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An ode to Baltimore, Maryland 🦀 I spent 48 hours in Baltimore. I don’t know what I expected, but it was much better than anything I could have expected. Let’s start off by asking why this was my first time in Baltimore. I’m 38 years old, a die hard sports fan, travel a lot and have lived in the Northeast for 13 years. In terms of top destinations - Baltimore has never even sniffed the list. Is that a me thing or a Baltimore thing? I’ll let you be the judge. My wife and I bought a car in 2018 to get out of NYC more often. The trips we planned were Philly, DC, Boston, Portland (Maine), Newport and upstate New York. Hell we’ve even driven to Toronto for a weekend. Not once have we ever discussed checking out Baltimore. It was only till my good pal Steak and I were talking about visiting ballparks for the first time and Camden Yards came up that we landed on it. And I’m glad we did, because the ballpark was incredible and the city left a good enough impression that I’d like to go back. My point above is emphasizing that Baltimore is a very “under the radar” city. I won’t say it’s forgotten, mostly due to the fact that it has an NFL team and one that happens to be relevant every year. But on that note, maybe it is the Jacksonville of the Northeast (?). Football has been better to watch on TV than in person, so that has never drawn me to visit cities. Sure, it’s on the water, but it obviously isn’t a beach town. So naturally, it only made sense that Camden Yards would bring me down to Charm City for the first time. “Charm City?” Yes - they call it Charm City, can you believe that? I couldn’t. Legit thought someone was fucking with me when they told me Baltimore is called Charm City. But then I drove in, and said to myself…”yep…I got fucked with.” Ha! Not so fast. It isn't beautiful upon entry like a Charleston. Its charm sneaks up on you after you’ve had your first Orange Crush and made your way down to neighborhoods like Fells Point and Canton. The whole area around the harbor is pretty cool. A bit more touristy than I’d like, but as a first timer, I can’t really bitch about tourists. It’s hard to find charm and character in this country. You can’t avoid it in Europe, but in the US, you have to really search for it. I’m from Florida - so all we really have is St Augustine and a 4 hour drive to Savannah if I want charm, character, history, and an authentic pub experience. The Northeast obviously has much more of it, and that’s something I enjoyed about Baltimore. I’m a sucker for cobblestone streets surrounded by taverns that have been around for a hundred years. You sit at the bar and get a glimpse of what it must’ve felt like to spark up a conversation about the Declaration of Independence. I obviously need to spend more time there, but I did not find Baltimore to be the most hospitable city. Whether it was bartenders, servers or hotel staff - they weren’t overly nice or welcoming. I got more smiles from the kiosks at Dunkin Donuts. But that’s okay. If I wanted happiness I’d go to Disney. I won’t knock ya too hard for it, but an observation nonetheless. You hear rough things about cities like Baltimore. I remember that’s all I had heard about Detroit, but I still took a trip there to see it for myself. I loved it. I like rust belt cities. I like rough. I respect blue collar workers. I love grit. New York City used to be tough, but now it’s filled with a bunch of soft pansies who have never experienced an ounce of struggle in their life. I also like that people seem to be proud of their city and state. The few people I know from Maryland will throw down if you say a bad thing about it. It’s like they’re ready to load a musket and fight for it at a moment's notice. I respect that. And lastly, I cannot say enough good things about Camden Yards. It’s a 10/10. I did not expect to be saying this, but I’m excited to go back. I guess that’s ultimately why Baltimore was better than I expected. Cheers.