Birthday's in Baltimore

I celebrated my 29th birthday on Friday (February 1) and in celebration of my day Eric and I snuck off to Baltimore for the weekend. We got up early on Saturday and made the drive up. Traffic was very light which made for a nice drive. We checked into the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bwish-renaissance-baltimore-harborplace-hotel/ and when we got to our room we were greeted with this amazing view.



After unpacking and admiring the view we headed to the National Aquarium. http://www.aqua.org/

We first went and checked out the Australia exhibit and then made our way towards the sharks, into the rainforest and finally to the dolphin show. This is what I was looking forward to the most.





Sadly my battery died right after this photo. I was so upset about this. I tried to enjoy the show but was mad at myself because I didn't charge the battery fully. Oh well I guess.

After the aquarium we wandered around Inner Harbor and then went and had lunch at J Paul's.
(http://www.j-pauls.com/) This place was very good. What was neat was they serve you FRESH soft pretzels while you wait for you meal. I ordered a rueben and it was the BEST rueben I have ever had. After lunch we headed back to the hotel to rest and relax. We had plans to go to Morton's (http://www.mortons.com/) that night for dinner but decided that we just wanted to enjoy each other's company in our room and have a quiet dinner. We went across the street to one of the pavillion's and picked up sushi and burgers and fries from Five Guys (http://www.fiveguys.com/). What a combination. But hey...it's what we wanted. :)

We enjoyed dinner while overlooking the city.



Sticking with the quiet theme we ordered room service for breakfast (plus we just couldn't leave that view).

After we checked out we headed for Ellicot City, MD and the Ellicot City B&O Railroad Museum (http://www.ecborail.org/).



We enjoyed walking back in time and learning about the history of the station and the B&O Railroad. We got a bonus of a CSX coal train heading EB. :)

It was an amazing weekend, with the most amazing man I know (aside from my dad ;) ). I always dread my birthday but Eric always seems to go above and beyond to make it a special day.

Full album of our trip can be found here:

Baltimore 2008

You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person. - Alec Waugh

The 3 state tour.

Our first road trip of the year took us in search of a train museum I remember seeing multiple times on US - 11. For some reason I thought that is was in Pennsylvania, but lo and behold it was in Maryland. We hit the road late that day but made the best of our time (and what little day light we would have left). We headed up US - 15 to US - 340 and then to US - 40 before jumping on the interstate (our last resort of travel).




We got into Hagerstown and found a Sheets to grab a bite to eat before we headed over to the museum. When we pulled into the parking lot at the museum there was a lot of train activity in the yard.



We headed into the museum and were a little disappointed to find that it is mostly geared towards model railroads.


(click on picture to see full view...for some reason it is getting cut off)

While we don't mind watching the model trains for a few minutes we were hoping to find a museum along the likes of New York Central depot in Elkhart, Indiana. Though we were met with disappointment we talked with some of the gentlemen there and they gave us some pointers on places that are decent for railfanning.

We headed back to the car and back down US - 11 to Shenandoah Junction, WV to locate and mark on our GPS a possible railfanning spot. It is usually pretty quiet in our neck of the woods as far as train travel goes (on the weekends that is) so we hope to make it out there on a week day at some point.

After we got the place marked we headed towards home with a stop in Brunswick, Maryland as we heard some chatter on the scanner of a possible west bounder. Not to long after we heard whistles and the arms went down and we were met with Amtrak 29. Though it was a train it is never as exciting as your old freighters.

After the Amtrak went through we went full steam ourselves towards home.

Another good day on the road, another 3 state tour* and a couple trains to boot.

It is not down in any map; true places never are. ~Herman Melville

*editors note: The 3 state tour is when you hit Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland all in one trip. ;)

Amish Country, train watching and some soft serve to go.

Shipshewana buggies September 2007
Originally uploaded by jobean98

We woke up early this morning and got a start on the day. Holy cow was it chilly. I was beginning to think I should have packed differently. :) We headed out to Indiana today - Shipshewana and Elkhart to be exact. The road took us first to Shipshewana were we stopped in at Bread Box Bakery & Cafe for some homemade goodies. Everything is so good and just like I remembered when we visited as kids. We strolled around town a bit and then piled back in the car to drive over to Elkhart and the New York Central Railroad Museum.



As soon as we pulled into the parking lot we saw a train sitting on the tracks and then realized that he was actually moving along at a snail's pace. We waited for it to go through and then headed into the musuem. This is a very good museum for families as they have some interactive areas for kids (of all ages) and a playroom with toys and train videos. After strolling through the museum we headed out to the train yard to take a look around.



Not to long after we got into the train yard a few more trains came rolling through for us to see. I always find it interesting to see the various graffeti on the train cars. Some will say that it is defacing someone's property, which yes it is, but I like artistic side of it and wish that those that did the defacing had a place where they could do it in a legal way to display their talents.

After awhile we headed to Middlebury, Indiana and Das Dutch Essenhause for an Amish style family dinner. This is very similar to the Bavarian Inn or Zehender's in Frankenmuth (for you Michigan folk). the food was so good and well worth the trip. After we filled our bellies with some seriously delicious and homemade goodness we headed back towards home.

On our way back through Jonesville, Michigan we stopped in to the Udder Side for some soft serve ice cream which I think is hands down the best I've ever had.



Stay tuned as we take on Ohio.

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." –- Henry Miller

Pere Marquette 11

Pere Marquette 11
Originally uploaded by jobean98

Alllllllllllllll Aboard!!!!!!!!

We headed out today with no real destination in mind. We headed up 495 to 270 and then got off on some state highway in Maryland. Ventured through the countryside and wound up in Baltimore. We made a stop at the visitors center which is right at Inner Harbor. We picked up some brochures on things to possibly do and then strolled along the harbor and back to our car. We punched in the address for the B&O Railroad Museum and made the 5 minute drive over there. We pulled in and were welcomed by engines and train cars. We found some parking and then entered the museum. We had a coupon for buy 1, get 1 free which was very helpful.

We strolled through the different exhibits and out into the roundhouse where we looked at engines and train cars from the stage coach era to modern time. We walked out into the train yard and into another building that houses the largest and most powerful engine ever built. That thing was HUGE!

We had a great time there and ended the day with a train ride on the first set of commercial tracks ever laid. Very cool.

We took US-40 home through Frederick, Maryland and then down US-340 and US-15 to Leesburg.

A lot of miles were covered and a lot of neat places were explored.

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. ~Robert Louis Stevenson