Historic Ships, Inner Harbor; Baltimore, MD

After putting it off for some time, I finally did the historic ship tour located at the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. Opting to tour three of the four ships.

The ships on my tour included the USS Constellation, a U.S. Navy sloop-of-war built in the mid-1800s that saw action in the United States Civil War, engaged in slave ship interdiction, commerce protection, and served as a training vessel; the US submarine Torsk, which served during World War II; and the USCGC Taney, a Coast Guard cutter that saw extensive service in World War II and Vietnam.

Together, these ships are representative of two distinct eras of navel technology. But each served as an answer to the needs of their time and situation. Collectively, they shared the common goal of protecting American interests at sea.

USS Constellation

I have had a fascination with tall ships since early childhood, so I was eager to tour the USS Constellation.The sloop-of-war is one of the few original all-wooden, all-sail ships remaining in the United States.

The USS Constellation, launched in 1855.

A Visit to Middleburg, Virginia

We decided to take it easy over the past weekend, taking a drive to the historic town of Middleburg, Virginia.

The historic town of Middleburg, is situated in between Winchester and Front Royal to the west, and Alexandria and Washington, DC, to the east. Middleburg is easily accessed via U.S. 50, which serves as the town’s main street. The town is very small; it consists of two main boulevards that run parallel with U.S. 50. The town is surrounded by the Piedmont countryside, with its wineries, equestrian farms and Blue Ridge Mountains in the near distance.

Day Trip to the Delaware Bay; Pickering Beach, Delaware

This weekend my wife and I decided to take a day trip to Dover, Delaware. We did not plan to visit any specific sites in Dover; instead, we decided to just drive there and see what caught our attention.

We traveled along U.S. 50/301 through Maryland and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which spans across the Chesapeake Bay and offered a great view of the bay and the many cargo vessels that navigate it. We crossed into Delaware, passing through mostly rural crop land with occasional small towns, most only one or two intersections in depth.