Bath, NC

Founded in 1696, Bath is the oldest town in North Carolina.  In 1723, Beaufort County’s first courthouse was built, and the town was considered the first capital of the Colony.

Bath also boasts having the first public library in the Colony.

The town is dotted with historical markers on about every street.

The Palmer-Marsh House

The Floating Theater marker was adjacent to the town’s free dock (72 hour limit).

No water or electricity, but the price was right.

One of Bath’s more notorious citizens was Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard.  Now the name of one of Bath’s two eateries, Blackbeards serves great New Jersey style pizza.  Nephew Mark steered us there for a great dinner and visit.

The little town is filled with historic structures.

And, friendly people.

Charm City

Find MOTIVATOR

Baltimore, pronounced bawl-mer by the locals, is also known as Charm City and The City of Firsts.  Below are just a few of Baltimore’s more important firsts.

1792 - First water company chartered in the United States - Baltimore Water Company

1796 - First sugar refinery in the U.S. - founded by Garts and Leypoldt
1803 - First electric refrigerator- invented by Thomas Moore
1819 - First gaslight company in the country- Gas Light Company of Baltimore
1820 - First canning of oysters- by Thomas Kennett
1828 - First American umbrella factory - William Beehler
1830 - First coal burning steam locomotive built - Tom Thumb
1848 - First ice cream freezer - patented by W. G. Young
1869 - First candy factory to produce licorice - J.S. Young Company
1892 - First Ouija board - invented and patented by Isaac and William Fuld

They were good!

Ryleigh’s Oyster in Federal Hill is one of our favorite restaurants.  You know it has to be good, because they post crabbing regulations on the bathroom doors.

Not forgetting its maritime history, Baltimore is home to many historic ships and attracts others. 

A visit by the U.S.C.G. cutter Eagle

Great duty if you can get it

We couldn’t wait for them to open her up for tourists.

And, have our photo ops.

BOOM!

Yep, it’s 4:00 PM

At noon and 4:00 PM the USS Constellation fires its cannon.

Scared others too

Right down the dock are the Lightship Chesapeake and the USS Torsk.

While we were there, one of the last two Liberty Ships, SS John W. Brown pulled into Fells Point.

Also in the mix are:

Single wheel paddle boats

Twin paddle wheel boat

Coast Guard Buoy Tender CGC James Rankin

Roll on, roll off ships

Skipjacks

And, the harbor cruise boat, the Annapolitan II

The Annapolitan II was a great neighbor the three weeks we were in Baltimore.  They even gave us a couple of rides around the harbor.

Captain Jerry

We stayed to for Pollie and Haeden’s birthday celebration.

And, Trawler Fest

Then it was time for MOTIVATOR to think about moving south for the winter.

After a quick stop in Herrington Harbour North to grab a few things out of storage, we anchored in the Solomons and then in the Indian River.

Great anchorage

Then we departed the Chesapeake Bay and pulled into Norfolk passing the occasional war ship.

OCD & the Orioles

One of our favorite stops while in Baltimore is the American Visionary Art Museum.  After our first visit, we renamed it the OCD Museum (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).  One of the exhibits inside (no photos allowed) is a 12 -15 foot model of the Lusitania built out of 183,000 toothpicks and 5 gallons of glue.

Around every corner, you find something a little "different."

It is also a great place to have lunch.

The other must-do while in Baltimore is taking in an Orioles game.  The city marina in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a short walk to Camden Yards.

We caught game 2 in a three game series against the Boston Red Socks that would be the last for the Orioles in 2011.  There was a lot of hitting in the game.

And, the game stayed exciting right up to the end.

Unfortunately, the last out was a ground ball to the shortstop leaving a runner on first.

A Visit From the Newly Weds

Robin and Heitham Ghariani were MOTIVATOR’s first guest to spend the night.  Here is Robin’s photo album of the visit:

Meet Motivator. Docked in the Inner Harbor Baltimore, right by the Science Center

5 mins after being on the boat - Mojitos with mint from Pollie's herb garden

First stop is the engine room, which is bigger than the bedrooms in my condo! Mo is in heaven

One of the "twins"

Guest bunks where Heitham and I spent the night

Pollie in her new boat kitchen

Captain's quarters. Queen bed, full bathroom, and a closet with a washer and dryer inside. 1 desk and 3 closets.

the "wine cellar"

Herb garden, outfitted with caterpillars in cacoons!

Mo showing H the electronics at the steering station

Now on to chilling with the mojitos

Make that two chillers

Asian tourists from NYC want a shot in front of Mo's boat! You wouldn't believe how many people wanted to take pictures of it. One Romanian couple even jumped on the back!

That's a big dinghy!

Heitham riding in the dinghy

Motivator from the dinghy...on our way to Fells Point across the harbor

This dinghy is a "motorcycle in the water"....aka it was FAST. But we could only go 6 knots in the harbor. But you bet we "tested" the full speed just to see ;-)

Dinner cruise boats going by

Mo tying off the dinghy in Fells Point

And onto the Wharf Rat for some beers

Wedding on the pier

7am Sunday morning

Woken up by a full out reggae band playing on the shore (to welcome 5k runners meeting in the park)

Took a walking tour of Federal Hill. Saw some cool furniture shops

$1300 and it's yours!

You know I'd buy that couch!

And another kitty at the Ace Hardware counter

Inner Harbor from the Federal Hill park. Can you spot Motivator?

Mo and Po

R and H (holding our cool new "air plants")

Air plants - Just spritz them with water 2x a week and they grow. No soil necessary.

Awww man - do we have to leave!?!

Thanks Robin and Heitham,

we had a great time!