Charm(ed) City

We just returned from our weekend in Baltimore, and although we didn't have much too time to spend explore, what we did see of the city was indeed quite charming. It's reputation as seedy and dangerous is unfortunate, as we found vast areas of the city clean and walkable, replete with beautiful historical buildings and great food. Best of all? There is a weird element to Baltimore, which is something Philadelphialand sadly lacks. This weekend, we saw young people wearing something besides khakis and boat shoes, in fact, many even had (gasp!) piercings, mohawks and outfits from the Goodwill. (Sigh. Miss you, Portland!) There was an anarchist bookstore, socialists on the street corners and even weird cars.

Ridiculously, since moving to Philly, we have yet to see even one such car. My northwest readers know what I am talking about, but for anyone on the east coast, I'm referring to a car of some vintage and mileage, done up in non-automotive flat paint, covered in various bumperstickers on topics such as witchcraft, veganism and visualizing swirled peas and decorated with plastic toys, possibly dinosaurs, trolls or doll heads. Optional additions include slobbery dog, four-foot antenna and cloud of Maui Wowie.

For a quick weekend recap, I'm proud to say I completed my 10K and thoroughly enjoyed my reward at the end, one piping hot, slightly-charred hot dog dripping in ketchup and mustard. Hello beautiful! I'm not prepared to put a post-race picture of me on the internet, red-faced and salt-encrusted, but I will post one pre-race, with a disclaimer of being unshowered and makeupless so enlarge at your own risk:

After the race, we enjoyed a lazy afternoon of various strolls and naps before setting out in the rain for an incredible dinner at the very popular Woodberry Kitchen, showcasing the bounty of the Chesapeake area and shown here, with raindrops like stars:

Highlights from the evening included radish sandwiches, warmed oysters with capers, soft shell crab (how did I survive 33 years without these?), suckling pig and homemade ice-cream, washed down with a bottle of Pinot Noir. Life is good indeed!