Sorry for the double post...

MamaShark, are you going to Baltimore for BronyCon? Just curious.

It occurred to me that a shark might enjoy the National Aquarium, but the National Aquarium is expensive (adult admission is $40). Also, if you've been to, say, the New England Aquarium, I'm not sure if the National Aquarium would feel much different.

I enjoyed my visit to the USS Constellation, but, again, I don't know if the Constellation is a must-see if you've toured the USS Constitution in Boston.

The American Visionary Art Museum is one-of-a-kind. If I had time to go to only one tourist attraction in Baltimore, I would go to AVAM. The stuff inside is really cool and funky.

The restaurants don't necessarily have to be family friendly... Our group will be comprised of all adults, but we will all be in some variation of jeans/shorts, t shirts and sneakers, so an emphasis on super casual is really what I was looking to convey when I said "family friendly." :)

You might want to try Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. if everyone enjoys/is not allergic to seafood. They have non-seafood items too but some allergies act up in the presence of seafood.
301 Light Street, Suite 1405
Baltimore, MD 21202

We took our grandkids there. Totally fun and unpretentious.

Peace
CTEE

I am going to BronyCon :)

I'd be happy to bring along my siggy and PTs for exchanges if you (or any other boxers) will be there as well.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, too! Hoping I have some time to see one or two things while I'm in town since this will also be my first trip to MD.

For those boxers (with children 16 & under) who will be visiting Maryland State Parks this summer, you might want to check out Park Quest. The online registration just opened today and is limited to 1000 teams. Those who join will be sent a passport and have an opportunity to complete quests at many MD State Parks. It costs $10 to register, but admission is waived at the parks where quests are available (only on the day you're there to complete the quest though). This is my first year, but I have a friend who's done it for the past two years and her family really enjoyed it.

Hi MamaShark,
When you mentioned "August" and "Baltimore Convention Center," I immediately thought of BronyCon, but I haven’t been to it, nor do I have plans to go. Sorry. Didn’t mean to raise your hopes there.

I’ve traveled to Baltimore several times for Otakon (it was the second-largest anime convention in the US for a long time, attracts around 30,000 people each year). For the past few years both BronyCon and Otakon were held at the Baltimore Convention Center in the summer, and some people attend both cons.

I’ve eaten at various places around Baltimore, but as I explain below, I’m not sure how useful my experiences will be to you. I do want to give you some information, though, so you’re not left in the dark.

See, the problem is that the Inner Harbor is the most touristy part of Baltimore. Naturally, most of the eateries in or near the Inner Harbor are tourist traps and/or belong to national chains. If eating at an independently-owned restaurant is important to you (it’s important to me), there’s a far better selection of them in other neighborhoods, such as Fells Point and Federal Hill. Fells Point or Federal Hill wouldn’t be TOO far out of your way.

I don’t know what BronyCon is like, but I’ve attended my share of conventions, and generally people attending conventions want to minimize the time, effort, and money they have to spend in order to get meals. However, since I’ve attended lots of anime conventions and they all tend to be somewhat similar, I was willing to hop on a bus and travel a ways in search of new food experiences, partly in order to escape the massive crowds of Otakon. This was why I didn’t recommend anything at first—because the places I liked the best are far away from the Baltimore Convention Center, and they don’t sound like what you’d be looking for.

I can tell you that, for example, I had an excellent meal at Charleston, but Charleston is a very expensive fine dining restaurant. Patisserie Poupon was the best bakery of the ones in Baltimore that I’ve visited, but, it’s a bakery—it only sells pastries. I had a great experience at Ekiben (Asian fusion eatery with casual, funky décor), but it was a hike from the convention center, has a limited menu and limited hours, and can only seat maybe 9 people at a time.

Otakon attendees gravitated to the Harborplace Pavilions (bordered by Pratt and Light Streets) to eat, but many of the establishments my boyfriend and I patronized there have closed down. In my opinion, the Harborplace pavilions are shadows of what they used to be.

With all of that out of the way…

Here are my opinions of a few places near the Inner Harbor that to my knowledge are NOT part of national chains:

Miss Shirley’s Café (750 E Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202): Good place to get brunch. They don’t mind T-shirts and jeans—my boyfriend was wearing a video game costume when we went, and you can see people wearing T-shirts in Yelp photos of the place. Could be a long wait to be seated.

The Bun Shop (22 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202): Nice café and good savory buns, although their buns are no more than snacks at most.

Delights by Mina (105 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201): West African food. I went on a Friday to get lunch, and the set-up was a buffet; I gather that the food is made-to-order on other days of the week. Pretty good cheap food, but their décor is that of a take-out joint, and their staff was utterly indifferent to me. I didn’t care—I was hungry and wanted to be in and out as fast as possible so I could return to Otakon.

Pratt Street Ale House (206 W Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201): Brewpub serving decent food. Nothing special. Their location can’t be beat, though—they’re directly across the street from the convention center. As a result, they’re often busy during special events, like conventions and Orioles games.

Thai Elephant Wok (32 S Eutaw Street, Baltimore, MD 21201): Really more of a take-out joint. Food was okay. I’ve never been to a Thai restaurant anywhere that I thought was outstanding, but this place is convenient if you’re staying at the Marriott Inner Harbor or the Holiday Inn.

This restaurant is part of an international chain, but you may find it of interest anyway—
Nando’s Peri-Peri (421 W Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201): A restaurant chain originating in South Africa, known for their rotisserie chicken. The food was pretty good. Saw plenty of people wearing T-shirts here. Note: A host will seat you and give you a number for your table, but once you’re seated, you have to go up to the counter yourself to place an order.

If you head up N. Charles Street, there are some other ethnic restaurants.

Now that Otakon is moving to Washington, DC, I probably won’t return to Baltimore for a long, long time.

we will all be in some variation of jeans/shorts, t shirts and sneakers

The restaurants at the Inner Harbor are used to casually-dressed tourists and hordes of people in outrageous costumes because of Otakon, so I don’t think you really need to worry about your group’s attire. Just avoid fine dining restaurants like the Rusty Scupper and a couple of $$$$-places in the Harbor East area (such as Charleston), and you’ll be fine.

You might want to try Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. if everyone enjoys/is not allergic to seafood.

I thought the food at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was mediocre, but that’s just me.

I forgot to mention Fort McHenry National Monument as another tourist attraction to visit in Baltimore. I felt my visit to Fort McHenry was worthwhile, but I enjoyed the American Visionary Arts Museum more, in part because I like art better than history (and partly because I'd rather have "America the Beautiful" as the national anthem than "The Star Spangled Banner").

Hello! It's last minute, but I am going to host my first event in Clifton, VA in September. Since it's in driving distance for some of you, I thought I'd post it here.

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?eventId=3873

Any of my MD boxing buddies headed to the Philly Folk Fest nest month?

Fountain Rock Park and Nature Center has had a rotating series of letterboxes for awhile now. Due to construction in the park as well as missing boxes they were pulled earlier this year.
In honor of Fountain Rock Park's 30th Birthday all four series will be out in the park at the same time. Starting 25 August 2017 they will remain out through Labor Day weekend and possibly September. They will then be pulled and retired. This is your chance to get any missing series or to collect them all in one fell swoop.
There are plans to put letterboxes out again in the park once the construction dust has settled.
Hope to see you at the park!

Fortune's fool and I will be attending the Maryland Renaissance Faire on Sunday and Monday Sept 3 & 4. If anyone would like to meet us and exchange let me know.

I'm looking at hosting an event on December 16th in the Fairfax area of VA. Would you all be interested in this, or should I wait until February? Just trying to gauge interest, thanks! :)

Saturday's in December would be tough for me. Not much going on in February though.

Greetings! T-N-T (that's us!; we're only TRH N T on AQ) are looking for a boxer in the Greater Baltimore area -- preferably someone in the Towson/Parkville area who can EITHER help us with a ring during February and March OR take our place in this ring for the rest of 2018 (through December).

The ring is the Box of the Month and it works like this -- you receive a different stamp and logbook at the beginning of each month, you plant it and make it available in your area, and then at the end of that month you mail it on to a different person in a different part of the country.

One of us is retiring in four (4) days and we're relocating (back) to Parkville. We've been a part of the ring for a few years and signed up again for this year, but are experiencing some issues surrounding retirement and the relocation that will make it difficult to fulfill our commitment. If someone would help us receive and plant the boxes during February and March, we think we could do the other months going forward. If someone would prefer to get in the ring for the year, we would give up our place to you for the duration.

If you are interested in either option, please send us AQ mail so we can contact you directly and discuss options? Thank you so much for your consideration!

Tink and Tom of T-N-T (TRH N T on AQ)

Hey everyone in case you missed it there is a new event posted happening in york county, PA. The link to the event page is below. It is all about space and Astrology, with trails filled with stamps, and potluck lunch. We would love to see you all there, chit chat and of course hunt some awesome stamps. Please join us, for a day of space filled fun! Happy Letterboxing!

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?eventId=3976

Thank you to Night0wl and Rebiccola for a fun filled event today...Pong to Pokemon. It was a wild ride through video gaming history and a great time was had by all. So glad the rain held off. All of your planning and attention to detail were greatly appreciated. Looking forward to getting back on the trail again soon.

Awesome event indeed!!! Great clues, great company and gorgeous stamps. The weather was just right for boxing today. Job well done ladies and gents!!!

Great event--thank you for all the time and effort you put into it.

It was a wonderful event! So glad we were able to camp and spend even more time with our northern friends too!

Old Blue and I are visiting from California and wonder if anyone wants to meet up for an exchange. We will be in the Baltimore area all day Monday, and Tuesday, May 21 and 22. I know it’s short notice but if anyone’s available, let us know.

DoubleSaj

I’m hoping someone is home planting boxes. I’m away in Virginia adding to their count. It would be great to come home to some new boxes to find.

I planted one in Hyattsville on Sunday. :)

I have three or four to plant, but did not get it done this week like I'd hoped. Going to try to get it done in the next couple weeks.

Brian - HVs

Hello, I have been asked to find a nice restaurant anywhere between Washington DC and Baltimore but preferably closer to Washington. My stepdaughter from Hawaii is attending a convention and wants to meet us for dinner one evening. We are looking for a nice restaurant but not a fine dining place. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

What type of food? There are SOOO many options. And, do want to stay on a route between DC and Baltimore....or can you veer a little west of the 95 corridor?

We are driving down from Reading, PA and will be on 95 between Baltimore and Washington. I am not exactly sure where in Washington my step daughter will be but she will have a car and will meet us. So veering a little west would probably be ok.

As for food, I have a meat and potatoes man, no ethnic foods except possibly Mexican, unfortunately. Edited to add, he just said seafood would also be good.

For a real Baltimore experience, Timbuktu. Crab cakes are renown. But also, steak, chicken, etc. Not in Baltimore, but off 95 near airport.

For a real Baltimore experience, Timbuktu.

Wow! Sounds perfect! We checked out the website and as soon as we verify that she will have a car, I will be making reservations. Thank you!

We were there just a few weeks ago, celebrating Girlguides 2’s retirement. Crab cakes were delicious. Hope it works out 😋