Spending the summer in Baltimore, MD!! HELP!!

[wdwmom0f3]

My Dh has been working up there in Baltimore for a few weeks and he will be there until the end of July. We are trying to plan somethings to see & do in and around that area, and I could use some advice. Without blowing our budget, can you tell me some things to see & places to eat that are really good. I can use any advice that you have.

Also, I am wanting to take the kids to either Busch Gardens or Hershey park. Which one is better?

We are from the deep south & may never make it up that way again so I would like to see as much as we can.

Thanks!!
Carla

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

Washington DC, Washington DC, Washington DC! Almost everything there is FREE....so easy on the budget! And it's right here!

Baltimore is more expensive, but they have a good zoo, a great aquarium, Science Center. Annapolis is a great place to visit, see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Naval Academy.

Drive to the ocean for the day.

 

[pickles521]

I second Washington, DC. Take the train into the city and spend the day. It was never worth if for me to drive into DC, but to each their own.

I also second the aquarium and science center in Baltimore. We enjoyed the zoo, too, but only went once.

I lived in Hanover, PA and worked in Baltimore for about three years, so I can recommend some stuff further north of Baltimore. Hanover is in York County, PA which is the "capital of manufacturing" or some silly title like that. There's a Harley Davidson factory, lots of snack manufacturer's (pretzels at Synders of Hanover, potato chips at the Utz factory). I HIGHLY recommened a stop for lunch at Epex Soft Pretzels, either in Hanover or York in you're in the area. YUMMMMM!!! I so miss that place. They make the best sandwiches on pretzel rolls. It's the only place I've ever been that I had to ask them to put less meat on the sandwich!

There's also a lot to do in Gettysburg which is the next county west of York County. This is particularly good if you have a civil war buff in the family. If you go further north, or north east, you get into traditional Amish county in Lancaster. You can see a bunch of Amish and/or Mennonites in Gettysburg and Hanover too, if you don't want to go that far.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Syrreal]

We went to thr aquarium a few weeks ago. It is REALLY nice

 

[wvjules]

Catch an Oriole's game. Tuesday nights are Ollie's bargain night and you can get upper reserve seats for $8. Then, since the O's suck this year, you can move down to the good seats.

Ride the water taxi. Walk around the inner harbor. Visit the sports memoribila museum. I think the aquarium is nice but over priced. If you do decide to go buy tickets online in advance so you can pick your time. Oh and get an Italian Ice from Rita's.

ETA: Drive an hour west to visit Harper's Ferry. Drive a little more than an hour to get to Gettysburg.

If you do go to DC make a little side trip to Great Falls, VA. Also, visit the Air and Space museum near Dulles (it has the space shuttle "Enterprise" on display) as well as the one on the National Mall.

 

[mikehn]

Hershey park is lots closer to Baltimore than Busch Gardens. Both are equally fun. I would also recommend visiting Ocean City, MD for a weekend.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Thank you for the imformation. DH has been going to a few places on the weekends to see what they are like. He did go to Harpers Ferry & Gettysburg too and he thought the kids would like both of them. I am planning on doing a lot of sight seeing in DC, and we were also told to take the train instead of driving in. That will be good for me because I will have no idea where I am going. lol

During the week while he is at work, I would like to maybe go to a nice mall. What DH likes in a mall & what I like are very different. I like the big ones with LOTs of stores, or even the outside outlet kind. Any advice?

Also, do you have any favorite places to eat?? He has been sticking to eating at his apartment for the most part and waiting for us to get there before trying anything.

 

[pickles521]

For malls there's Arundel Mills which is really big (south of the city not too far from the airport). There's also Towson Town Center, which is north of the city.

THere's a lot of great food in Baltimore. There's a fantastic little hole-in-the-wall Italian deli called DiPasquales. i LOVE LOVE LOVE their sandwiches but DH hates them so take a look at the menu and see if it appeals to you guys. www.dipasquales.com. There's also several nice places in Little Italy, not far from the inner harbor. There's a great mexican/spanish place called Tio Pepe's that's probably a cab ride from the harbor, and a tapas place - Pazo - that's close to the inner harbor.

Take a look at Urban Spoon. They've never steered me wrong.

Take advantage of the food while you're there. I love living in the south, but I dearly miss the food from the north (and yeah, when I moved north from the south, I missed good ol' southern cooking too. I guess I'm just never happy!)