Baltimore: A Sleeper that Should Be a Keeper on Your List of Places to Visit

I visited Baltimore for the first time in the summer of 1969. I'd just come back to the U.S. after my first tour in Vietnam, and I figured any city in the U.S. would be an improvement over what I'd witnessed during the year I'd served in Southeast Asia.

In the 1960s, Baltimore was to me an urban war zone

Baltimore, called 'Ballamer' by the natives, came as a shock. With urban drug trafficking on the rise and a resurgence of mob activity up and down the Atlantic seaboard, the city reminded me a lot of Vietnam, but I hadn't been given rules of engagement. It took me the better part of 18 months to come to terms with the rough and tumble of the city, and after two years, I left, first for Kansas, followed by Arizona, then back to Vietnam.

The changes have been pleasantly shocking

I didn't get back to the home of 'The Star Spangled Banner' until 1982, after retiring from the army and moving to Washington, DC to join the U.S. Foreign Service. My family pressed me one weekend to drive north from Washington to see this 'Inner Harbor' everyone was talking about, and my kids wanted to visit Fort McHenry for a school history project they were working on. Baltimore shocked me a second time.

The Inner Harbor, which had been a somewhat seedy dock area when I first saw it in 1969, had been transformed into a trendy area of restaurants, souvenir shops, and pubs, where you could stroll along and enjoy the sites, or stuff yourself into insensibility on Chesapeake Bay seafood. For ten bucks, you can get a ticket on the Water Taxi that's good for the entire day, and take the water cruise from the Inner Harbor all the way to Fort McHenry and points between. That visit was so pleasant, I've made it a point to make a pilgrimage to the harbor city every time I go back to the U.S., and it just keeps getting better.

While a lot of the ethnic neighborhoods, with their pubs and small eateries, still exist; which for me is the real charm of Baltimore, there are also a lot of new restaurants, dance clubs, and entertainment venues to suit almost any taste. For racing fans, the city's home to Pimlico Racetrack, one of the Triple Crown venues, and the city's major league baseball team plays at Camden Yards. Places to stay have also multiplied, with everything from bed and breakfast to upscale hotels. The new subway system, modeled after Washington's Metro system, makes getting around a snap.

Baltimore is home to a lot of American history

Along with good eating, drinking, and shopping, Baltimore has played an important role in American history from the War of 1812 to the Civil War. Along with Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis Scott Key's famous poem which became our National Anthem, it was the scene of some of the first Civil War conflicts. History buffs will be thrilled at hidden treasures like Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, the home of Mary Pickersgill, the woman who sewed the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment that inspired Key's poem, and North Point State Park, where British general Robert Ross, the man who sacked Washington, DC, was killed in battle. The National Museum of Dentistry, at 31 S. Greene Street in downtown, has exhibits of dentistry in the United States from colonial times, and provides proof that the legend of George Washington's wooden teeth is false - his teeth were false, but were made of a bony substance.

Whether you're into night life, shopping, or learning more about our country's history, Baltimore should be on your list of American cities to visit.

Places to stay

Admiral Fell Inn

Fells Point, 888 S. Broadway

Baltimore, MD 21231

(410) 522-7377

http://www.harbormagic.com

Baltimore Marriott Waterfront

700 Aliceanna St.

Baltimore, MD 21202

(410) 385-3000

http://www.baltimoremarriottwaterfront.com

Holiday Inn Inner Harbor

391 W. Lombard St.

Baltimore, MD 21201

(410) 686-3500

http://www.innerharborhi.com/index.cfm

For up to date information on hotels, attractions, tours, special events, restaurants, sports, and transportation, go to the Visit Baltimore Web site http://www.baltimore.org.