Blog — "Baltimore"

Last night while I was working in my studio, I glanced out the window for a brief instant. I am so glad I did! The sunset that was taking place was one of the best so far this summer. The sun had lowered just perfectly above the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus and created a glow in the clouds that was spectacular.
 I grabbed my camera and headed up to the roof deck to snap a few photos when I realized the effect that was taking place on the other side of the house was equally as awesome. A glow through the clouds was creating a pocket of sun on the Johns Hopkins Bay View Campus Hospital (yes, we live equidistant between them both and they just happen to be great landmarks to provide an idea of where things are when looking from a bird's eye view). All said and done, the view last night was breathtaking as the sun lit up buildings and created shadows.
And while this photo may not be nearly as breathtaking, I still had to include it because even Mr. Boh was glowing in the distance.
Last night's sunset made me feel even more lucky that we are able to have such a spectacular view of Baltimore. Now I can hardly wait even more so for our new roof deck furniture that is arriving on Saturday! I know that it will be put to good use while we enjoy many more sunsets like these to come!

You probably think I'm going to write about the Andy Samberg digital short. You know the one. Where he's on a boat with T-Pain and rapping about being on a boat and wearing his flippy floppies. Only THE BEST digital short by the guy EVER.

Ok. So no, I wasn't planning on writing about that, but then found myself doing so anyway. Now on to what I was really referring to. At each school year closing, we tend to have a lot of fun with the 8th graders as a last shebang before they graduate and we send them off to high school. This year was the second year that our 8th graders decided to take the Spirit of Baltimore for a lunch cruise.

Spending the day boating around Baltimore is by far one of the better on the job experiences I've had. You know, just another day in the classroom, boating around the harbor and out the the Key Bridge. Sure beats a Baltimore city schools classroom.

This year I decided to bring my nice camera instead of the point and shoot because, quite frankly, seeing Baltimore from a whole new perspective is pretty awesome.

 This is the third time I've had the chance to check out Baltimore from a different view. Kind of makes me want to buy my own boat so I can cruise around any old time.

I'm finally getting around to sharing some photos from my favorite event in Baltimore. Every year, The American Visionary Art Museum hosts the Kinetic Sculpture Race in which teams race their sculptures across Baltimore and complete an obstacle course. The course consists of a boat ramp in which the sculptures enter the water (and inevitably a few fall apart), a sand pit, and a mud pit. The sculptures are quite awesome, ranging from a pink poodle, a frog, and giant platypus, and other such things. Each sculpture is man powered, usually by bike parts and wheels that have been slapped together in some strange fashion.
















Each year's race is just as entertaining as the last. And the winner? It's not the sculpture that comes in first, it's the sculpture that comes in right smack dab in the middle.

What sorts of events and festivals do you have happening in your city?

We spent a good few hours on Sunday taking Lilah with us to the Maryland SPCA March for the Animals. A friend of our had invited us to be part of their group and so of course we couldn't say no. As we pulled up to the park where the event was taking place, Lilah could see the hundreds of dogs and was so excited. She could not wait to get out of the car to meet some new friends. It truly was a dog party. We enjoyed a mile and a half walk around the old reservoir and said hi to many, many other canine friends. Meanwhile, I took advantage of the beautiful day to capture a few new photos of our pretty pup.

And after a fun-filled afternoon, Lilah spent the evening napping. A tired pup is most definitely a happy pup.

I love spring in Baltimore. Between fall and spring in this city, it is so hard to choose which I like better. Both provide beautifully temperate weather in the 70s, sunshine, and low humidity. When March rolls around, one day will suddenly jump from temperatures in the 40s to temperatures in the 70s and then there is no looking back. It happens just like that. And the best part? We get to enjoy this beautiful weather for about three months before the dog days of summer arrive.

Spring also means time on our roof top deck in the evenings with great views of Patterson Park and the rest of the city.



And it means lots of outdoor time for Lilah. Even she likes to spend time up on the deck where she can sniff out the neighborhood smells and talk to her dog friends down the block.



And along with the time spent on the deck also comes longer walks in the park, grilling on our (now usable!) patio, and general relaxation outdoors. Have you been enjoying beautiful weather like we have in Baltimore? What are some of your favorite activities to do once the weather warms up?