The Ray Adventures: Dover AFB, Aberdeen Proving Grounds & Baltimore

The weather has been hot, hot with high humidity. The upside, evenings are beautiful. This week we added two more states and one NFL stadium, we now have visited 40 states, 18 NFL stadiums and  7 Presidential libraries   I've probably said this before but I will wake up in the morning not only wondering what day of the week it is but what state are we in? (confusion) The gypsy in me hates to admit this but I (Gary too) are looking forward to getting to Texas and staying put in one spot for a while, now that I think of it, two months from today we will be back in Rockport. Hard to believe.

Wednesday, August 26, Before we left Ft. Dix and New Jersey we fueled up both the car and coach, we checked Gas Buddy, the price per gallon in Delaware is 20 cents more. We left about 11, another short drive, only 117 miles to Dover AFB arriving about 3:00. The traffic wasn't too bad, however we got "fleeced" with tolls, $30.00. Yikes! The Fam Camp is very nice, we had to park in overflow area because the park was full. We had linner or dunch at McGlynns on a lake in Dover, the food was great or we just thought so we were so hungry. Dover AFB is an Air Mobility Command, transporting troops and support materials plus air re-fueling. Dover's mortuary, the country's largest, receives military casualties and other victims of tragedies such as the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger.
On our evening walk with Luci we walked past the Air Mobility Command Museum (outside base fence)watching the lumbering C-5"s do touch and go's, when they are landing it looks like they are just floating.   Makes you wonder what keeps them in the air.

Thursday, August 27, Gary went to the Air Museum while I readied the coach for travel and taking Luci for a nice long walk. The Air Mobility Museum has 33 planes outside, inside exhibits showcasing Air Force History. One of the planes, a DC-7 carried Vice Presidents, first ladies and sometimes Presidents when flying into smaller airports. When Gary got back we left for Aberdeen Proving Ground, an Army base in Aberdeen Md., another short drive of 75 miles. It was a snap finding Outdoor Rec to register for Fam Camp. How refreshing! One of the nice things about being able to camp on military bases is they are consistent. This one however is the Taj Majal, full hookups, 50 amp electricity and water plus we have satellite reception, all for $25.00 a night. I had to ask what does Aberdeen Proving Ground prove? The grounds, established in 1917 develop and test ordinances under simulated combat conditions including nerve gas and agent orange. We can hear "booms" in the distance-hope it's not nerve gas exploding.(does it explode???) We have seen several deer and a coyote in the neighborhood.

Friday, August 28, Saturday, August 29 and Sunday August 30, We just hung around the base, doing errands, checking on train schedules to DC and Baltimore, familiarizing ourselves with the base and some geo cacheing off base. Too bloody hot to do much.

Monday, August 31, The worst thing happened today! Our coffee pot died! We had to pick up a couple cups on the way to Baltimore, just 30 miles away. Our first stop was M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. They don't give tours and no parking was available, we had to park a few blocks away in a questionable neighborhood and walked back to take some photos. We drove into downtown and the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore. We took the water taxi to Ft. McHenry, what a nice way to see the city especially on a hot day. The all-day taxi fare was free with our military ID. (Normally $14.00 each) Ft. McHenry was built 1798-1803, was instrumental in defeating the British in the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key was on a war ship in the harbor when he wrote the poem "Star Spangled Banner" which later became our national anthem. The fort is restored to it's pre-civil war appearance, the 15 star flag flies 24 hours a day over the fort.    Admission to the fort is $10.00 each, we got in for free with our Golden Age Card. We took the water taxi back to the Rusty Scupper, it has it's own water taxi stop, for lunch. I've been waiting until Maryland to have some crab cakes.  They didn't disappoint, Gary had baked cod which he enjoyed. The Rusty Scupper is right on the bay with views from 3 sides of the restaurant. A huge yacht was moored at the marina with an English flag. We found out later it was from one of the British territories in the Caribbean.  We got off the taxi in the Eastern Harbor, we walked up to the Shot Tower, an interesting looking structure, originally made cannon balls. Unfortunately there were some unsavory looking youths hanging around, we decided to go elsewhere. The harbor area fell into disrepair, in the 1960's the mayor sold the historic buildings for $1.00 for  restoration. The only remaining commercial business on the harbor is Domino Sugar it still refines 6 million pounds of raw sugar a day according to the water taxi captain. Now the harborfront is a mecca for tourists, shops, restaurants and hotels dominate the area. I found the cobblestone streets a hazard, I can't imagine navigating them in heels. It was very hot, we decided to head back to Aberdeen, Luci was glad to see us. We bought a new coffee pot at the Exchange.

Tuesday, September 1st. Holy smokes it's September already, even though it is hot we can feel "fall" in the air evenings and mornings. We left about 9:00 for Baltimore sightseeing. We planned to stop at the Historic Lexington Market (since 1872) the Pikes Market of Maryland. We got there early to avoid the crowds, too late, we couldn't find a place to park plus the neighborhood is a bit unsavory, we chose to skip it and head to the Basilica of Baltimore, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the country, built in 1806. What a beautiful place of worship. We were able to take a self-guided tour including the crypt, where eight Baltimore Archbishops are buried. Downstairs we could see the original stone foundation, now replaced by brick after a major restoration because of earthquake damage. Nearby is the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, an 1872 green serpentine and gray stone church Victorian Gothic structure. Inside is a 3,827 pipe organ, ornately hand carved pews, it took a man 7 years to complete the project and beautiful stained glass windows. It was an exclusive neighborhood in the 1800's and still is an expensive area to live. Across the street is the Washington Monument a 228 spiral staircase takes you to the top of the stone monument topped with a 30 ton statue of George. Too bad, the staircase was closed to the public for renovation. The Historic Westminster Hall and Burying Ground nearby was established in 1878, is the final resting place for prominent Baltimore figures including Edgar Allen Poe. We then went to Fells Landing, one of the water taxi stops, for lunch. We'd heard about a restaurant called "The Horse You Came In On Saloon", the name intrigued us. I stepped in, turned around and left. The music was LOUD. We chose Bertha's a historic landmark in the heart of Fells Landing. After lunch we jumped on the water taxi to the Inner Harbor to the World Trade Center, the world's largest pentagonal building. The 27th Observation Floor gives you a 360 degree view of the city, skyline, harbor and beyond. In front of the building is a 911 Memorial, 3 - 22 foot steel beams from the New York City WTC sit atop marble blocks with the names of the 68 Marylanders lost, inscribed in the stone.

Wednesday, September 2nd. We got some sad news today, one of our grand dogs went to doggie heaven, poor girl was about 15. A day off from sightseeing. I had an appointment to get my hair done and a trip to the Commissary. Gary enjoyed his quiet time while I was gone. He fixed dinner, he'd seen a recipe for beer can burgers. The beer can is only used to form the burger, two strips of bacon placed around the burgers. After removing the can you fill the burger with almost anything you want. He chose chili, onions, mushrooms, pepper jack cheese, BBQ sauce, hot sauce then topped off with shredded cheddar cheese. Place the burgers on indirect heat on the BBQ and cook for about an hour. Included in the recipe were directions for CPR. Pretty tasty.

That's it for this week. Enjoy the pic's.

Gary and Pam