It's Raining in Baltimore, Baby (Counting Crows)

I have had the song by "Raining in Baltimore" by the Counting Crows stuck in my head for the past couple of days.  The weather seemed to change abruptly.  Until a couple of days ago, Peter and I would go to bed each night with fans blowing on us and no sheets covering us, avoiding touching each other's sweaty bodies.  The last two nights, with all the hatches closed, we were shivering and had to get out the duvet to keep warm.

I was actually, for no apparent reason (since Peter has been doing all the work), feeling weak and exhausted on Saturday evening, but I planned to catch a bus to Penn Station and then the train to Union Station in Washington, D.C. to visit Lori for a couple of days.  I packed up a few things before going to bed and was ready to go.  But when the alarm went off the next morning, I was not feeling well enough to get up.  (It didn't help that rain was pounding down on the deck above my head.)  Peter even thought I looked like I should stay in bed, so I texted Lori and cancelled my trip.  I went into hibernation mode and slept for hours all morning and afternoon.

The rain let up in the early evening, and Peter and I walked along the waterfront in Canton, looking for a restaurant.  It was nearly 9 p.m., and most places seemed to be closing up, so we walked inland a couple of blocks and decided to go to an Indian/Nepali restaurant, the Himalayan Yak, which we had passed by a few times on the way to Nacho Mama's.  We enjoyed a quiet and delicious meal and then returned to the boat.  Despite the fact that I had slept most of the day, I was able to go right to sleep and didn't wake up until Peter's phone rang about 8:30 a.m.  I feel much better now.

It wasn't raining this morning, so I decided to head downtown.  I had told Matthew that I would help him as he chooses graduate programs to apply to, so I went to the large Barnes and Nobles in the Inner Harbor.  Unfortunately, there was nothing on the shelves for graduate schools.  With hours stretching before me, I set off exploring.  First I visited Westminster Burial Ground west of the downtown area, where Edgar Allan Poe is interred.  (The overcast, misty weather seemed appropriate.)  The graveyard was established in 1787 and was the premier place to be buried if you were a merchant, politician, statesman or veteran of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812.  Poe was buried here in 1849.  In 1852,Westminster Presbyterian Church was erected over the cemetery, with brick piers straddling gravestones and burial vaults, so that some are now under the church.  Because Baltimore was expanding and land was valuable, the church chose to do this to protect the cemetery as well as establish a presence in this growing section of the city.

Edgar Allan Poe's grave

My next stop was the Baltimore Basilica, or the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first Roman Catholic cathedral constructed in the United States (after the adoption of the Constitution).  The architect of the U.S. Capitol, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, designed this building, which some consider to be his masterpiece.  (Personally, I like the Capitol better.)  At the time of it creation in the early 19th century, it was the seat of the Diocese of Baltimore, which stretched from Maine to Georgia and west to the Mississippi and eventually the Louisiana Purchase. Archbishop John Carroll and Latrobe chose neoclassical architecture to reflect the style of the buildings in the new city of Washington, D.C.

Sanctuary of the basilica

Altar of the basilica

One interesting feature of the interior is the slave balcony above the entrance to the sanctuary.  The balcony had no seats and was considered the least desirable place for worship.  However, it was and is the best place in the cathedral acoustically.  I am not sure where free African-Americans (who made up one-fourth of the entire population of Baltimore in 1830) were required to be.  Perhaps none of them were Catholic!

I then went across the street to the Enoch Pratt Free Library on Cathedral Street.  In January 1882, Baltimore hardware merchant and banking and steamship executive Enoch Pratt offered to donate and construct a central library and four branch libraries. (There are now 22.)   He stipulated that the libraries "shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color, who, when properly accredited, can take out the books if they will handle them carefully and return them."  After some debate, the mayor and city council accepted the gift and construction began later that year.  It opened in January 1886.  Currently, the first floor is being refurbished, so I could only peek at the lovely coffered ceilings, clerestory windows and woodwork of the central room.  However, the library was a great place to go, because, with the assistance of several librarians (I love librarians!), I was able to do research for Matthew and copy pages (which one of the librarians did for free since I didn't have a library card).  

It was only mid-afternoon, so I headed down to the Inner Harbor and walked along the waterfront.  On the south side, just east of the green terraced lawns of Federal Hill, I admired the exterior and outside sculptures of the American Visionary Art Museum.  (It was closed today, so I couldn't go in.)

Sculpure at the American Visionary Art Museum

American Visionary Art Museum

Baltimore has some free bus routes--the Charm City Circulator.  I took advantage of this and caught one from Harbor Place on the northwest corner of the Inner Harbor to Fell's Point.  By then, the prevailing mist had turned to a fine drizzle, but I had an umbrella, so I was prepared.

Peter continues to work on the boat's electrical system and navigation.  It wasn't broken; he just wanted to make some major improvements.  And, so, we are still in Baltimore.  We might have been able to depart in a couple of days, but now we have to take into consideration Hurricane Florence.  Following South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, the State of Maryland today declared a state of emergency.  The weather is only going to get worse before it gets better, so we are staying here in Anchorage Marina, putting out extra fenders, doubling our dock lines and taking down anything that might get damaged by high winds, such as the foresail.

Meanwhile, our daughter Katya, in her last semester at the University of Hawai'i in Manoa, is in the path of the second hurricane in less than a month!  The campus was closed down for four days due to Hurricane Lane in August and now O'ahu is under another tropical storm watch due to Hurricane Olivia.  Yikes!