Fells Fun Fest
When the week is long and hard, the weekend is so precious. Friday is the greatest feeling in the entire world. Freedom, peace, rest, and relaxation all await your embrace. I really feel that unplanned go-with-the-flow weekends are perfect breading grounds for memorable weekends. If you let things happen, more often than not, they can turn out in a wonderful way. Such is the case with my last weekend.
I wanted to attend the Baltimore Music Conference, but the dark and stormy rain clouds had other ideas. The event was cancelled and rescheduled to a later date. Hopefully, It will be held sooner than later. I was excited to see Heidi’s group, MathPanda, perform on the Hip-Hop stage. The promoters definitely took the high road. At one point on Saturday, it was dumping buckets.
Sunday was sort of planned, but we have our staple trip to the Baltimore Farmer's Market. I have grown (no pun intended) to relish this bazaar. Of course, the fantastic coffee and delicious fresh donuts might be the reason. It is also amazing to see the cross section of the city and country residents. Plus, we are able to purchase the freshest and cheapest fruits, vegetables, and breads for the entire week. This week, we decide to decorate the front of our house with a few choice mums and pumpkin. It looks sweet. In the weeks to come, we will be able to purchase our Christmas Tree. The proximity of such a fine market is one of my favorite reasons about living in Federal Hill.
After we organized our bounty, it was time to enjoy the afternoon. If Saturday was a large mean foaming at the mouth Rot, Sunday was the sweetest calmest happiest Golden. The day's weather could not be more perfect. Lucky for us, the 40th Fells Point Fun Fest was being held just across the harbor. This is another reason for loving city life – there is always an event to attend.
Ryan stopped by the house to inquire of our plans. He was ready to grab the water taxi, but we still needed sometime. We were to meet him over in Fells. After eating some Tai Dumplings and Pad Tai (from the farmers market) for lunch, we started the trek across the water. The water taxi is an interesting mode of transportation. It is eight bucks for an all day pass. It travels around the entire Baltimore Harbor. It is one of the quickest way’s to get to Fells Point from our part of Federal Hill. Unfortunately, it only operates until 8pm. I guess a boatload full of drunks isn't exactly safe.
We just caught the water taxi at the Harborview stop by Little Havana. It is a one-way trip straight to the end of Broadway. From the middle of the harbor, we could see the festivities. There were tents and people down the entire waterfront. It was exciting to see. Once we arrived, we decided to purse some of the tent vendors. We found some awesome Christmas presents for family and a few things for ourselves. I picked up a new brown hemp bracelet. Teresa really liked this European photographer that had a portfolio of black and white pieces. Each one was very dark and ominous. Here favorite was the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania.
We continued down Thames toward Wolfe. Ryan, Montana, Brimmer, and others were drinking at the Red Star. Our South African friend Darren is the bartender at this exquisitely appointed pub. Even though the festival was wailing outside, we spent an hour in Red Star. It was nice to have a few Hoegardden’s with orange, but I was excited to enjoy the festival.
It wasn't long before we walked down Thames toward Broadway. It was a shame that the Thames Street Park was so crowded. This was the location of a microbrew beer garden and a blues music stage. At the Bond Street Pier, we stopped for lunch. I ran down to the 98 Rock Beer garden for the bathroom, and I saw Thomas and Cindy. It was good to say hello, but they wanted to walk back to Wolfe Street. Once I was back at the Pier, I grabbed a chicken gyro and sweet cornbread mozzarella sandwich. Both were very good.
Before long, Pete, Heidi, John, and his friend Emma met us. It was great to see them all. I was disappointed for Heidi because; she was excited about the BMC. She really hoped it would be rescheduled sooner than later. They did have a successful gig in Brooklyn on Friday night so; the entire weekend was not washed up. Pete is doing well in grad school. It sounds very overwhelming, but I know he can handle the load.
It became clear why Ryan choose the Bond Street Pier. DuClaws is at the corner with Broadway. I have never been to this bar restaurant, but it was nicely appointed and contained a lively crowd. Everyone was watching football. Ryan’s friend was bartending, and we had easy access to refills. The bar manager was a stickler for leaving their patio, but it was an excellent location for people watching. This is wear we ended the afternoon. The hodge-podge of Baltimoreans kept us entertained while the sun began to set over the harbor.
We had an awesome water taxi ride back to Federal Hill. The sun was setting in the west, and it created a red to yellow to green to blue to black sky behind the city. I wish, I had brought my camera. I think, I should start to bring it on outings such as this. All and all, it was a fantastic day. I don't think anyone wanted it to end. The realization of work was settling into our minds, but I had off for Columbus Day! I still felt their pain, but we couldn’t be too unhappy. This was the perfect Sunday.
