July 10, 2026 Finding things to do in Baltimore
The Sail 250 festivities left Baltimore and headed up to NYC for the 4th. We've been stewing here through day after day of 95-103 degree weather. Not doing much as the heat just doesn't lend itself to walking around the town exploring. Running 3 of our 4 A/C units on the boat pretty much non-stop. Just glad we're in a marina with reliable power.
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| We come up north to avoid the summer heat. Might as well stay in GA if it's gonna be like this!! |
Baltimore put on a pretty good fireworks display for the 4th. Unfortunately, weather interfered as we had a strong storm blow through late afternoon into the evening. Winds whipped up white caps out in the harbor, couple boats in the marina had bimini tops damaged, then some torrential rain. Same front that went through Washington DC and disrupted their activities. Finally passed and fireworks originally scheduled for 9PM were reset for 10. It was supposed to be a 1/2 hour show. Quite impressive but only lasted about 12 minutes. Seems like they maybe accelerated everything as it looked like just one long 12 minute finale with constant barrage of multiple blasts. We had a first rate viewing platform up on the flybridge.
We had another boater tell us about a museum we should visit called the American Visionary Arts Museum. They couldn't quite describe it but said it was different from anything they had been to before. Piqued our curiosity and seemed like inside an A/C'ed building on a 103 degree day would be a smart move. It's on the other side of the harbor over by Federal Hill so got a quick Lyft ride over. Their focus is self-taught artists - seemed like many picked up art while fighting through depression or traumatic issues. Lots of unique art and sculptures but nothing that you'd find in a typical art museum.
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| Exterior of the museum is covered in 3 large mirrored mosaics |
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| Atop the entrance to the museum - sort of tells you it won't be a normal experience |
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| 16' long model of Lusitania made entirely of toothpicks. Gap in the middle as artist only had room to build half at a time |
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| Close up was fascinating as the entire display is made of organic material such as the wheat stalks and assorted grains and seeds. |
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| This was a community art project for underprivileged local kids. Took an old Pontiac station wagon and covered it in glass bottles. |
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| I initially thought this was a tree root, but it was an above ground structure called "The Phone Booth". Years in the making created by methodically bending and twisting tree branches as it was growing. |
We learned there was a Baltimore Immigration Museum across the harbor over in the Locust Point area. Martha had always heard that her grandfather and his two brothers came to America through Baltimore so wanted to see if she could find any details despite having pretty limited additional information. Baltimore welcomed more German immigrants during its heyday than any other nationality. Plenty of Poles and other eastern Europeans came through too!! Museum is in the old German Immigrant House. A 3-story building built next to and by the local church. German immigrants could stay until they had a more permanent destination. These houses, which were supported by the local community, were pretty common for each ethnic group. Ran into an issue in her research as the immigration docks burned down in 1914 and pretty much put an end to direct migration here. She thinks her grandfather came to the US after 1914. SOooo.... more research to do.
Learned about the large Polish population that also came through and settled in Baltimore. Very heavy settlement in the area we're staying - Canton and Fells Point. Polish Immigration House in Canton is right on the main street as is the one in Fells Point. Many of the Polish women and children found work in the local food canning industry. Men did heavier work as blue-collar factory workers. Came across the Katyn Memorial during our walk in Fells Point. Honors numerous distinguished Polish warriors going back to Boleslaw Chrobry in 1000 who was the first crowned king of Poland. The Katyn Forest Massacre was a horrific story dating to 1940 when 22,000 Polish military officers, police officers, border guards and POW's were executed by the Soviet Secret Police under Joseph Stalin's order and buried in mass graves. For years the Soviets tried to blame it on Nazi Germany before finally admitting the truth. The 3 Polish officers at the base represent the victims of the massacre. The female figure on the right side is Lt. Jawidga Lewandowska, a Polish Air Force Pilot. She is the only known female to have met the same fate as the other officers.
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| The Katyn Memorial in Fells Point |
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| Martha kept telling me to lean back further. I had to remind her I didn't actually have a rope to grab. |
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| No mistaking what's to be had at B'more Licks. 100+ flavors of ice cream!! |
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