A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. -Oscar Wilde

Sunday, August 1, 2010

touristy weekend

My first weekend 1) all by myself and 2) in Baltimore coincided with two fairly large events downtown-- and I was tired of other people. So I drove a-l-l the way to rural southern Maryland and visited Calvert Cliffs to do a little hiking, a little beaching, and maybe find some fossils. Two out of three ain't bad (there are Serious Hunters there, that bring all kinds of pans and strainers and tools to pick through the clay-- I'll have to bring similar things the next time).

swap trail

area closed

a working bay

HOWEVER. Due to an unfortunate sunblock malfunction, I wound up about as pink as a Maryland steamed crab. 24 hours later, and my face isn't too bad-- but the backs of my legs are all sensitive and tingly despite not turning red. Odd.

Today, I went to the Baltimore Book Thing. Tricky to find, but a fascinating place. Then I went here.

There's a conservatory in Baltimore

plumeria

orchid gallery

palm court

You had to see that coming. It's a nice little place. I mean, it's not like it has anything on Phipps. But the blooming plumeria smelled heavenly, the strawberry guavas made my mouth water, and the orchids were respectable (certainly better than the orchids I saw at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens). As I said to my mother, my ideal Sunday was spent surrounded by books and then at the conservatory. If it were game day, I then would have gotten home in time to whip up snacks while watching the pregame and then watch the Steelers game. That.. could be why I spend so much time alone. ;>

2 comments:

Hp0 said...

OMG free books?!?!?! I am so coming down to go there!! Er, and visit. Yeah, that's what I meant. . .

Constant Gardener said...

It's like a used bookstore with tons of books roughly (but barely) separated by topic and otherwise all mixed up-- and you can take as many as you want. And you can drop off any books you want to pass on. Lots and lots of crap, but I found some decent ones!