Trippin'

I once told my mother, about ten years ago, that I remembered when they had taken me to local beachfront playland. I was about ten years old at the time, and I didn't know that we were going -- it was just a novelty to be going anywhere, as it was, I think, the first car that we had ever owned. When I found that not only were we going on a drive, but we were going to the fabulous Rye Beach Playland, I was astonished -- not the least because I could not for the life of me figure out how my father knew how to get there. I was aware of maps, of course, but the idea that you could use one to get from where you were to where you wanted to me -- nope, never entered my mind. (I realize that that sounds like geezer talk in this era of Mapquest and GPS. So be it.) My mother was quite pleased that I still remembered that trip. At the time, they thought it didn't make that big a deal to me.

I find myself hoping that I am on the receiving end of such an experience, someday, as at the moment, my daughter seems less than overwhelmed by our overnight trip to Baltimore, yesterday. Part of it was the room, I think -- we usually get a suite so that she can sleep physically apart from us, but this time the hotel didn't have any available. She wasn't cramped for space, but she didn't have one area that she could call her own, and that can be irksome. We'd also forgotten that Baltimore at the end of June can be hot -- in the high 80s and low 90s -- and humid. None of the stores that we went into felt it was necessary to crank up their air conditioning to the arctic level that I like, and even the Aquarium didn't feel as cool and misty as it usually does. The big A had its own problems, which basically translate into Too Many Tourists/ Too Little Space. The place was mobbed. Packed. Jammed.

So, although we were glad that we went, it was pretty clear that she wasn't all that thrilled, and would have been happy enough to stay at home while we went. (Except for the NCIS marathon showing on the hotel's LCD tv. She totally loved that. Imagine. ) She's still young enough that we don't really want to do that -- more accurately, I would, but my wife wouldn't; then again, as my daughter will occasionally ask a question to which I thought she knew the answer --how do I make the microwave run for forty-five seconds?-- maybe its too soon. But I told my wife that I'd like to go back, just with her. And I even know the hotel I want to stay in. I usually like to stay in a nice place, sometimes an extremely nice place -- think Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton -- but this time, I was captivated by one hotel. Actually, just its name. A little boutique hotel in the Fells Point area of Baltimore's harbor, the name of the hotel is:

The Admiral Fell Inn.

What? The Admiral fell in????

You've got to love it.