Hello, and welcome to Jarod's Stuff, my personal blog where I will write about random events and occurrences in my life, though I will put particular emphasis on my traveling experiences.
So to start, as of this writing, I have just completed the second day of a Road Trip through Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Yesterday, the first day of this trip, I left my home in Virginia, about 1 hour southwest of Washington, DC, at about 8:30 in the morning. This was a good sign, that I had in fact left about 30-60 minutes earlier than I had originally planned. My first stop... Baltimore, specifically the area known as the Inner Harbor, which is one of the most popular areas in Baltimore for tourists, as it is home to the popular National Aquarium. However, I had not planned to visit the aquarium yesterday, as my trip was instead themed around lighthouses. I have always been fascinated by lighthouses, a trait which I believe I picked up from my mother, a lifelong beach-lover. My first stop was a lighthouse called the Seven Foot Knoll lighthouse, a screw-pile lighthouse which originally was located in the waters of the Patapsco River, near the Chesapeake Bay. The drive to Baltimore itself was not too difficult, although I did run into some traffic both on Interstate 495 (The Capital Beltway) after entering Maryland. However, I was able to bypass an earlier traffic jam on the beltway by using my EZ-Pass transponder to enter the High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, or express lanes, while in Virginia, which cost about a total of $15 at the time, as prices fluctuate based on traffic. After crossing the American Legion bridge into Maryland, I hit the aforementioned traffic in the suburb of Bethesda. After Exiting the beltway onto Interstate 95 north, I did have a few more slowdowns, but arrived at the Pier Five Parking Garage at about 10:30 in the morning.
After parking in Baltimore, I walked to the lighthouse, but the interior was closed at the time, therefore I was only able to photograph the exterior, after which I departed to my next destination: Lunch! For lunch, I decided to stop at a small restaurant called Chap's Pit Beef along Pulaski Highway (US 40) on the far east side of Baltimore. there, I ate a delicious pit beef sandwich, as well as fries and a soft drink. Pit beef, a Baltimore staple, is nicknamed "Baltimore BBQ" but is also similar to roast beef, as it is not wood-smoked, but rather charcoal grilled, and like roast beef, it is thinly sliced, and is also served on a potato roll. I chose to put BBQ sauce on my sandwich as well, whereas many Chap's regulars prefer the "Tiger Sauce" (BBQ+Horseradish), but I did not want the spiciness of the horseradish. After eating my sandwich, I took my leftover fries (I had lots!) and Pepsi and departed for my next destination.
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| Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse - Baltimore, MD |
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| My Pit Beef Sandwich from Chap's |
At about noon, I arrived at my next stop, Havre De Grace, a small town in Northern Maryland where the Susquehanna river flows into the Chesapeake Bay. I photographed the Concord Point Lighthouse, a small conical lighthouse designed by John Donahoo, who also designed several other similar-looking towers on the Chesapeake Bay. This lighthouse and its museum are only open on weekends, so I left after taking my photos and walking around the surrounding park.
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Concord Point Lighthouse - Havre De Grace, MD
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Afterwards, I realized I was still hungry, so I ate a second lunch, a Crab Cake Sandwich at a small seafood restaurant on Water Street in Havre De Grace, appropriately named Water Street Seafood. After departing Havre De Grace, I traveled to Elk Neck State Park, to photograph my third and final lighthouse of the day, Turkey Point Lighthouse. Also designed by John Donahoo, this lighthouse is only accessible by a 0.75 mile walk along a gravel trail within Elk Neck State Park in Northern Maryland. After taking my photos, I returned, exhausted, to my car, and departed for my hotel, about halfway to my next destination of Cape May. By 5:00 in the evening, I had arrived in Vineland, New Jersey, where I would spend the night.
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| Scenery along the trail in Elk Neck State Park |
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| Looking out across the Chesapeake Bay from Turkey Point |
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| Turkey Point Lighthouse - Elk Neck State Park, MD |
Tomorrow, I will post the entry for today's journey. See you then!
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