Sunday, April 23, 2017
Slept about 3.5 or 4 hours on the 5-hour flight. After alighting I encountered John K then accepted an invitation to join him to ride in to the city on the rental car of Aimee D (Hook 42) and Tom B and baby Brian. They dropped us at our hotel, the Days Inn Baltimore (100 Hopkins Place). Our rooms were not yet ready, so we checked our bags, got breakfast at Saturday Morning Cafe and walked the waterfront, seeing the many historic ships from outside. We still had time to kill, so we visited the National Aquarium which was expensive ($40 per adult) yet worth the price. I saw things I think I hadn't seen before, including horseshoe crab, striped burrfish, lookdown, puffins, yabby. I had forgotten about John's biology background; he was identifying species from many yards away before we walked up to the sign and he was basically correct every time. We were both yawning frequently due to lack of sleep, but we managed to see just about everything in the aquarium. John had somehow torn a seam in his dress jacket, so we spent some time looking for a place that might mend it (impossible on a Sunday) or where he might buy a new jacket (we found a few places but none to his liking). At a Starbucks at The Gallery Mall we had a good laugh when I failed to recognize the Baltimore accent of the sales associate. I thought she had asked me what sauce I wanted for the unsweetened iced tea I had ordered, and after a few awkward seconds John told me she meant what size—not what sauce. I returned to the hotel while John met some Acquia people for an Orioles baseball game. I checked in. By now Eric D had arrived. We dined at Pratt Street Ale House, chicken chesapeake sandwich for him, crab mac and cheese for me. I learned that a growler is a term for a small jug of beer. I took a note that he recommended The Witness on Steam after we talked about games for a bit. I am not sure if my notes for the remainder of today are completely accurate, but here they are. Dinner with Eric and John K: John orders a crab salad. (Maybe John joined us after we finished eating?) Nap. Walked the waterfront with Eric D. We encountered Shawn D, Mark, and Carson at (where?). Eric D recommends Lodi and Amador County zinfandels.