Happy Veteran’s Day

For this Veteran’s Day we decided that rather then celebrate by watching another war movie that we’d actually visit a site where veteran’s performed their heroic acts of patriotism.  We’ve got a handful of places to choose from, but we decided to make it a Baltimore day by visiting Ft. McHenry.  Ft. McHenry is the site of one of the battles of the War of 1812 where Francis Scott Key saw the stars and stripes fly after a 24 hour barrage of bombings by the British Navy and was inspired to write what later became known as the Star Spangled Banner.  Before getting into our experience, enjoy one of my favorite renditions of the national anthem.

Thank you Enrico Palazzo!

Joking aside, it really was a pretty cool site to visit.  Typically on Veteran’s Day we think of men and women who went “over there” to fight for the freedoms of others.  Visiting Ft. McHenry gave us a chance to remember those who went “just right over there” to fight on our own soil to keep our country free.  One of the most impressive parts of our visit was the impressive physical layout of the fort.  Between the large array of cannons as well as the impressive earth structures, it definitely would have been a significant obstacle for an invading force in 1812.  Top that all off with a huge American flag flying proudly and it’s not hard to imagine why it was so inspiring for Francis Scott Key.  Here are a handful of pictures from our visit.

As I mentioned earlier, we wanted to make it a Baltimore day, so after visiting a classic Baltimore tourist location we decided to visit the Café Hon (Hon pronounced like a waitress in a 50’s diner asking you “what kinda pie can I getcha, hon?”).  I heard about Café Hon on the radio and they talked it up like a great place with waitresses dressed up in “Hon” attire – paisley dresses, beehive hairdo, pointy glasses, etc.  We were all excited but apparently we picked the Hon’s night off.  Instead we got the 22 year old college student with tattoo’s up her arms and a nose ring.  “That spike in yer’ nose itchin’, hon?”  At least we got to sit next to the life-size replica of Elvis with a feather scarf wrapped around his neck.

Our Baltimore night wasn’t over yet, though.  In visiting the not-so-Hon café, we had the joy of driving home during rush hour traffic.  Thankfully we weren’t in a hurry but after about 30 minutes traveling 7 miles you start to get anxious for any type of movement.  The monotony was interrupted, however, with one moment of laughter.  Part of the reason for the delay was because there was some construction in the area.  Because of the construction, they had placed one of those signs that shows the speed limit on one side and your speed on the next.  You gain a whole new appreciation for “traffic” when you look at that sign and it says “Speed Limit… 55 mph… Your Speed… N/A.”  C’mon man, at least give me a 2 or 3 mph just to make me feel better about myself.

To cap off the Baltimore night, I watched the Ravens game before going to bed.  I’m quickly becoming a Ravens fan because I hear about it pretty much every morning on the way to work – even during the off season.  They’ll have players on the air talking about the game so you start to put personalities with the names and numbers on the jersey’s which really gives a whole new feeling to the game.  Unfortunately the Ravens lost which gives a whole new disappointment to the game as well, but I guess that’s all part of being a fan. 

All in all, though, it was a fun day giving us a chance to enjoy a few truly American activities – Stars and Stripes… Meatloaf from the Hon’s… Rooting for the home team… Sleeping safely without the threat of tyranny… Thanks to all the Veteran’s who help make it all possible.