This week is Nik’s Spring Break and Ellie and I are enjoying having him at home with us!  Rather than go on a longer vacation, we’re having a few mini-adventures around Baltimore.  Our first was on Monday night.  We took a picnic supper to Fort McHenry, home of the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem.

Fort McHenry is one of my favorite places in Baltimore.

Fort McHenry was somewhere that kept me sane in my first few months of living in Baltimore.  It was the one place where I could look for long distances, restful for the eyes of this Alaska girl who was used to gazing at far-away mountains.

Just as we had spread out our dinner, the park ranger came by to tell us that the park was closing in 15 minutes.  Thankfully, we’d noticed that there was a city park nearby so we relocated our picnic there.  After dinner, Ellie was thrilled to visit the playground as she is currently a huge fan of slides and swings.

She is also a big fan of driving the car.

Our last appointment of the evening (and what prompted us to go to Locust Point in the first place) was a visit to the showroom of Sandtown Millworks.

They salvage wood from buildings that are being demolished (or rehabbed) in Baltimore City and turn that wood into beautiful furniture.  We’ve been searching for a dining room table for a long time (at least three years) and we’re so glad to have finally found the right place and people to buy one from!

Our table will probably look similar to this display one.

I think Nik should become their official photographer.
Isn’t that an impressive picture?

All in all, a fun evening and a great start to Spring Break!