American World Traveler Winter 2018-19 Issue

your plate was swimming yesterday’, and
then when we sampled the Salt Cod
Croquettes and the Crispy Oysters, we
knew exactly what Jake was talking about.
But backtracking just a bit, in our exploration
of Baltimore’s neighborhoods earlier
in the day, we had lunch in the Inner
Harbor at the Loch Bar in the Four Seasons
Hotel, where appetizers included fresh
shrimp, raw oysters, crab dip and tuna
poke, along with a nice RAR Bucktown
Brown Ale (there are 90 craft breweries in
Maryland, with Guinness being one of the
newest additions). And then my
Chesapeake Club sandwich arrived, full of
shrimp salad, crab cake, fried oyster, roasted
garlic, aioli, tomato, smoked bacon and
gruyere cheese. Sooo good!
Al Hutchinson, the President and CEO of
Visit Baltimore explained that visitors “want
to feel the vibe and fabric” of the destination
they are exploring and Baltimore’s
neighborhoods are perfect for this. “They
don’t want a cookie cutter experience. They
want to venture out”, and he noted that
there are programs for Baltimore neighborhood
residents to encourage them to
participate in the tourism experience. To
test this out, we visited a few key attractions.
The American Visionary Art Museum is
housed in a red brick building emblazoned
with the colorful words “O say can you
see”. Founder and Director Rebecca
Hoffberger explained how the Museum,
designated by Congress as the national
museum for self-taught art, “is addicted to
visionary thought through the path of intuition”.
She went on to say that ‘the exhibitions
either explain the glorious side of
human beings, or the worst. We throw
down a gauntlet to a theme and bring in
world experts”. Hoffberger, in her honest,
animated style said “we use the museum to
talk with influential people” and over the
years these have included Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, Edward Norton, David
Byrne, David Bowie, Robin Williams,
Tommy Lee Jones and many others.
The Permanent Exhibit in the Museum
includes Hobart Brown-inspired huge tricycle
sculptures of the Pink dog Fifi and Babe,
Paul Bunyan’s Blue Ox, Uri Geller’s 1976
Black Cadillac Fleetwood encrusted with
5000 bent spoons, Ron Nicolini’s Giant Bra
Ball made with 18,000 bras, and many
other amusing and thought-provoking
works of art.
While some might comment on the ‘rye’
sense of humor in many of the Museum’s
exhibits, others might just head over to the
Sagamore Spirit Distillery to learn about
Maryland Rye first hand! It started in the
1700’s when Rye was planted in tobacco
fields to re-generate the soil and now, with
a resurgence of interest in cocktails,
Maryland Rye, with hints of caramel, honey,
cinnamon and clove, has become a top
seller in the State and beyond.
Outside the Distillery, we boarded a Water
Taxi appropriately named Billie’s Voice.
The Jazz singer Billie Holiday, while born in
Philadelphia, spent a great deal of time in
Baltimore and the city has pretty well
adopted “Lady Day” as their own. In her
early years, Holiday lived in Fell’s Point,
where our taxi dropped us off, after winging
by historic Fort McHenry.
Fell’s Point brought us face to face with history.
Founded in 1726 by William Fell the
community became an important shipbuilding
center during the War of 1812.
Over the years, waves of immigrants made
their mark in the area and today it showcases
an artistic, funky, relaxed ambiance
with bars, restaurants, fashion and record
stores, mingled amongst 18th and 19th
century row houses.
One of the more notable establishments is
The Horse You Came In On Saloon where
a sign strictly advises “No Service will be
provided to anyone on a horse”. Another
sign notes that this was the poet, Edgar
Allan Poe’s last stop before we was found
in an alleyway on October 3, 1849. He
was taken to a nearby medical college
where he died four days later. There’s no
actual proof that this was “Poe’s Last Stop”
but it adds not only to the mythology,
romance and mystique of the area but also
to the evening ‘ghost’ tours.
In Maryland, the rule of thumb seems to be
‘stay in Baltimore and then hub out to the
other areas’. And there are many. We
explored the Civil War battlefield at
Antietam that relegated September 17,
1862 as the bloodiest day in American history
with 22,717 dead, wounded or missing.
Then we checked out Boonsboro,
founded by one of Daniel Boone’s cousins,
and home to bestselling author Nora
Roberts (a.k.a J.D. Robb). Lunch consisted
of an amazing pizza at Vesta Pizzeria
(owned by Roberts’ son) with a dessert of
delicious, rich ice cream at South Mountain
Creamery, served at a counter right next to
the barn where they keep the cows, and
proof of their motto “From Cow to Cone”.
From there visitors can continue to
Gathland State Park or on to Hagerstown
to follow one of the city culture trails or
head a bit further to Frederick. Here you
can wander along the Riverwalk or explore
the legacy of the Civil War in the downtown
streets. And just outside of Frederick you
can follow the Wine Route and relax with a
chilled glass of Passeggiata XI at the Black
Ankle Vineyard.
Feeling the vibe in Maryland is a natural
transition from arriving as a visitor to quickly
being referred to as “Hon”. It’s a fun,
creative and often times historical experience
where food, culture and community
all play a significant role.
www.visitmaryland.org
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American World Traveler Winter 2018-19