Baltimore to New Jersey

After spending last night in Laurel, Maryland, I drove into Baltimore today.




My first stop was M & T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.  Most pro football fans in the DC area support either the Redskins or the Ravens, though I did meet two Pittsburgh Steeler fans at different times today.



A block up the road is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the showpiece stadium of the Baltimore Orioles American League baseball team.  In the plazas surrounding the park, there are monuments to famous members of the Oriole teams of the past.  There is also a statue saluting Babe Ruth, who was born and raised in Baltimore (to the extent that he was raised).

Brooks Robinson statue
(Note the GOLD Glove)

About two miles away, at a point of the harbor where two rivers join, is Fort McHenry.  This is the place where Baltimore was defended at a critical point of the War of 1812.  At the close of the battle, in which the British attacked Baltimore by land and Fort McHenry by sea, Francis Scott Key wrote the "Star Spangled Banner."




I drove underneath one of those rivers in a bridge tunnel, then crossed the rest of Maryland into Delaware.  Delaware is a small state, and I crossed it at its thinnest point in a half hour or so.  I then crossed the spectacular Delaware Memorial Bridge over the Delaware River into New Jersey.  I followed the New Jersey Turnpike to East Brunswick, which is close enough to allow me to drive into New York City tomorrow morning.  That's where the Eastern Terminus of the Lincoln Highway was located.  I'll start driving the Highway tomorrow.