Baltimore Inner Harbor Day 2

 

 On day two of our Baltimore trip we decided to visit the Maritime Museums.  This consists of 4 ships that you can walk through, sometimes there are demonstrations as well.  Little Monkey really enjoyed these ships!  I think she enjoyed them more than the Aquarium even!  I enjoyed them to, thanks to my little friend Dramamine. (laugh all you want, I feel sea sick just looking at the harbor!)  Seriously though, I get sea sick so easily, my husband will never forget our first trip to Jamestown and visiting the boat replicas that are docked on the James River, yes a river.  I was on the first boat for less than five minutes before I had to leave.  He laughed for a long time, I can't help it, I can read while I am riding on a twisty road in a car, but put me on water and it is all over!
 The first ship we visited was the USS Constellation, a Civil War ship.  This was pretty awesome, I could show you a whole post worth of pictures but I won't.  The craftsmanship was beautiful, especially in the captains quarters. 

Old Glory

demonstrating the guns (not cannon, as they corrected me) It was so loud!

The buffet in the captains quarters, there was a huge walnut table and chairs, a sideboard, and these padded benches, it was like a dinning room in a home.

 The second ship we viewed was the lightship Chesapeake.  Lightships were employed to stay near the shoals and act as a light house for ships.  It was extremely boring, and extremely dangerous work.  Several light ships were rammed by larger ships because they didn't see them in time during storms.  I think the most interesting thing about them, each ship had a dog on board.  Apparently this was not really common in that time period, but it was standard on the lightships. 

The wheel of the Chesapeake, it was solid brass and shiny, it begged to be touched, but you are warned not to touch any brass on this ship.

 Our third ship was probably the most interesting.  This is the USS Torsk a submarine.  Little Monkey thought this was so fun, it was more "her size".  She had a good laugh the first couple of times Hubby and had to navigate the doors.  I have seen video of sailors running the length of sub jumping through these doors, I honestly don't know how they do it.

both engines had names, this was Lil Abner, for some reason this made me laugh.

extremely tight quarters, those beds to not look comfy, plus you are sharing it with someone else, splitting your shifts, you have it for so many hours, then someone else does.

Imagine fitting through these?  Little Monkey could just stand up in the doorway, so imagine me at 5'9 and Hubby at 6'2" trying to get through them. (smiles)

not sure what you would call this room, it is where everything happens

the torpedo's, notice the bunks above the torpedo's?  Not the way I want to sleep!

 Next we stopped at the 7 Foot Lighthouse!  I have never seen a lighthouse that is this style.  Originally it was out on a shoal in the bay, with water all around.  Three men lived here splitting the shifts and duties involved in the keeping of a lighthouse.  It is really pretty, inside it is a museum, with lots of great information on Chesapeake Bay lighthouses, there are quite a few too!

This was someones joke, it was at the bottom of the light house.

 The last ship we viewed was the USCGC Taney.  This was a large Coast Guard ship.  We didn't have a lot of time on this one, but it was still interesting to see how they lived on board.  It was much more relaxed seeming than the submarine or even the lightship.

 weapons, there were a whole lot of them!

 This is what the men would have worn on the ship each day.

 Wheel house, where the navigating and steering take place.

There was just so much to see.  Seriously, I could show you tons about each of these ships, we so enjoyed visiting them!  The Taney also has a small museum and video about the Dec. 7 attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Taney was actually there and fired on Japanese planes. I would definitely recommend seeing these museums, they are so interesting and great for all ages!
Melissa

Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Howdy!  Well today I am in a cleaning frenzy!  My parents are visiting soon and today I have no kiddos!  Hopefully that means I will get tons done.

Recently we took a weekend trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  If you have never been there, you have got to try it!  I will say this, it is not the best place for young children for one reason, you do a ton of walking!!  Little Monkey was worn out with all the walking we did the first day.

We got a fantastic deal on a really nice hotel from Hotwire.com.  We stayed at the Radison Lord Baltimore Hotel, depending on the travel site you look at it is a 3 1/2 -4 star place.  We payed about the same rate as you would at Motel 6! 

our very nice room, with Sleep Number Beds

A word about Sleep Number Beds, they are weird. Basically it feels like you are sleeping on a nice air mattress, and that is not something I find real comfortable.

The first day we started out with a trip to the local flea market, about 15 minutes from our hotel.   I didn't take too many pictures, but this was my favorite booth!

He crabs and She crabs, these were cooked, and they smelled heavenly!  We really wished we had gone back and bought some to take home!

After a quick lunch we went to the National Aquarium.  They have some great exhibits, every time I thought "this was the best" we would start on another section and it would be the best.  The first section you go through is all about Australia. LM loved this because we have been learning all about Australia in school. 

the Australia section, these birds were making us laugh, they just bobbed in place, LM loved them.

Fresh water sharks

My favorite, the Jelly fish!

The dolphin show, LM thought this was the best!

We walked around in the dark to see these tanks, lit with special lights so you can see the vibrant colors.

The one thing I would say about the aquarium, you should go during the week if you can.  It was horribly crowded on Saturday when we went. 
The aquarium was great, but I still think Monteray Bay Aquarium is the best I've ever been to.
Come back on Friday for part two of our trip!
Melissa

Pinterest Monday # 30

Before I show you my favorites this week I just one say a word about yard sale etiquette.  If you advertise a yard sale on Craigslist, and if someone happens to email you about said yard sale to ask questions about certain sale items, and you know they are coming from an hour away, it is INCREDIBLY rude and thoughtless not to email that person or post on Craigslist that you have cancelled your yard sale. Needless to say, though I was willing to pay this persons price for their items, I am not now.

So, back to my Pinterest favorites!  My daily schedule has changed a bit recently and I am finding it hard to get dinner on the table in a timely manner some days.  So I started searching out good freezer meals on Pinterest.  I have found some great sites with good recipes.

I think my favorite tips and meals site is A Turtle's Life for Me.  Natalie has a whole list of foods she freezes, the cook books she gets her recipes from (she does not give the recipes out), and lots of tips and tricks.  Plus, her blog is just fun to read!

I love What's Cookin Chicago?'s site as well! The Corn and Black Bean Empanada's are next on my freezer meal list.  They sound yummy and like a good thing to have on hand for a quick lunch.

Next up is Once A Month Mom, this whole site is dedicated to once a month shopping and food prep and they have lots of recipes.  This link will take you to a list of 101 freezer friendly recipes.

Last but not least, a list of 31 things you can freeze, and some recipes to help out as well from One Good Thing By Jillee!

I hope you will find these as helpful as I have!  Starting next month I will occasionally post freezer friendly recipes that I have tried and we enjoyed!  I love this kind of cooking, it means a great dinner on those hectic days!
I hope you all have a great week!  I am really looking forward to next week and lots of family!!
Melissa

Bright Cheery Baby Room for J!!

Some of you know my middle sister, Lois, formerly of the blog Frugal Decor Mom.   She is one busy lady these days with three munchkins, homeschool, and life in general!  Lois had a little girl the end of last year, and she went all out on decorating her room.  It is bright and cheerful, and I personally love it!  She let me sneak a few pictures on a recent trip.

Meet my adorable squeezable niece J.  She is such a cutie and so happy too.  I love her duck fluff hair! 

Here is her super bright cheery room.

 I really love this quilt, my  Mom made it, my sister picked out all the fabrics.  Lois also painted the crib, and made the pillow, bumper pads, and bed skirt.

I don't recall where Lois said she saw this tree idea, I want to say Pottery Barn, but I could be wrong.  She got all the frames at Ikea for typical cheap Ikea prices and made the tree pattern herself.

This is another thing my crafty sister put together.  She made every one of the flowers on that lamp shade, by hand!!  It is a really fun lamp, the base was a thrift store find.  If you want one like it, you can check out her etsy store The Pretty Little Posie and buy one for yourself!

Again, crafty girl at work, this is a canvas that Lois painted.  It ties the room together beautifully!

Pillows she made!

Can't you tell she just loves this room? Don't forget to check out Lois' etsy store, The Pretty Little Posie and use coupon code Grandopening to get 10% off!!
Melissa

The Pretty Little Posie

Today I would like to introduce you to a new etsy shop, The Pretty Little Posie!  I'm a bit partial to this shop as all the creations are made by my sister. (smiles)  Let me show you some of my favorite items she has for sale.

 There are several of these darling Josie Posie lampshades, I've seen them in real life folks and I love them! You will too!

 The Pretty Posie Wreath, I can see this in a little girls room, or on my front door in the spring.

 It wouldn't be a collection of Posies without some Posie cluster headbands.

Last but not least, a stretchy bauble bracelet.  I hope you all will drop in and see the rest of the store's selections.  Lulu will be adding to the store weekly so keep checking back for more darling Posies!  Right now you can get 10% off your purchase by using coupon code GRANDOPENING at check out.
Thanks for stopping in!
Melissa