A blurry lion-fish.
I don’t recall what kind of fish this kissy-mouth is.
I will leave you with a seahorse to close out the Aquarium.
We spent several hours there. Then we ventured over to the inner harbor’s Barnes and Nobles as poetry book sections are different at every bookstore – no lie – and checked into our hotel. My friend said, “Did you know, you get noticeable irritable every time we have to park?” (I drove down but asked him to drive from the Aquarium to the hotel. We had to get valet parking, by the way, and the cost was highway robbery. If you are going to stay in Baltimore make sure that you plan for parking accordingly.) I was rueful.
We only went to a chain restaurant for dinner, although somewhere I’d never been – Bubba Gump’s. I don’t know if that makes us tactless. It was almost 10 by the time we had dinner. Having improperly planned for our trip and not bought any alcohol besides a flask of Fireball, we did then avail ourselves of the local culture and go to a bar down the street from our hotel. It was wonderful. They were playing great stuff on the radio – Bob Marley and so on. There was a group of very drunk locals having a great time down at the end of the bar. [Lean On Me](
Since by now you may be curious, here is my companion. I am rather fond of him. Don’t tell, though. It’s a secret. I only write poems about him some of the time.
We stayed in Baltimore overnight and went to another chain for lunch – the Cheesecake factory – where even the lunch portions of their salads are huge. Then we went home. Never fear, though. Since this is also #weekendupdate and not just #tripreport, I am taking the liberty of telling you of the rest of my weekend. My friend had been away in Peru for Valentine’s Day, not that Valentine’s Day is anything but a silly holiday anyway ( cough, cough must maintain cynicism, must be true to self) and I had gotten a bonus which had mostly gone to debt and taxes, so this weekend was my treat to – well, us. I took a brief reprise to meet with my real-life book club and then we had sushi at the best sushi restaurant I know of for dinner. We had sake. We had raw octopus. (I know that octopuses are extremely intelligent and some would call this criminal. For the record, they are also extremely delicious.) We were stuffed.
(W.W. roll – specialty roll – and Volcano roll. We also enjoyed a wasabi roll, a Rainbow Ell roll, salmon and tuna sushi, yellowtail carpaccio, and a Spider Roll – not pictured.)
The next morning was an all-you-can-eat Brunch Buffet. It was worth it.
They had a raw bar with oysters.
I do not like raw oysters. It is not the texture that bothers me. It is simply that I find the flavor not worth it.
I had two plates of food and was stuffed.
Then we found the dessert table.
The white meringue dessert with fruit is easily among the best desserts I’ve had in my entire life. I am not usually a fan of sweet things. This hit the perfect balance between sweet and not. It was a meringue shell with a whipped or sweet cream on top, complete with the fruit, which was strawberries, blueberries, and I think raspberries. It was a perfect combination of tart/sweet, crunchy/smooth textures. Despite my bulging stomach I ate the whole damn thing. The other desserts were phenomenal too. In the back of the first plate you can see a gingerbread spoon with sweetcream and chocolate in the bowl. The whole thing was edible. I also used it to help me eat my crème brulee.
That was my weekend. It was rather lovely. And, since I have “rules” about “Facebook” and “pictures that are appropriate (or not) to post online”, this is the only place I feel comfortable sharing this photo. Please do not vomit. I think it is rather cute.
Between b_b and me, guys, it’s like another one bites the dust. And another one bites the dust.
That’s okay, though. It only lasts as long as it do. On a side note, mk , these 502s are getting pretty bad.
