Day 7: Baltimore-bound

Martha and I slept in 'til late morning.  It was FANTASTIC!  Then stayed in our beds and chatted for some time more.  And then -- yes, you guessed it! -- on the road to Baltimore, MD.  This was a somewhat random choice for this road trip, as I had friends to visit in NC and then in NJ, but not really in between.  :-)  And it's about a 9.5 hour drive, so I knew that I would have to break it up.  Just about half-way were both DC and Baltimore, and I've been to DC many times, so voila!  Baltimore!

Leaving Raleigh, I headed north on US 1.  A smaller highway, but a shorter way to get to I-85 and beautiful rolling hills.  I played leap-frog with these guys -- the "Steel Warriors" according to their jackets -- for many miles on 85.

Also, still listening to "The Last Child" and enjoying it.  A somewhat complex story, and I wasn't sure it would hold my attention either, but I stuck with it.  Between Raleigh and southern Virginia, no problem, but then I started to hit the traffic.    and the rain     I guess that I shouldn't complain as I'd been on the road a week with clear skies and easy driving.  [well, once I got out of Cincy anyway.]

I-95 N out of Richmond was pretty much at a standstill.  There were many sections where several major roads fed into and off of the interstate, and those were just gridlock.  And then just when I thought I was all clear, several more roads would empty into the interstate, and then the interstate itself would go from 5 to 3 lanes.    And on one of those 5 to 3 lane changes, the Steel Warriors came past me again, threading in and out of the lanes between cars -- not in their own lane.  And in the rain.  So dangerous!

I was also wondering if this was all Sunday evening commuter traffic into the DC area.  Yikes!  Approaching DC, I passed Quantico (and yes, thought of "Silence of the Lambs"); I wonder if there are tours available.  As much as I enjoy the "CSI" type shows, I would really enjoy seeing some of that technology up close and personal.  Also passed the National Museum of the Marine Corps.  Really interesting building.

While passing the Pentagon (on the interstate still, so not really close), I took this picture thinking that it was the monument to 9/11 at the Pentagon:  

However, it was actually the United States Air Force Memorial (which is pretty close to the Pentagon).  Was interesting to drive around DC.  Pretty darn close to the Washington monument, and I could kinda see the top of the capital building too.

Yes, Mom.  I'll stop taking pictures while driving and focus on the road.......  :-)

What felt like just a few minutes past all the major roads of DC was Baltimore.  No disrespect intended, but feels a little bit like a suburb of DC.  I'll bet there are a lot of MD commuters into DC as well.  Instead of a 5-hour trip, it was more like a 7-hour trip, so I was into downtown Baltimore a little later than I wanted to be.  Just checked into my hotel (on airline miles!  woo-hoo!) then walked to Luna del Sea for dinner.  Recommended by the concierge at the Sheraton, it was truly fabulous.  Just a short walk, near the convention center.  Very nice staff, and a patio for outdoor dining, but it was stuffy, and I noticed that there were TVs over the bar, so I was seated inside.  At a window seat (perfect for people watching), with a good view of both pre-season football and baseball.  I started with a glass of Matua sauvignon blanc while reading the menu.  [oh, and the music playing the whole time I was there was Frank Sinatra.  I think that they had a satellite radio station that was "all Sinatra all the time".  :-)  ]

This picture does NOT do the crab cake justice, as I took it with my phone.  But it was the best crab cake I've ever had.  Followed by a good filet mignon (not the best I've ever had), with something called "crab imperial".  Never had this before.  I asked the server what it was, and he described it as jumbo lump crab in a casserole.  I was expecting something like a gratin, and this was very different.  Definitely lump crab, just like the crab cake, but pieces of tomato and red pepper and a little bit of sauce to hold it together -- but not rich and creamy -- and then baked in a ramekin.

I checked out foodnetwork.com, and they have several recipes for it, which include diced green and red peppers, cayenne pepper, onion, shallots, celery and then a little mayo to hold it together and a breadcrumb topping.  Hmmmm....  I might have to play around with a couple of these recipes because this was delicious with the beef.

I will admit here, that all the crab items said "market price" on the menu, and no, I didn't ask.  [I know that Mom is appalled right now!  :-)  ]  I thought how much could this be??  And I was going to eat there, and being in Baltimore, was going to have crab, so I pretty much steeled myself for an expensive dinner.  Well, the lone crab cake -- again, fabulous -- was $18.  Ack!  So I'll let you decide what the filet/crab dinner cost.  :-)  Yep, it was a big one!  I know.  I'm unemployed now.  I'll have to eat cheap the next few meals.  :-)

But, now that I think about it, I'm really only eating once per day.  Breakfast has never been my strong suit (unless it's brunch around noon with the Sunday paper, or at Tank's!) and I'm typically on the road over lunchtime, so I pull through McD's and get a large diet coke and maybe a wrap or small fries.  [It has to be McD's -- at least for now -- as I'm using the gift cards that my Dayton team gave me before I started on my road trip!  So thoughtful and so very useful, and makes me smile and think of them often.]

I walked back to the hotel (needed the walk at this point) in a light rain that had just started, then got in my jammies, climbed into bed with pillows all around and channel-surfed while I caught up on email.  A nice relaxing evening, and I was so looking forward to sleeping in!