One Size Fits All

Before the COVID-19 pandemic happened and everything was in person, my dad’s business conferences used to be held in places all over the country, and even outside of it. These places ranged from Montreal in Quebec, Canada, all the way to Denver, Colorado here in the United States.

Another place that one of the conferences took place in was Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, the business conference was held in that city more than once, so our family got to travel there twice. The most recent time that we went there was in 2017, when I was a sophomore in high school.

One of the best parts of Baltimore, in my opinion, is the harbor. The city itself is also nice, with various shops and skyscrapers downtown, but it is very similar to other cities that I have traveled to. The harbor was, in my opinion, what made Baltimore unique.

Many museums line the harbor, as well as the National Aquarium. The first time that we went, I visited the science museum. I don’t remember much about it, but I do remember in particular the interesting facts that were presented to us (such as the one saying that smell is the strongest around age eight-ten, which ten-year-old me was delighted to hear. The second time that we went, we visited a museum called “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” which had a lot of various artifacts.

This included us comparing our height with the tallest man in the world all the way to seeing Hogwarts Castle made entirely out of toothpicks! The harbor did not only offer museums, but it also offered scenic boat tours (featuring boats of various shapes and sizes), amazing scenery, and shopping. It was the main attraction. The “one-size-fits-all” for Baltimore, because there was something there for everyone to enjoy.

I remember the boat tour that we took around the harbor, so that we got to fully see everything that was there (because it would take a fairly long time to walk around there).I spent most of the tour just taking pictures, which is my favorite pastime from traveling. In fact, my storage did end up going down the drain on that particular trip, as at the time, I had a phone plan with significantly less gigabytes.

For all the foodies and shopaholics out there, there were also plenty of shops to enjoy and restaurants to eat at. While my dad was at his conferences, my mom and I ate everything from pizza to pasta to cheeseburgers, and constantly window-shopped.

I believe that every city has something that helps make it stand out, and for Baltimore, it was the harbor. I consider it one of the most well-rounded places I have ever been to.