5/16 Taking advantage of waiting for the winds to die down.

The winds were still rather high today.  So we took advantage of them to spend another day in Baltimore.  Alicia didn't have to work until 4 so she kindly acted as tour guide.  We rode the Water Taxis and Harbor Connector to see the sights.  The sun came out finally though.  We toured the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, the oldest screw-pile lighthouse, built in 1856 at the mouth of the Patapsco River.  It was moved to Baltimore's inner harbor in 1989.  So I can finally show you a picture of a legendary lighthouse with blue skies in the background.  While touring the outside, I got this great picture of Alicia with Federal Hill in the background.

The Domino Sugar factory stands over the Harbor.  The sugar cane arrives by huge ships for processing.  Alicia tells us that 16% of the Sugar in the US is processed here.

For perspective, the dot on the "I" is 6 feet tall.

Baltimore is home to 4 Historic Ships and we toured 3 of them.  The first we toured, was the USS Constellation, a sister ship to the USS Constitution.  They fired one of the guns while we were there and it was loud. The Navy calls them guns and the Army calls them cannons.  At the double helm, I learned why they had two wheels that worked together.  When they had storms at sea, it could take up to 8 men holding the wheel to be able to steer the boat safely.

The second ship we boarded was the submarine Torsk.  It was built in 1944 and was state of the art.  Eighty men served on the Torsk at a time.  With the sound of the engines not to mention the torpedoes going off, it must have been so loud.  There was very little extra room to move.  The hatches from one compartment to another were so small.  I cannot imagine how scary it was to walk along the top of the submarine when it was above the ocean.

Lastly, we visited the United States Lighthouse Service vessel Chesapeake.  The Unites States Lighthouse Service was a precursor of the Coast Guard.  These ships were anchored in places where they were not able to build lighthouses.  The Chesapeake was near the Delaware River for much of its service.  The bell was huge. 

Finally, we got up close and personal with Mr. Trashwheel.  The trashwheel is at the mouth of the Jones River where it enters the Patapsco.  It runs off the current of the Jones River and solar panels.  Booms are in place that catch the trash that floats into the river.

  The current turns the wheel and the trash goes up the conveyor belt to a dumpster in the back. 

This has been very successful in decreasing the trash in the Baltimore Harbor.  Plans are in place for another trashwheel to be added.