About Me

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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Another War; Another Catchy Tune

It's a toasty one today here in Maryland.  My son's weather station reads 109.4° with a heat index of 111.  It's brutal and unusual for this area -- at least this early in the season and not a day for the very young, the elderly, or anyone with breathing difficulties to even be outside.  I went to the Athletic Club early this morning, did my hour of cardio, skipped the weights and came home where I spent most of the afternoon catching up on my blog reading.  Did run over to daughter's new house with friend Carol who had a housewarming gift for her.  I needed a 'baby fix' anyway!!

Maggie at Postcards published some really neat flag photos and mentioned a 'garrison flag' flown in CA. This flag is like the one flown at Fort McHenry here in Maryland of which I have a few photos taken last year on our cruise out of Baltimore to Bermuda.

Seeing Fort McHenry (where the husband was stationed in his active reserve years) from the water was exciting.  That's the City of Baltimore in the background.


Fort Carroll was abandoned early in the 19th century.  It is now inhabited by many species of birds.


Francis Scott Key composed "The Star Spangled Banner" at the site of this marker.  He was on board a ship taking fire from British vessels during the War of 1812.  Key is buried in Frederick, Maryland and is the uncle of F. Scott Fitzgerald, his namesake.


Here we're approaching the Francis Scott Key Bridge.  It looks like we'll just make it...
  
A couple of hours later, we approached the twin spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  The newer span is the reason Vice President Agnew resigned.  He had been accused of bribery in the building of the bridge.

I took this as we sailed between the spans.    We were more excited about going under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge than  going to Bermuda!

12 comments:

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

What an informative post!

I always found the connection between Key and Fitzgerald interesting.

George said...

These are wonderful pictures. I've only been to Baltimore once, and would love to get back to visit some of your historic places. I really like the photo you took between the spans of the Bay bridge.

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

I've never been to that area of Maryland. Will have to take a trip up that way and view some of the sites.

It's too hot to exercise. In fact, it's too hot to do anything.

TAG said...

Nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

TAG

Linda Reeder said...

I didn't know the connection FS Key and FSF. Good post - interesting info and good pics.

Kimberly said...

Kathy, these are great shots, especially the last one! Makes me homesick a little, but I'm happy being here in our nice beautifully cool weather and not baking in Baltimore!

happyone said...

VERY NICE pictures and very informative too!
It was a hot one already this morning. I was soaked by the time I got home.

A Slice of My Life said...

Huh, I had no idea, it's good to have learned something new.

Kudos for you for getting your workout in when most people can barely breath in that heat!

likeschocolate said...

I have heard so many good things about Baltimore, but have never stopped only driven through. One day. Looks fantastic!

Mage said...

Yes, you do have to have AIR in that sort of weather. I joke that my body becomes non functional at 92 degrees, but it's the truth. By the way, what ship were you on?

That is a garrison flag in that top post. I did put a link on my post to a Smithsonian site that shows the ongoing restoration of the original flag. :)

Stay cool.

cri said...

Dear Kathy, thank for your love.
Cristina

Cheryl said...

Great pictures. I had no idea Francis Scott Key and F. Scott Fitzgerald were related. Good to know :)