In Baltimore, "Inner Harbor" refers both to a body of water (part of the 39-mile-long Patapsco River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay) and to the developed waterfront area. I was surprised to learn that it was in this harbor that the Battle of Baltimore took place during the War of 1812. It was where Francis Scott Key was held in a British ship during the conflict, and from where he saw the huge American flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814. It seems too far away from the fort for all of that.
The Inner Harbor is a little bit quirky. For example, check out these dragon boats:
That glass-topped building behind them is the National Aquarium (I'm not sure why it is the "National" one), which is the biggest tourist attraction in Maryland, drawing 1.5 million visitors annually.
Did we go there? No. We should have, just like we should have gone to this colossal Barnes & Noble and the Hard Rock Cafe.
Instead we visited the Historic Ships exhibits. My husband likes ships more than I do.
Four historic ships are docked in Inner Harbor and have been turned into floating museums. We first stopped to see the USS Constellation, "The Flagship of the Anti-Slave Trade." It was built in 1854 and used during the Civil War for many things, including blockades of the South:
