What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Well, One of 'Em Anyway ...

Your Humble Scribe, Roberto, and The Missus Herself
Yes, Roberto is wielding wooden swords ...
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I've been meaning for some time to get to the Baltimore Inner Harbor area to see the Constellation. The trip down to Maryland for Roberto's birthday provided that opportunity as it was the lad's birthday and he wanted to see the ships in Baltimore.

"Ships?" says I, "I thought there was but the one."

"No Grandpa, there are four ships!"

And sure enough, there were. There's a WWII US submarine, the USS Torsk. There's a Coast Guard cutter, USCGC 37, launched as the USCGC Roger B. Taney. Then there's a lightship, the LS-116 Chesapeake, a ship which I'd read about long ago, and had forgotten, seeing her tied up at the pier brought some of those memories back, a very cool ship. Last, and certainly not least, there is the USS Constellation. Not one of the original six frigates, though she looks like a frigate to me, officially she's a sloop-of-war. She was the last sail only ship commissioned by the Navy. She is really, really cool.

The sail of USS Torsk
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Roberto and Tuttle pursuing a photo-op
The Chesapeake Lightship is in the background
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Nothing pleases the Sarge more than walking an old-timey gundeck.
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Old ship, new skyline - the Baltimore Inner Harbor is pretty awesome
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Peeking into the Cap'n's cabin
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We had a very good time celebrating Roberto's natal day, had lunch at the Hard Rock Café, yes I have the t-shirt. It goes well with the one I got from the Hard Rock Café in New Orleans. I went into the one in Venice (Italy) but didn't get a t-shirt as the place was mobbed so we didn't actually eat there.

Unfortunately The Nuke was out of town most of the week, only managing to get home late in the evening on Roberto's birthday. To make up for her missing the trip to the ships, we went to the National Aquarium on the Saturday after Roberto's birthday. Got to see sharks, dolphins, even saw a sloth! It too is a very cool place. Well, except for the rain forest exhibit, hot and humid as one might expect. (Hey, it's a TROPICAL rain forest, innit?)

Just missed a dolphin, there were at least three of 'em frolicking.
I was so enthralled I forgot I had a camera until the last minute.
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The obligatory photo in the megalodon's mouth!
That's Roberto (left) and his brother Finnegan (right)
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With The Nuke out of town, and his in-laws visiting (that would be us), Tuttle wanted to make sure we ate well. I mean the lad can cook and cook well (master of the grill) but The Nuke is a very talented chef. Rather than having Tuttle slaving over a hot grill after working all day, we went out to eat, a lot. Which, I might add, I really enjoy doing.

One afternoon we went to this place -

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When I mentioned my surprise that the old logo was up there, Tuttle seemed surprised. Apparently he had been unaware of the controversy surrounding the replacement, and resurrection, of that logo. Well, he is an engineer, and he works a lot, so ...

Anyhoo, the food there ain't bad, at least mine was quite tasty. The Missus Herself is a sharp critic of restaurants, if the food is simply "okay" in her view, she will not sing its praises. I tell you, if a restauranteur wanted high praise, The Missus Herself is far more critical than Michelin, they should ask her.

I believe she has three ratings for restaurant food: "not good," "okay," and "not bad." The latter being high praise indeed. She does have one rating which is seldom used, I've heard her use it twice. Once for the lobster rolls at Chelo's and again for the fajitas at the Hard Rock Café, both meals are superb. The Missus Herself rated those as "really good." Twice I've heard her rate a meal that way. Twice!

So that's what I did for part of my summer vacation, summer ain't over yet, not sure if I will be traveling again before the summer ends, but ya never know. I'm no globe trotter like juvat and his clan, but I get around. More so than I used to, I mean, I've got the time now, don't I?

Ciao!