"Avenge the Patriotic Gore that Flecked the Streets of Baltimore..."

Before I begin, please take a moment to acquaint yourself with Maryland's state song, "Maryland, My Maryland." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJcHNCZNj24. Yes, it is the same tune as "O, Christmas Tree."

I was super excited to write this blog because there is SO much to share. Sadly, I'm still super tired, so we'll see how it goes. I might make it a two parter. Originally, I was planning on heading out on Sunday night, but one of my travel companions was coming home from
 Disney World and was not arriving until midnight. Instead, we got off to a fairly early start on Monday morning; I headed out about eight thirty, picked up my companions: the lovely Miss Faith and the talented Mr. Duke. We stopped to fill the tank and get some coffee for the driver, yours truly, and it was on to Baltimore! I cleverly waited until we were out of Philadelphia before revealing this was my first major road trip as a driver. I conquered bridges and tunnels and parking decks like a pro though. I was quite proud of myself. I couldn't have done it without Frank though.

Frank is my GPS and has quite the story behind his name. A while back, I was on the phone with customer support at Kodak and was at my wit's end being transferred from foreign line to foreign line. I had resolved to just flip out to whoever picked up the phone next, when it was answered by a cheery "G'day! My noime is Frank, 'ow can I be of service?" And the Frank, the wonderful, wonderful Australian man saved my sanity and fixed all my problems. So, when I received my GPS for Christmas, I fully intended on giving it an Australian accent and naming it in Frank's honor. However, one voice, a female American, said entire street names and I decided it would be easier to get used to using a GPS with that feature and, well, never got around to changing it. So Frank talks like an American woman. Anyway, aside from taking us to the ghetto of Baltimore, briefly, Frank guided us and avoided tolls for our entire journey.

We actually did pretty good with the drive down. We didn't hit any real traffic, but we were going to be arriving when New Jersey Smith was class, so we decided to go straight to the National Aquarium. Now, when I was in second grade, Sister 2 (you must have known there was another sister) took a field trip to the National Aquarium. She brought me back a stuffed puffin chick which I still have. From the second she placed that stuffed puffin in my hands, I have wanted to go to that aquarium. Before I became obsessed with history, I was, like many children, obsessed with animals. I even went through a phase where I wanted to work in an aquarium. I was super, super stoked.

We arrived with a bit of a dilemma though...we had decided to go to Baltimore this week because Faith and Duke were on Spring Break. As it turns out, so was the entire east coast...and 80% of the east coast decided to go to the National Aquarium on Monday afternoon. The place was absolutely mobbed. It was also under renovation and uncomfortably warm. We also had limited time as New Jersey Smith was going to be getting out of class in about two hours. We decided to forego the IMAX show and the aquarium had welcomed a new dolphin calf, so there was no dolphin show. I was not terribly disappointed to miss these, as I know someday Teddy and I will both go to Baltimore to the aquarium and I'll see them with him.

On the plus side, we did get to see some pretty cool things while we were there and the weather was beautiful outside. We also got in a fair bit of leg-stretching which was super after being cramped in the car for three hours. We did hit the three o'clock slump, so we breaked for lunch at the cafe and recharged.

Faith and Duke were big fans of the large tank with the rays. (L) On a less crowded day, I imagine it is very relaxing to watch the rays moving through the water. I have always been a fan of sting rays, sharks, eels, the so-called dangerous animals. My favorite exhibit was the jellies though. I thought I caught a pretty cool photo of Faith watching them (Below).  

I'm a little nervous how these photos will look once I publish this blog...oh, technology. We meet again on the battlefield. I'll never understand why we cannot get along.

By the time New Jersey Smith was out of class, we had already hit the gift shop...which was lovely, but had an out of this world line, so as much as I threatened Teddy with a "Stud Puffin" T-shirt, I could not follow through with these threats. I'm sure he is a disappointed. I also could not get him the "Magic" Shark boxers. I can hear his sigh of disappointment from here.

New Jersey Smith lives approximately twenty minutes from the Inner Harbor in a nice suburbia apartment near the Johns Hopkins campus. After a happy reunion we took a little while to crash and catch up. New Jersey Smith is one of my bestest, best friends, but even bestest, best friends have flaws. New Jersey Smith's flaw is being Mama to two cats. I don't know if cats need aliases or not, but for fun, I will use them. She recently acquired a kitten named Mr. Tibbles. Mr. Tibbles is a very nice cat, with a long full tail and an orange-ish tabby color. Duke and I had a grand time treating him like a dog and growing mildly frustrated when he did not reciprocate. More importantly, cats, ought to know their lot in life. They are meant to be the pets of evil villains. All cats should enjoy being stroked by someone laughing manically who calls the cat Missssssssssssssster Tibbles. Mr. Tibbles was very much aware and in tune with being the pet of an evil mastermind.

New Jersey Smith has another cat named Otto. He hates me and I hate him. Mr. Tibbles is a better cat than Otto. I come into the apartment and Otto makes a beeline for under the bed. He also has a weird tail which New Jersey Smith says is a birth defect. I say he's an alien masquerading as a cat.

I will continue these adventures tomorrow...I promise more pictures and more history too!