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Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 4:41 PM
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dchan dchan is offline
No grabbing my banana!
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: 10021
Posts: 2,821
I do love the city because of the wonderful memories that I've had there. But my recent trip there sort of reinforced the stereotypes and image that The Wire has presented of the city to the world.

About 13 years ago, my mother and I spent several days around the Inner Harbor area. We found the areas outside of the Inner Harbor to be safe and walkable, and loved the museums we visited there, such as the Visionary Art Museum, the Historical Society, and the Railroad Museum.

But the mood changed when we went back on a Sunday morning last year. We were only stopping by in the city to buy some Maryland Crabs from the Lexington Market. The city had barriers along the street for the Grand Prix that was about to take place soon, or had just taken place (I honestly do not recall when we visited last year). The Inner Harbor was thriving with people and tourists. But outside the Inner Harbor was a different story altogether.

I don't know what the story is here. Was it because of the Grand Prix? Was it because it was a Sunday morning, and everyone was off at church? Whatever it was, as we were driving to Lexington Market (only to find it closed), we passed by nearly deserted streets with only a few sketchy characters milling about, almost no stores open anywhere, and the constant screech of police cruisers blaring their sirens and speeding down the streets. What the hell was going here in Baltimore, a city that we had found so agreeable not too long ago? It reminded us of a recent visit in the evening to Dayton, Ohio, whose downtown was slightly less sketchy but even more deserted than Baltimore's downtown on that Sunday morning.

I would like an good reason that can explain the state that I saw Baltimore's streets in (such as whether we came at a bad time), because I really do hate to see a city that nice waste away like that.

The only silver lining to this visit was that because Lexington Market was closed on Sunday, we were forced to go to Phillips' Seafood at the Inner Harbor for our crabs. Phillips' crabs are much pricier than we recalled the crabs at Lexington Market to be, but wowweee! Those crabs were so big, so meaty and juicy, and so delectable! Do yourself a favor, don't cheap out during crab season (which is now), and go get yourself some takeout Maryland Crabs from Phillips.
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