Delaware and Baltimore

We drove the length of Delaware to Rehoboth Beach.  What a lushly forested state it is!  We went to the beach to see the World War II towers that still stand there.  They were built in the 1930s and 40s as watch towers to guard the coast, and meant to last for 20 years but are still standing.

We headed into Maryland next to Assateague Island to see the wild horses there.  We saw several groups of horses grazing, and some crossing the road.  It was really exciting!

We spent the next two days in Baltimore. 

I had some of the best seafood Maryland has to offer!

First a steaming bowl full of mussels with spinach, garlic, and tarragon butter ....

then some lump crab cakes .....

and we both had the best pit beef sandwiches and potato salad ....

 

We went to Fort McHenry, where the "Star Spangled Banner" was written during the War of 1812, and learned a lot about the war, the song, and the fort while there. They had a nice presentation about the writing of the song, how it became the national anthem, and why Francis Scott Key was aboard the British ship when he wrote the song.  They even had a copy of the original document with all the stanzas that he wrote.

We also went to the American Visionary Art Museum.  This was a very unique museum and it was fun to see something completely different.  There were toothpick creations, artistic renderings, moving creations, and some very interesting displays.

 

We saw the historic ships there, including the USS Constellation. and the USCGC Taney from Pearl Harbor.

the sub, USS Torsk

lightship Chesapeake

We headed west to Hanover, Pennsylvania, where we wanted to tour the Snyders factory, but just missed the last tour.  At least we did get some samples, and bought some oops pretzels and chips in their shop!