Labor Day Weekend in Charm City

Dave relocated to Baltimore for work back in July.  Over Labor Day weekend I was finally able to venture south for a weekend.  Here's that four days off that felt like a big deal.  In addition to Labor Day, it was also the Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix which added a lot of traffic and excitement to the city.

Thanks to an awesome Southwest sale, I flew in Thursday night and flew out Monday night for way less money and time than it would have cost me to drive. Dave had to work on Friday so I was exploring the city on my own.  Walking around the city I felt increasingly carefree and excited to find out what was around the next corner.  I paused to get a map and a snack, and realized that I hadn't felt like this since I was in Europe last summer.  I didn't realize how much stress was weighing me down until it started to lift.When I saw the two-story Barnes & Noble next to the National Aquarium and the Panera across the street I was ready to stay. 

My favorite square in Baltimore.

I found a spot facing the harbor to sit and finish my snack.  The qualifies for Sunday's big race had already started so the harbor was echoing with the revving of racecars.  I could see the jumbotron of cars accelerating back up to race speed after making a hairpin turn.  If I turned the other way I saw sailboats gliding out to the main harbor.  The combination of speed and leisure hit me funny. My everyday life has resembled a racecar as long as I can remember, slowing down only when in imminent danger of crashing.  This weekend I wanted to be the sailboat; to go with the flow and try to keep that weighty stress off my shoulders as long as possible.

If I had to pick one word to describe this weekend;  It would be fun.  We ate good food and wandered around the Inner Harbor.  We watched part of the Grand Prix. Dave even got me to go on the dragon-paddle boats after going to the aquarium.  By my standards, I did pretty well.  Only a couple isolated high stress episodes.  It was so difficult to come back to school and my to-do list on Monday night.

All-You-Can-Eat-Crab-Legs at Phillips Seafood Buffet!

National Aquarium - Still like those stingray

Calypso - The Green Turtle

Paddle boating with tired legs in the Inner Harbor