{50 States} O Say Can You See…. Maryland?

Now entering…. Maryland! State #11 of 50-States-Before-They-Graduate. Check out our  Mid-Eastern States Itinerary.

 It’s been three months since our Mid-Eastern States Trip, and I’m afraid I’ve fallen way behind on my “homework!” So… without further ado (or procrastination)… we share with you our visit to Maryland!

After our quick visit to Washington, DC, we headed to Baltimore to visit Fort McHenry and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry was simply breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and beautiful!  In comparison with what Francis Scott Key penned almost 200 years ago, my words can never do it justice.  Maybe it was grasping hold of a full-sized replica of the flag that was flown during the War of 1812….

[The original is on display in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History in Washington, DC.  A flag of this size (30′ x 42′) can only be flown during certain weather conditions; it is simply too large to survive the wind!  Maj. George Armistead wished for Ft. McHenry’s flag to be large enough that “the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.”]

Or maybe it was just the thought of our nation fighting desperately through dawn’s early light.

My heart swelled with gratitude as we sang our national anthem and walked the grounds where the British were thwarted from capturing Baltimore in 1814.

It is so real to sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” here and imagine what it must have been like to stand where Francis Scott Key was standing aboard that truce ship – watching earnestly for the answer to the question,

O, say can you see…?

What must it have been like to defend our new nation against the onslaught of fire from the British bombardment fleet? What must it have been like to witness such a thing from the other side? to anxiously await the outcome? to strain to see if our Baltimore was still standing?

What must it have been like to finally see our flag waving victoriously after this 25-hour assault when an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 shells and rockets were fired in an effort to cripple the fort and its defenders?

To study it was one thing.  To see it was another.  I can’t express how thankful I am that we stood right there holding this flag in that fort!

Click here to learn a bit of the history of Fort McHenry. For those wishing to study the history a bit more in depth, there’s also a Teacher’s Guide and Lesson Plans.

Baltimore Inner Harbor

Visiting Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was a treat!  Although we didn’t tour it {we were still recovering from Washington, DC}, the U.S.S. Constellation was in view while we walked along the harbor. [To avoid confusion, there are actually three different ships that have borne the name U.S.S. Constellation.] Not only was this the last all-sail ship built by the U.S. Navy, it is also the last Civil War era vessel afloat. In hindsight, I wish we had toured the ship to learn about what life was like on board and to learn about its missions to disrupt the slave trade.  But at least we have a picture of the outside, right?

[You can find out more about historic ships in Baltimore at the Historic Ships of Baltimore website.]

Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Ripley’s Believe It or Not was a special request from our boys…. and they still talk about it today.

This place is definitely bizarre.  Imagine…

• portraits of Bill and Hillary Clinton made out of hamburger grease or…
• Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam made out of lint or…
• a wedding dress made out of toilet paper…. or
• cities made out of millions of toothpicks… or
• a Bumblebee Transformer made out of junk car parts… or
• a coffin made out of cigarettes… or
• a portrait of Michael Jackson made out of pop cans… or
• a man with a shoe size larger than my husband’s.  [hahahaha!]

That’s just a very small selection.  Given the boys’ fascination with all things totally weird and abnormal, they keep requesting to go back.  If you’re curious, you can take a virtual tour of Ripley’s Odditorium.  (While we were there, we also toured the Mirror Maze and the 4D theater, but those were not nearly as interesting as the Odditorium…)

That wraps up our quick trip through Maryland!  Of course, we couldn’t leave this state without a generous helping of Chesapeake Bay Maryland Crab Cakes at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co [while looking at the U.S.S. Constellation]!

So, where have you been in Maryland?  Do you live here?  What did we miss? Please tell us about other areas of Maryland that are worthy of a visit!

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Our family aims to visit all 50 states together before our boys graduate from high school.  To take a look at some of the places we’ve been, visit our Traveling America posts.

Here’s where we could use your help in completing this mission:  If you want to offer suggestions for off-the-beaten-path places to visit in the 50 states, we would love your input!  Leave your comments for any state on this post.

 Care to visit 50 states with us? How about visiting just one state, or just telling us about a local area you enjoy?  If so, we would love for you to become a part of a network of families traveling and sharing your experiences across the USA, even if you’re just visiting local destinations.  [The locals always know what’s best, right?]

Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions for your favorite state(s), or virtually visit the other states we’ve visited to offer your recommendations on those pages!  We really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY want to read your ideas!