This past weekend we moved our boat to
BMC Harborview for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. My parents came into town and bought tickets for the four of us for the three day "
Festival of Speed." Sure, we could have stayed in our own marina, but this marina was easy walking distance to the
Inner Harbor (less than a mile). We felt like tourists in our own town. We rarely go to the Inner Harbor anymore. Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend that any visitor to Baltimore go there. It's beautiful; the city has done a great job revitalizing this important area. We just normally stay closer to home and less packed restaurants.
The walk to and from the marina was like a dream. There is a well-lit, safe-feeling walkway along the water between the marina and the harbor. I wish I had taken a picture of this walkway. I think there are (hopefully) still plans to extend the walkway further around into Harbor East, Fell's Point, and Canton.
We were definitely placed on the right pier at Harborview. The boats on E pier were rockin! Everyone was out being social and we had a great time. Plus, how can you go wrong with a Baltimore icon as a nightlight:
Another plus for Harborview, it's walking distance from
Little Havana. When I say walking distance, I mean 2 blocks. For those of you who don't know, part of
The Replacements was filmed in this bar/restaurant. For non-movie people, the cuban inspired food is good and the atmosphere is delightfully unsophisticated. We went for dinner one night and snagged a prime outdoor table. Try this locals joint next time you are in town.
A highlight of the weekend was a stop at the
BMC Inner Harbor. We noticed a
Maritimo docked there and decided to show my parents our dream boat. The owners were sitting outside on the boat so I walked over to explain why the four of us were standing there pointing at their boat. Debbie and her husband were so kind; they invited us onto the boat so I could show my parents the inside. It turns out that they spend half of the year in Annapolis near the Chart House restaurant. If I ever see their boat again I'll bring them a bottle of wine for being so gracious. As I often tell people "once you have a boat you are in the club," yet this was an above and beyond kindness from strangers.
And now, a posting from a guest blogger (my husband) with more information about the Grand Prix:
The Inagural Baltimore Grand Prix was a huge success in my point of view. It gave the racing fans and those just interested in the hype a first class view into Grand Prix racing. Friday started out a bit slow due to delays in getting the fencing up and finalized but gave the first glimpses into what we were about to expect in the following days. The drivers were a bit cautious on the new course but all seemed to indicate by the end of the day that they liked the course. We even got to see one wreck of a Porche that backed itself into one of the retaining walls.
One of the neat things about the Baltimore set-up was that the prep area for the crews was inside within the convention center. You could walk through and see all of the car preps and even some of the drivers if they were out helping with the cars or signing autographs.
On Saturday the qualifying and racing really started and so with it came more fans. The first highlight of Sat was walking around finding the car club section where there were hundreds of high performance cars on display.
The second highlight was the American LeMans Series race. It was very cool to see the different style cars (porsche, corvette, BMW, lamborghini, and prototypes) all racing at different speeds and in different classes. It was difficult to determine who was leading each class but we really enjoyed the race. I know my favorites were the two corvettes and patron sponsored lamborghinis.
On Sunday the races were on. Our day started out by watching the Indy Lights race where only about 1/2 of the field finished the race. Three of the cars were pushed behind the wall on the hair pin turn by the end of the race. It seemed like no one wanted to win the race as the 4 drivers who were in the lead near the end of the race all wrecked on their own and gave the win to the #2 car that spun out early in the race. Goes to show that you should never give up.
The day wrapped up with the IZOD IndyCar race which showed how truly skilled drivers can drive a difficult track without wrecking since the first 30+ laps were completed with no issues....then the 10 car back-up occurred right in front of us. I was so focused on what was happening that I forgot to take a live picture so had to settle for a photo of the replay TV display in front of us.
The race ended with the favorite (Powers) winning and Patrick showing that if you stay out of trouble you can turn a horrid qualifying session into a decent finish.
If this has perked your interest and you are trying to decide on seats for next year...I highly recommend the hair-pin turn. You see the most action and the higher up you are the better. Our seats even allowed us to stand at the top some which gave some fresh air through a nice breeze along with a great view of the city being attacked by the local pirates.
Bottom line...if you have any interest in the amazing thought of cars going 200+ miles per hour through a city...then plan on a weekend next year to go to the race and enjoy what Baltimore has to offer.
While at the festival we saw an unexpected reminder of the fact that we were missing the boat show. We only miss the show for really good reasons - like weddings. In total, I believe we've been to 9 of the last 11 shows.
We found a really interesting boat while touring around Newport. I had to take a photo from a bridge and wish we could have gotten closer. Is it a sailboat with the mast removed?
I'd like to add Newport to my list of places to live on a boat but think I will have improve my boating skills. Can you imagine navigating between these rocks to get to your mooring ball? Granted, it was a very windy day, and there are also marinas which I assume are easier to navigate, but the Newport boaters must be really comfortable with their boats.
Being slightly off season, we were able to dock right at the fuel dock. We were also the early birds so we had our pick of barstools in the shack with TVs. 
Red Eye's is hardly known for their cuisine and unfortunately some of the meals with lacking - steak covered in hot sauce is not the best preparation for a surf and turf plate. But the drinks were good and some of our crew participated in their own personal cornhole tournament.
And the local wildlife is friendly enough to eat right out of your hand.
I think we need to put Red Eye's into our general rotation.
Next, fill the pit with charcoal and light it. Give the charcoal some time to fully heat up. 
The potatoes and corn take the longest to cook. Put them in the pots first. They should be ready in about 30 minutes. The shrimp, mussels, and clams take only about 10 minutes to cook. You'll know 
I was a little late to the game getting a photo of the results. Honestly, it all smelled so good that I dug in before thinking about the camera. I did get a picture of the remnants of the seafood. Can't wait to do this again!
Who is going to clean up this mess? Shouldn't the marina have hired someone to remove leaves from boats as they fell from the trees? (Of course, I'm completely joking.)
Then again, the canvas is just fine. Looks like the wood was the weak link.
She has already survived an extremely rare East Coast earthquake this week. This is just another test in a miserable weather August. Good luck boat!
We've strapped it down as well:
People in Baltimore have strong memories of Isabel. The city was hit by a 9 foot storm surge. Many parts of Fell's Point and the Inner Harbor were under water. We were docked at the Inner Harbor Marina during that storm and our piers floated above the pylons. It was a scary situation and we were very lucky to be left without damage to our boat. Home and business owners are getting ready for Irene (what is it with "I" name hurricanes and Baltimore?):
Be safe everyone! Time to take a nap so I can stay up through the storm.
