After 4 years of living in New York, we finally decided to buy our first car. You don’t really need a car in the city as New York has 24 hour subway trains and buses but then we thought it’s time for us to be able to feel how its like being able to go to places on a whim. So for our first out of state long drive, we decided to got to Baltimore in Maryland- a 3 hour ride from New York. Well, someone’s very excited to go to Baltimore. lol

Well, someone’s excited to go to Maryland. lol

The ride was smooth , thanks to Apple’s detailed GPS we were able to reach the city safely.

Baltimore is known for its steamed crabs drenched in a special kind of seasoning which I later learned is called the Old Bay seasoning made by the famous McCormick & Company- I remember as a child growing up in the Philippines, I see this name on the labels of salt and other spices and seasonings. As it turned out, McCormick originated in Baltimore too. This got me more excited to eat the crabs of Baltimore. :)))

Our first stop was the L.P. Steamers.

We ordered 12 pieces of the medium sized crabs (they ran out of the large ones). Note that they don’t serve steamed rice here so for Filipinos like us, it’s a bit disappointing as we love rice with our crabs. lol. But don’t worry we got rice from a Chinese takeout and ate it discretely with our crabs :)))

Sorry for the mess but we were just famished.lol

Aside from their crabs, LP Steamers also have a variety of seafood options that are very palatable. Their fries in Old Bay seasoning did not disappoint too.

I love how the city is a mixture of the old and the new. I learned that Baltimore is a harbor with very rich history. Did you know that the lyrics of the US National Anthem- Star Spangled Banner was inspired by the Battle in Baltimore against the British colony? And its harbor served as a major war production center during World War II?

After checking in at our hotel which is just in the premises of the Inner Harbor, we then went to the National Aquarium just a few steps away from the hotel. The Inner Harbor is lined with shops, restaurants and hotels so it’s very conducive for tourists like us who just wants to chill. lol

At the National Aquarium.

Still can’t figure out if this bird is a Flamingo since its right above us, on the tree branches (didn’t know they could fly lol)

As the caption says, this ship is the last Pearl Harbor survivor. They have converted this into a museum inside.

Most of our time in Baltimore was spent strolling around the harbor.

At night, we went to Nando’s Peri- Peri which I learned does not have a branch in New York. Again, it didn’t disappoint.

The streets are night are very quite, not much people strolling and only a few cars. Makes me compare it to the busy streets of NY.

The day after, we decided to have breakfast in the Blue Moon Cafe which was also a walking distance from the hotel. The place is very quaint and homey and reminds me of Sans Rival restaurant in Dumaguete, Philippines. Its a favorite breakfast spot by locals too.

We decided to bring home some crabs but then when we called they LP steamers, they ran out of crabs, We called another resto and they also ran out. Glad we found Bay Island which only offers take out crabs.

Overall, the trip (more like a food trip lol) was short but it was worth coming back :)))