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After the end of my work day, I grabbed my tripod and my new camera and walked over to Baltimore's Washington Monument for the annual Lighting of the Monument, where the city strings a few lights on the structure and makes a big deal out of it with entertainment, food vendors, and a few talking heads. Oh, and fireworks.
There's always a good crowd gathered, and the mood is always festive. I saw a woman with a very cool hat. It was a pointed hat, like something Professor McGonagall would wear, but tricked out like a Christmas tree. The brim was red, trimmed with gold, like a tree skirt and the point had ornaments and a star on top. I should have grabbed a photo!
I met up with Russell and his friend Sabra and we stood there waiting for the fireworks to begin while chorus groups performed on stage. We were too far back to really hear anything, so I missed everything that John Waters said when he took the podium in a flashy red jacket.
There were vendor booths lined up along both sides of the park, but I didn't pay the much attention this year. I was too busy playing with my new camera. I did duck over to collect a free cup of clam chowder offered by Legal Seafoods. I saw another booth for Austin Grill, but I really didn't notice anybody else.
The fountain was dry, which made a convenient place for folks to park their kids. There were several of them playing together around the statue in the center while the adults chatted with each other. I took a few photos, which looked kind of cool. I was using the night mode, so the shutter stays open longer and there were ghostly children darting around in the night. :-)
Finally, Mayor Martin O'Malley stepped up to the podium, said a few unintelligible and unnecessary words, then counted down the fireworks display!
Objectively, it's a very modest display. But it's a fireworks display that's essentially at street level, which makes it much more immediate and exciting. It's always lots of fun. The crowd just ate it up. I had a huge grin on my face and I snapped as many pictures as I could while struggling with failing batteries. :-(
Afterwards, Russell, Sabra and I ducked into the Minato Grill for some sushi. Surprisingly, the restaurant was not packed with customers, despite the throng of pedestrians milling around on the streets. I managed to coax the camera into taking another photo of the three of us.
All in all, a very nice evening!
There's always a good crowd gathered, and the mood is always festive. I saw a woman with a very cool hat. It was a pointed hat, like something Professor McGonagall would wear, but tricked out like a Christmas tree. The brim was red, trimmed with gold, like a tree skirt and the point had ornaments and a star on top. I should have grabbed a photo!
I met up with Russell and his friend Sabra and we stood there waiting for the fireworks to begin while chorus groups performed on stage. We were too far back to really hear anything, so I missed everything that John Waters said when he took the podium in a flashy red jacket.
There were vendor booths lined up along both sides of the park, but I didn't pay the much attention this year. I was too busy playing with my new camera. I did duck over to collect a free cup of clam chowder offered by Legal Seafoods. I saw another booth for Austin Grill, but I really didn't notice anybody else.
The fountain was dry, which made a convenient place for folks to park their kids. There were several of them playing together around the statue in the center while the adults chatted with each other. I took a few photos, which looked kind of cool. I was using the night mode, so the shutter stays open longer and there were ghostly children darting around in the night. :-)
Finally, Mayor Martin O'Malley stepped up to the podium, said a few unintelligible and unnecessary words, then counted down the fireworks display!
Objectively, it's a very modest display. But it's a fireworks display that's essentially at street level, which makes it much more immediate and exciting. It's always lots of fun. The crowd just ate it up. I had a huge grin on my face and I snapped as many pictures as I could while struggling with failing batteries. :-(
Afterwards, Russell, Sabra and I ducked into the Minato Grill for some sushi. Surprisingly, the restaurant was not packed with customers, despite the throng of pedestrians milling around on the streets. I managed to coax the camera into taking another photo of the three of us.
All in all, a very nice evening!
