brijcorns

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is wonderful and located right in the Inner Harbor. There’s Manta Rays that swim in an open tank, a pretty creepy Shark exhibit that spirals you down to where the water is deep and dark enough for the beasts, a Rainforest exhibit perches atop the entire building complete w/ poisonous, bright-colored frogs, a sloth and birds. Just recently an entire new building was completed as an addition to the Aquarium depicting animals from Australia (it really is impressive). And if you plan your trip right you can even take in a dolphin show!

I love the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The majority of it’s mainstays are either still there or have been improved. The new Polar Bear exhibit is magnificent, allowing viewers to watch them swim in their pool through glass. The penguins still have their little island to swim and eat in and the monkeys have a vast enclosure viewable through glass. The Giraffes and Camels are always comical and the Children’s Zoo section is one of the highest rated in the nation. The National Zoo in D.C., although free, pales in comparison.

It’s true that the area surrounding the park (Druid Hill and Druid Hill Park) is not the best area but as long as you stay in the park there’ll be no problems.

If you like to drink, mainly in small sea-chanty-town type bars, then this is your place. It sits right on the water in Baltimore, MD, thus it’s inception. It was originally a place for sailors to drink when they came in off their boats. Now it’s for everyone. Some contend that it’s haunted and they have “Ghost Tours” to attest to that fact. If you’re like me you’ll want to stay away from places like Reefer’s and instead patronize the smaller venues like the Wharf Rat and for food Brick Oven Pizza (commonly referred to as BOP) is a must. During the day there is some interesting shopping to be done in places like Sticky Fingers, Ninth Life and for music Soundgarden.

**By a local DJ was deemed, “Where the elite meet to piss in the street”.

The Paper Moon is a great little eatery. Small plastic toys and every type of kitsch you can imagine adorn the walls, ceiling fan and just about anywhere you can glue something down. The food is pretty cheap and the atmosphere stellar. You can smoke at the bar, but they don’t serve liquor. It’s a favorite hotspot when the clubs let out b/c it’s open 24/7.

I got stuck going on a family trip to this beach. First off, the houses you can rent are enormous and pretty cheap compared to OC, MD. That being said, the houses better be nice b/c you will spending all of your time in them, especially if you end up with inclement weather. There’s nothing around save for the beach. The closest restaurant that we went to was around a half hour away. For a twenty-two y.o. trying to have a good time, it’s not the place. For anyone that wants a lazy week at a truly gorgeous beach, this is a perfect fit.

**If you google image search “Corolla” and “North Carolina” almost all the pictures that come up are of the giant “cottages” available for rent on the cheap.

Ever since I was a small boy my family took a yearly, week-long trip to the closest beach from our Baltimore home: Ocean City, Maryland. If you want to have a relaxing vacation at a quiet beach this is not your town. I would suggest Corolla, NC for that. In O.C. there’s a bustling boardwalk complete with some decent rides (the Tidal Wave is the best and as long as you’re not there for the fourth of July there’s no line), stellar restaurants (Bull on the Beach), fantastic eateries (Thrasher’s french fries are insanely good, as is Fisher’s Popcorn and Dumsers Dairyland’s superb ice cream). And a Baltimore fave, Phillip’s Crab House has incredible seafood. (There at least a dozen other eateries involving steamed crabs.) I have really fond memories of this as a child and think that anyone looking to have a good time on the beach should think about going, w/ or w/o a family.

**Things to look out for: almost the entire place is crawling w/ high school seniors in, pretty much, the whole month of June. This is called Senior Week and can really get in some people’s way of a good time. Also, the Fourth of July is an extremely popular time to go. Expect crowds.

My grandparents retired in this little town in West Virginia and we used to go visit them there all the time. When I was little there was one “Main Street” w/ a few establishments, but no McDonald’s and no Wal-Mart. That has slowly changed over the years and now there is a lot more to the “town” but it still retains it’s country charm. There’s a yearly Apple Butter Festival in the fall complete with bandstand music, a parade and a must-see: a Turtle Race. Also, right at the heart of town there is a great big hotel I think called the Country Inn (nice rooms, swimming pool etc.). It’s a nice place to visit.

We flew in from the East Coast just to see Le Tigre and Beck perform in the theatre right at CityWalk. It was an amazing show and the restaurants in this area were really superb, with one catering to each kind of food, w/ a little more weight on Seafood. A good time!