8/5/17, “From Sea to Shining Sea”
Annapolis, Maryland
This building in the establishing
shot here as twilight sets in at Maryland’s capital is the Maryland State
House, the oldest active such legislative assembly building in the
country. It brings my count to 39. Out of 50.
Today also brought my count to 309 out of the 420 National Park
Sites. Both numbers represent about
three quarters of their respective totals.
As I mentioned yesterday, interspersed between my trips around the world
has been this extensive mission to see our country, from sea to shining
sea.
While I know that I previously
visited the Naval Academy here, I did not believe I had visited the State
House, and certainly no photo existed to add to my collection. I very much look forward to the day when I
can post the collage of all 50 State Capitols.
I even more look forward to the day when my NPS spreadsheet tells me
that I have been to each and every unit of the National Park Service. That will be the day that I can I have seen
our country from sea to shining sea.
After today’s visit to the State House here, the closest state capitol I
have not yet visited is in Lansing, Michigan.
I suppose Birmingham, Alabama would be second-closest. By the end of this month, after this and two
more weekend road trips in the Mid-Atlantic, Ohio will house the closest NPS
units that I have not yet visited. It
has been a grueling quest, one with no tangible rewards other than a drawer of
brochures and box of pins, but seeing our country from sea to shining sea has
always been my dream, and I do not regret a single minute I have spent in
pursuit of this mission.
Today was
actually a rather lazy day, even if on paper it sounds hectic. Four new NPS units, an iconic restaurant, and
a state capitol. However, it was a
relatively short day, as I left Edgewater less than 12 hours ago. After I closed, I soon went to sleep, the
fans doing their trick, and I slept until Raymond woke me up a little before 9
AM. I had slept late, but that was
fine. I just needed to be on the road by
9:30 AM.
Raymond’s mother was making
breakfast, whole wheat waffle and scrambled eggs for me. Only one thing was missing. Coffee.
She said that she didn’t know how to use the coffee machine, and
Raymond’s father wasn’t up yet. I asked
if I could do it. She said I was welcome
to go for it. I figured it out without
much difficulty, and a pot was soon brewing.
Breakfast was excellent, and I took a cup of coffee to go and was soon
on the road. I would spend the entire
day of driving listening to Howard Stern, as I have for the past few weekends
now. I might need to get a streaming
subscription in the fall.
I lit up a
Flor Fina and was at my first site, Thomas Stone National Historic Site, just
as I finished my cigar. I had looked at
the website for Catoctin Mountain Park, the last stop, and I saw that the VC
closed at 4 PM, so it would be tight, but not a mad rush, to get everything
done today. I would have 30 minutes at
each site, and an hour for accumulated Dutch Time. I had a late breakfast and would have an
early dinner, both of which were large, so I would skip lunch. Thomas Stone was a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, and his homestead was well preserved. I did my business at the VC, lit up a
Graycliff, and walked around a bit.
From
there, I headed to Piscataway Park, on the Potomac, which was a short drive,
and I arrived with plenty of cigar left.
I again did my business at the VC and then walked around a bit. There was an active tobacco farm with
heritage crops, everything authentic from the 18th Century. I then walked to the riverfront, where I
found a nice spot to take my ceremonial picture. This was definitely my favorite site of the
day.
When I got back to the car, I
realized that I had miscalculated my cigars and given Raymond one more cigar
than I could spare for the day. I would
be one shy of what I wanted for the day.
Two, actually, but I decided to smoke my Cuban tonight instead of
tomorrow. I lit up an Aroma de Cuba and
drove to Monocacy Battlefield, which should have been a 1.5-hour drive, but
there was a lot of traffic, and it seemed like it was going to be well over 2
hours. That would eat up my entire hour
of Dutch Time, and getting to Catoctin Mountain Park by 4 PM no longer seemed
certain.
Fortunately, the traffic
cleared up, and I was at Monocacy around 2:30 PM, which was perfect
timing. Before today, I would have known
the name Monocacy, but not been able to speak intelligently about the battle. It was a key Union victory that staved off
the Confederate advance on and potential capture of our capital. I did my business at the VC, lit up a Pinar
del Rio (the specific line of PDR that I also smoked yesterday, as a point of
record), and headed to the spot of the battlefield, where I took my ceremonial
picture.
I was now looking at a soft
3:45 PM arrival at the Catoctin Mountain P VC.
It would be tight. I made a hard
3:50 PM arrival with plenty of cigar left.
I did my business at the VC and asked what to do for a 20-minute
hike. She gave me an idea for a good
trail. I confirmed that the park itself
was opened until dark. It was. And the VC closes at 4 PM? No, they were actually opened until 6
PM. What the actual fuck?!? I rushed for nothing. Well, the timetable actually wouldn’t have
changed, as I still was uncertain of arriving at the Maryland State House by
sunset. I went on the hike with rest of
my cigar and enjoyed the scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
After my cigar and hike, I headed back to the
car and drove to Lutherville, lamenting that I didn’t have a cigar for the
drive. My purpose in Lutherville was the
state’s “most iconic restaurant,” Ocean Pride Seafood & Raw Bar, famous for
their steamed crabs. I got to the
restaurant, and the parking lot was packed.
I worried there would be a wait, and I would be on a time crunch
again.
However, there was plenty of
seating. The hostess asked me if I was
going to have steamed crabs. That was an
odd question. I told her that I didn’t
know. I then consulted the Thrillist
list, which specifically mentioned that they were famous for their steamed
crabs, so I told her I would. She said
she would bring the mallet later.
I
ordered a local beer, a crab cake appetizer, and four steamed crabs, which, as
I hinted, are eaten by breaking them open with a mallet. They put them right on the brown paper
tablecloths they use. It was certainly a
unique experience. The appetizer and
beer were great, and, the steamed crabs were something special, even if I don’t
like working that hard for my food. They
had a spicy seasoning, so I desperately needed that Bolivar, which I lit up as
soon as I left the restaurant.
From
there it was a straight shot to the Maryland State House, and I arrived right
at sunset. I took my ceremonial picture
and waited for Raymond and Elaine. The
sun had already set, but it was still civil twilight, so we got a decent enough
picture. I had parked illegally, so I
moved the car to a legal spot while they got ice cream.
I also got souvenirs. We all met up at the cigar shop, Annapolis
Cigar Company, but I called an audible, wanting to write this entry first, so I
headed to the State House, where I sat down, lit up my trusty Ardor, and
proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish and
then meet up with them at the cigar shop.
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