fort mchenry

now that's a flag! you don't get to see it all the time; they can only fly it when there's:

1. enough wind to make it flutter.
2. not so much wind that it will snap the flagpole like a toothpick.

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the entrance to the fort. fort mchenry has some happy memories for me; it was where dan and i went to have a picnic on our second date. i remember going in here with him...

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... then we went down into here (this is a shelter where soldiers could hide when the fort was being shelled; there's one on each side of the entrance gate)...

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... we went back in here, and dan looked around to see if we were alone, pulled me close, and laid a kiss on me. what a sweetie. :) boy, was i busy falling hard for him back then... wonderful memories.

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the interior of the fort.

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this is a map that lights up when you push a button. a narrator describes what went on in baltimore during the seige of fort mchenry, the battle of north point, etc. every time we were there, dan had to go in here and push the button. he was just a little kid inside. :)

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some tourists gathering to watch the huge flag be replaced with a smaller one. you're supposed to pay to get into the fort, but the only way they check is by issuing little stickers you're supposed to wear on your shirt. if you don't have a sticker, the park rangers frown at you and make you feel bad. since i wasn't taking the tour but just snapping a few photos, i just ducked in and out of the fort without paying. several rangers were coming at this point, so i beat a hasty retreat.

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back outside. the umbc gun nuts have nothing on this.

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ouch. these could hurt you bad.

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just a photo of some boats to prove there still are boats sailing the harbor despite what some people might say. bleh; this camera does great with things up close, but is hopeless for shooting things at a distance. still, you can get some idea what a gorgeous day this was.

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looking across the harbor at francis scott key bridge. as all american schoolchildren know, f.s.k. was captured during the battle of baltimore in the war of 1812 and watched the bombardment of fort mchenry from the deck of a british ship. he saw the flag still flying there after all the shelling, repurposed an unsingable drinking song as our national anthem, and scribbled some lyrics on the back of his cereal box over breakfast, or something. the bridge is supposedly near where the ship was.

actually, i hear that if you go out to where the ship really was, you can't see the fort from there, but let's not mess with our national fairy tales.

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this is quite a big boat being pushed by a little small one. (sorry for the technical maritime jargon.)

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this is a statue of orpheus (because francis scott key and music, etc.). a bad time of day to shoot it, since it's backlit. oh, well.

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dan always preferred this view of the statue. i'm not sure why.

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seagulls!

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looking at the picnic tables from the pier where the water taxi docks. <mn>nice place for a cookout, no? ;^)</mn>

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