by 
January 2017
We wanted to take advantage of the three-day weekend and decided it would be a good time to take the children to two of Baltimore‘s landmark attractions. The main attraction for most visitors is the National Aquarium (and that was our first stop), but they also have a well-known Children’s Museum that we included in our itinerary.
We started our trip at the National Aquarium. The Aquarium is located on Pier 3 of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Fortunately for visitors, Baltimore has plenty of parking located in this part of the city. Parking garages are ample, but can vary greatly in price. We parked at the LAZ Inner Harbor parking garage on Gay St. We stayed a little over 3 hours, but with the validation from the Aquarium it only ended up costing us $15! This garage is about a five minute walk to the Aquarium.
On the way from the parking garage to the Aquarium, we stopped for lunch at Panera. It was a nice, big Panera but had a different menu than other Paneras we had been too. We ate our lunch, had a final coffee (no food or drink in the aquarium) and crossed the street to see the Aquarium.
Enjoying dessert at the Lockwood Place Panera, Baltimore, MD
The primary cost of the Aquarium is obviously admission. Tickets cost $39.95 for adults and $24.95 for children. This is a lot to pay for a family, but I can say that the entire family enjoyed our visit. In addition, you can get your hand stamped and return if you want to leave for a meal or something. I recommend buying tickets in advance (we had tickets for a noon admission) as there can be a long wait until your admission time otherwise.
Even in the admission line for the National Aquarium in Baltimore there is an exhibit
The aquarium does a good job of adding in some hands-on exhibits, but most of it (as you would guess) is marine life in tanks. The children really loved looking all of the different marine animals. Liam (7) loves nature and science in general and just enjoyed being able to see the animals.
Looking at the Sharks in the National Aquarium, Baltimore
Sea turtle, National Aquarium, Baltimore
Enjoying the marine life at the National Aquarium, Baltimore
The children investigate marine life at the National Aquarium
You can touch the Horseshoe crabs
Looking at all the different types of crabs
The Rain Forest Exhibit at the National Aquarium in Baltimore
Tamarins
A bird in the Rain Forest of the National Aquarium, Baltimore
Fionnuala (4) had her heart set on seeing dolphins. I wasn’t sure they even had dolphins, but as chance would have it they do (for no extra fee). As we were on our way to exit, thinking that our visit had come to an end I happened to look through a doorway to discover a large theater with dolphins in the tank! The show was about to begin, so we went in and took in the 20 minute show. It was a great way to end our visit. Everyone in the group went away happy!
The Dolphin Show at the National Aquarium, Baltimore
We spent almost exactly two hours inside the aquarium, but if the children were older we probably would have spent another hour. There is a lot to take in here and I would recommend planning on spending three hours (not counting the optional pay shows).
After the aquarium, we headed over to Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Home of the Baltimore Orioles) for a quick visit to the Orioles Store. I had lost my favorite Orioles hat about two weeks earlier and was hoping to get a replacement. We were able to park in Lot A (in between the Warehouse and Russell St.) for free for 30 minutes. The store had lots of sale items from last season, but we found a hat for me and then made for our hotel.
SIDENOTE: The stadium would interest baseball fans, but might also be of interest to those interested in architecture. The Warehouse building is the old railroad warehouse and the stadium was constructed using brick and steel to emulate traditional Baltimore architecture (bricks and steel were big industries in the city). The idea was to build a stadium that looks like in belongs in the neighborhood by using as much of the same building material (from the same sources) as the older existing building. It really is impressive.
Eutaw Street, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
The B&O Warehouse on Eutaw Street, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
Eutaw Street, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore was very easy to navigate from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM on a Friday. From the stadium, we got on Russell Street (next to the baseball and football stadiums) and headed south. Once you leave the city Russell Street becomes the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Route 295). Our hotel was located just of 295 and took us a little under 15 minutes to arrive at the Homewood Suites in Linthicum (near BWI Airport).
We were pleased with our hotel. It was a quick trip to downtown Baltimore, the room was pretty clean and large. We did find some odd things during our stay though, like an earring someone left and a stray sock of a former guest. Our bathroom door also did not close completely.
Overall, the room was not bad though. We stayed in room 120 and were isolated in a corner, which made for a quiet stay most of the time. Check-in was quick and easy (they allow you to check-in online 24 hours in advance and I did). The only thing I found curious is when I booked the room it said that there was a DVD player in the room, and in fact there was not. The TV did have an HDMI port (no cable) where you could connect a computer in order to stream things.
The front room of our suite, Homewood Suites, Linthicum, MD
Our kitchen at Homewood Suites, Linthicum, MD
The dishes in the kitchen
The silverware
Sunday-Thursday evening social menu
Our bedroom at Homewood Suites, Linthicum, MD
Our bathroom at Homewood Suites, Linthicum, MD
Breakfast was good. Each morning there was eggs, sausage, potatoes, waffles, cereal, oatmeal, boiled eggs, a fruit bowl, donuts, English muffins, bagels, and fruit juice. Coffee and tea are available all day long. In addition they had a bowl of blueberry muffins in the lobby for those who did not have time to eat breakfast or had to leave before breakfast was served at 7 AM.
The breakfast area at Homewood Suites, Linthicum, MD
After we got settled we headed to the indoor pool. We had it all to ourselves and we all had a great time. The pool has enough room to accommodate a fair number of people, has a hot tub and a restroom. It also has a door that leads to an outdoor courtyard.
After the pool we ordered take-out from the Chili’s which is very close to hotel so we could use a gift card. The food was good and everyone was satisfied after a long active day.
On Saturday day morning, we woke, ate breakfast and headed to Port Discovery Children’s Museum. Unlike the Aquarium, I had never been here before but it is always mentioned as being a top attraction for children and now I know why. We arrived just after opening since it has a reputation for getting crowded on the weekend.
This is our third visit to a children’s museum and I can definitively say that this one is better than the one in Richmond and the one in Tampa. Admission is $14.95 per person and we got a 10% AAA discount. We parked at Harbor Park Garage and our whole stay (over four hours) after validation only cost $15. Though it isn’t new (it opened in 1997), it doesn’t show many signs of age. It has a much greater variety of activities than the others we have visited and most impressively had many things for older children to do. The other two I would not recommend for a child over 7 or 8, but this one had things that that would easily engage a ten or eleven year-old.
Liam calls a strike at Port Discovery, Baltimore
When we arrived there was a soccer field
Room of percussion instruments, Port Discovery Children’s Museum
The local shop that is at every children’s museum
Lots of room to play if you arrive at opening time
The central climbing structure at Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Baltimore
The climbing structure is three stories tall
The water room is for the younger children
Unlike other Children’s Museums, Port Discovery had dryers for the kids!
A typical Baltimore Diner, Port Discovery
My waitress
The museum was big hit, but at noon we decided it was time for lunch. We walked up Pratt St. to the Chick-fil-a. Even though there was a huge crowd, the line moved quickly and we were able to find a table. After lunch the children asked to return to Port Discovery, so we did. We spent a little over an hour there after lunch before returning to the hotel. All in all we spent about three hours in Port Discovery. Both children can’t wait to return.
Percy the train at Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Baltimore
Performing some routine maintenance
In the afternoon, the soccer field was replaced by other activities
Lombard Street, Baltimore
After we got back to hotel we made another trip to the hotel pool. This time there was lifeguard and a family with four children in the pool. Even with eight of us in the pool everyone had plenty of room and we all had a good time.
We had hoped that our Saturday night meal would be at the famous G&M (some say they have the best crab cakes in town), but we were unable to get in. I thought that I would make a reservation Friday for a Saturday night meal but I was wrong. The only available reservations were for between 2 and 3:30 PM. I have never been and next time we are in the area will make sure to book a table a few weeks ahead of time.
The iconic Bromoseltzer Tower as seen from Lombard Street
So we ended up getting take-out again. The plan was to use an Olive Garden gift card, but I messed up the online order and we ended up back at Chili’s. This time was not as smooth as the night before. We were missing some items in our order and even though Sarah and I ordered the same meal as the night before, it was totally different. We aren’t super picky so we weren’t too put off, but it was interesting that they used completely different ingredients from one night to the next.
Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and packed up the car. As we headed back to our house both children wanted to know when we could go back to Baltimore. I guess you have to call that a successful family trip!
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