Greetings! If you’re reading this, I thank you very much, but when you get the chance today PLEASE go outside and enjoy this lovely sunny day in Baltimore! It also sounds like we will have a gorgeous spring weekend as well so it’s time to start making plans on what outside events/activities there are to do.

 

I have a couple plugs to make. Regarding my old neighborhood and parish to which I belong, there will be a Wine Tasting Festival this Sunday April 20, 2008 held outside that you have got to attend. Why you ask? It will feature homemade Italian wine of course (another plug for my heritage in case you did not pick up on my Italian surname). Here are the details for you:

 

 

April 16, 2008

 

When was the last time you went for a hike, a run, or a bike ride? I don’t know about you, but riding on a bike makes me feel like a giddy kid again. Only now, I don’t ride my little bright green bike around the block I used to live on in Baltimore city. I’m keeping an eye out for different trails to visit and in case you didn’t know, there are so many trails to enjoy on a Sunday morning for a cool breeze and beautiful Maryland scenery – and you might not even realize the workout you would be getting!

 

 

As I mentioned above, I grew up in Highlandtown of Southeast Baltimore, so I like to consider myself a city girl at heart even if I end up living on or near a farm. Although I do not live in the city anymore, I have grown accustomed to the sound of sirens, large trucks, street congestion, pot holes, and pollution just like any urban area – and I love it! In fact, I still remember the first time I slept over a relative’s house in Carney when I was a child; I could not fall asleep due to the sound of one cricket, but put me back in a city house with a roaring fire engine and a fleet of cop cars underneath my window and I could sleep like a baby.

 

Perhaps this is the reason why I prefer a walk or bike ride around or through the Inner Harbor. Of course it’s a tourist area, and if you are a Baltimorean, it’s a refreshing thing to see why the Inner Harbor is the main attraction to our city. If you are really looking for a long workout, make the venture around the Inner Harbor all the way to one of my favorite places: Fort McHenry (there is a bike route along Pratt Street to Key Highway with signs leading to the historic battlefield). Beyond the fact that Fort McHenry was a battle ground which Americans used to defend Baltimore against the British during the Civil War, Fort McHenry is ironically a very peaceful place. I guess for me, it is the bike ride through the city sounds (which I still enjoy) that allow me to seek rest at Fort McHenry and enjoy silence and serenity; this is a much-needed place in our day in age of cell phones, computers, televisions, and stereos. Get back to nature – even for that one Sunday morning – and find your favorite place to either share with someone or keep for yourself!