washington and Baltimore are easily reachable for day trips. We try to mix in a few outings with making sure that we leave plenty of time to relax and enjoy our time here along the Potomac River. After a sedate Friday that consisted of a hike along the towpath canal (there will be a blog about the towpath soon), Beth sitting by the river while I fished, and visiting what has become our favorite winery, Saturday was adventure day.
We headed out around 9:00 AM, completely unsure of when we would be getting back to the Lock Keepers Cottage. We left with a change of clothes, toothbrushes, etc. which gave us a couple of options, either to return late in the evening or stay overnight and return Sunday. You'll have to read on to learn which option we took and what was the deciding factor.
Our first destination was the city that's known as "America's Sailing Capital" and the "Sailing Capital of the World", Annapolis, Maryland. In addition to the accolades related to sailing, Annapolis is the home to the U.S. Naval Academy, which seems to keep with the nautical theme.
It was an hour and a half to drive from Sharpsburg to Annapolis. When we arrived it was overcast with a little bit of a drizzle and a very comfortable temperature in the low 70's...........it felt great! In spite of the drizzle, the historic downtown was bustling with what seemed to be a mix of locals and tourists. There were several "pay to park" options along the way, but we're cheap so we drove on, looking for street parking that was either cheaper or free. We crossed the Spa Creek Bridge which took us into the Eastport section of the city. We quickly found a free place to park on a side street and were pleasantly surprised to learn that it was actually less than a block from where I had scoped out for us to have lunch.
Lunch was still a few hours away, which gave us plenty of time to make the short walk back across the Spa Creek Bridge and along Annapolis's Main Street and the surrounding area. Main Street was a nice blend of mostly local shops and restaurants with a few national chains that have made their way into the mix. Thankfully, and I'm sure due to strict local ordinances, the historic look and feel has been well preserved.
At the far end (from where we parked) of Main Street is the Maryland State Capital. It's surprisingly small in stature, but with a big history. It has the distinction of being the oldest state capital in continuous use and is the only state capital to have ever served as the nation's capital. George Washington appeared here before the Continental Congress to resign as Commander in Chief and the Treaty of Paris was signed here, which marked the end of the Revolutionary War. The very impressive looking Governor's Mansion is just across the street, making the commute to work less than a minute, which I assume also makes sneaking away for an afternoon nap quite easy.
Just a few blocks off Main Street and running parallel to the historic district is the U.S. Naval Academy. The school opened on ten acres in 1845 as the Naval School at Fort Severn in Annapolis. In 1850 it became the U.S. Naval Academy. Today the campus is 338 acres in size with over 4,400 midshipmen and 600 faculty members. The campus has been closed to the public due to covid, but has reopened recently. Entrance to the campus is through the visitors center which is near the city dock end of the campus. There is no entrance fee and it is my understanding that you can explore the grounds on your own or take a guided tour (photo ID is required for adults).
After roaming around and enjoying the historic district it was time for lunch. We headed back across the Spa Creek Bridge and made sure we hadn't messed up and parked in a "no parking zone". Being quite pleased that the Silver Bullet was still there and there was no ticket on the window we headed for The Boatyard Bar and Grill.
The Boatyard is top rated on trip advisor for Annapolis and has made it's mark serving up its Maryland "All Killer-No Filler crab cake". When we arrived we were told that the wait time would be around forty minutes. We figured a forty minute investment in our time was a small price to pay for something with such an outstanding reputation. We were really pleased when the forty minute wait was actually less than 15 minutes. Soon we were nibbling on an appetizer of crab and spinach dip, which was followed by an excellent crab sandwich and salad which we split.
With full bellies and a desire to revisit it sometime down the line, we said goodbye to Annapolis and made the short thirty minute drive to Baltimore. We had visited Baltimore years back when the kids were still young. That visit was one of our "baseball trips" that took us to games in Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Baseball was on the agenda for the day, but we had a few hours to explore the Inner Harbor area before the game.
The Inner Harbor is the tourist hub of the city. It features the National Aquarium, Port Discovery Children's Museum and a number of other attractions, as well as plenty of places to shop and dine. We spent several hours wandering around and of course stopping occasionally for one of our favorite pastimes, bench sitting. Like many large cities, Baltimore has faced its fair share of challenges, but it did seem to us that it was working hard to make a come back. The Inner Harbor area felt safe and was quite busy with people of all ages and walks of life enjoying a lazy summer, Saturday afternoon.
We finished up our time in Baltimore watching our favorite baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Baltimore Orioles. Being somewhat of a baseball junkie, I'm proud to say that I've seen games in the home ballpark of twenty eight of the thirty major league teams. I'm also happy to let you know that Beth has been along for most of these experiences. While she's not as enthusiastic as me about checking them off the list, she enjoys them as well. Of all the parks, Orioles Park at Camden Yards is one of the best. It's well designed with wide concourses, interesting features, plenty of food options, friendly and very loyal fans. This year is not going to go down as one of the Orioles best years, but there was still a nice crowd cheering on the home team. Thankfully, there cheers weren't enough and the Rays spanked them 12-3.
If you're a baseball fan and haven't been to Camden Yards put it on your list of parks to visit........I think you'll love it!
The game started late due to an Orioles Hall of Fame induction ceremony so we ended up leaving before the game was over. We decided not to spend the night in Baltimore and drive on back to the Lock Keepers Cottage, but we still had one thing to check off the list............Krumpe's Do-Nuts!. Unbeknownst to us until the other day, Krumpe's is a legendary do-nut shop in Hagerstown that has been serving up little morsels of goodness in these parts for over 80 years. Beth learned about Krumpe's from a lady waiting in line at another local eatery earlier in the week (there will be a blog on food and wine coming soon). While they were admiring the sweets in this place the lady told her that while they were good here, there was a place called Krumpe's that were even better. Her comment received an "amen" from the lady behind them and soon a visit to Krumpe's was on our "to do" list.
Krumpe's is open seven days a week, but their hours are a little unique. They are only open from 7:00 PM-11:00 PM. We strategically timed leaving the ballgame in Baltimore to make it to Krumpe's before their 11:00 closing. We made it with twenty minutes to spare. Was it worth leaving the game early to go to Krumpe's............yes it was! A sweet ending to a sweet day.
