Since I was going to be gone, Bestie decided to take a solo motorcycle trip and headed to Nashville to stay with friends and watch a Predator hockey game. He then went to Springfield, IL for a Monsanto meeting. Then he wound his way back through Missouri and Arkansas to enjoy the fall weather and have some boy time. This was fine with me because I don't think I could have traveled all that way and not have died from tissue damage to my booty. I don't care what he says, the passenger seat is NOT that comfortable after about an hour. Baltimore on a plane or Nashville and Springfield on a motorcycle? Not a hard choice.
Home of the Baltimore Orioles
Home of the Baltimore Ravens (both these stadiums were right near our hotel)
Baltimore is a great town. Like all big cities on the water, there is a great waterfront full of restaurants and shops. Michelle and I headed to the Harbor in search of great dining and ended up at M & S Grill at the Inner Harbor area. It afforded great views and opportunities for people watching. The food was so-so and it took almost two hours to be served so the manager gave us 50% off. We were happy because even though the food was only so-so, the drinks were strong and the view was very nice and relaxing.
Last summer, I went to the Dinah Zike Academy in Comfort, TX (see previous post about Comfort), so I took this opportunity to work in the DZ Booth at NCTM. It was a very busy time and I got to meet a lot of teachers and talk about what fun it is to do Foldables and how effective they are in teaching difficult concepts! It also gave me the opportunity to talk STEM which is a topic I could go on and on about.
With Bob Stemme, a national trainer for Dinah Zike. I wore my banner for a quick shot with him.
On Thursday, Michelle and I went our separate ways to hit as many workshops as we could and then planned to meet up later to compare notes. Between workshops on student motivation and making math meaningful, I was able to squeeze in some outside dining time. The weather was PERFECT and I had to take advantage of dining alfresco. So many people were in line at Subway and Jimmy John's. I ate at a little Bistro, had a waiter bring me my food, enjoyed the weather in a nice place and didn't pay much more than they did. I even watched the line and from ordering to food arriving, I beat most of them in getting lunch. So here is my firm belief - forgo the chains as much as possible and sample the local flavor!
Much nicer than a chain restaurant!
Workshops were over about 4:30 p.m. so I took a quick run to see some of the less traveled areas of the city. Here is a safety tip: if the area smells like urine, it is time to turn back to a more 'tourist friendly' area of the city. When the smell of urine was overpowering, I did just that and turned back toward the Inner Harbor area. Little did I know that later we would end up in an even more questionable area.
Michelle is a foodie and had heard about a place that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Man vs. Food so she wanted to eat there for supper. Sounds fine to me. I am always up for venturing beyond the tourist trap areas of cities. We checked out the map, got the bus numbers we would need to get there and back, got exact change for the bus fare and were on our way. Little did we know this restaurant was in the middle of the seediest area of the city - a fact the concierge failed to mention. I am not the kind of person to be afraid of big cities. I have walked through areas that make Chet anxious and I am not the least bit bothered, BUT this bus ride took us through areas I would NOT want to be out in day or night.
This picture was taken in the light, but most of our journey was in the dark and these streets have no street lights but lots of questionable activity. On the way home we even got to see a drug bust. Joy! (sarcasm)
These two businesses were next door to the restaurant. I kidded to Michelle that we could earn some extra money and then go shopping. There was a pole dancing contest going on at the Gentlemen's Club and there was a sale at the Adult Store. More joy! (yep, more sarcasm)
This is what we went for, the Chap's Beef Pit famous Beef Sandwich. Nice but not worth getting your throat slit over.
We made it back home by the grace of God and lived to see another day which is good because Friday was OUR day - the day to present our workshop. While we were setting up, the director of the program committee for NCTM came in to introduce herself and said she just wanted to meet us because she was on the review committee to select what workshops would be accepted for the program and ours was so outstanding she wanted to make a special trip in to meet us! WOW. (not sarcasm)
The workshop went very well. Teachers seemed to really enjoy it and they especially liked the door prizes.
Oobleck from Bartholomew and the Oobleck
Ramps from The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
A good workshop deserves a celebration so we headed across the street to another little bistro to enjoy the beautiful weather, toast our success and have a small lunch before heading to the airport.
Another travel tip: When possible, use public transport to get around town. It is MUCH cheaper than a taxi. Just be sure to ask about the safety of using the transport system after dark! We LOVED using the metro to get from the airport to downtown. A $30 cab ride was only $1.60 on the metro and took about the same amount of time.
When we get to the airport, this sign was right at our gate. We decided it was a perfect photo opportunity and so appropriate for this trip.
So it was a great trip to the "Charm City". We made it back alive and maybe inspired a few teachers to think beyond worksheets and look for ways to make math fun with activities that provide a context for students to understand the abstract concepts of mathematics. If not, at least we have great stories to tell!
Oh yeah, Bestie made his trip just fine. He did say his booty was sore. I tried to be sympathetic but somehow he didn't believe me. I wonder why?
No comments:
Post a Comment