Monday, January 4, 2010

Quirky Baltimore

Spent yesterday exploring Baltimore. Here was the itinerary:

10am: left DC and drove to Baltimore. The fun of listening to the Da Vinci Code en route meant that Baltimore's sights had some stiff competition: if listening to the book was more fun than the sights, what would be the point of getting out of the car?
11am: tour of the Star Toys Museum, an extensive private collection of Star Wars memorabilia. Best discovery: Luke's original lightsaber was actually a photo flash grip.
Noon: crab cakes at G&M, which I had last visited about 7 or so years ago. I think Faidley's is better, but that may just be because I like a higher ratio of crackers-to-crab in my crab cakes.
1pm: Druid Hill Conservatory. What's more fun than a tropical rainforest in the dead of winter?
1:30pm: tour of the Amaranthine Museum by the artist's daughter. Anyone who has hung out with me for any length of time knows that I'm a sucker for themed environments created single-handedly by quirky characters. How long will it be before I just spend all of my free time in the backyard working on my own "visionary art"?
2:30: Atomic Books and "The Avenue" in Hampden. John Waters' Christmas cards!
3:00: Hopkins drive-by (for nostalgia's stake)
3:15: Washington Monument drive-by. The City of Monuments, the Greatest City in America, the City that Reads (Breeds).
3:20: Babe Ruth Museum. Babe was a plus-sized dude, but was he really John Goodman-sized?
4:00: American Visionary Art Museum. They still have their restaurant! They've now added a bookstore.
5:00: Tattoo Museum. Should it really be legal to sell tattooing kits via mail order?
5:30: Fells Point drive-by
5:45: Tried going on the submarine tour but it was closed for the day.
6:00: Attman's Deli was also closed for the day, which was probably for the best because I spent a pretty shitty Christmas Day here once.
6:30: Dinner in Federal Hill, right next to the Cross St. Market (the perfect antidote, memory-wise, for Attman's) at the Abbey Burger Bistro.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Sardines


It's too easy to make a tshirt this good.