Baltimore on Martin Luther King Day, January 15, 2018

Last year I went to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore because it has free admission on Martin Luther King Day. (The regular admission price is $15.95 for adults under 60 and $13.95 for people age 60 and up.) I had a blast even though I arrived too late in the day to get a free slice of birthday cake that the museum usually serves for that occasion. This year I decided to do it again except I made every effort to wake up early and get out of the door so I could arrive by noon (when the birthday cake would be served).

So I managed to arrive earlier than last year while braving the cold weather (the temperature was in the low 20’s that day). I took the light rail into the city then transferred to the Charm City Circulator bus. I managed to arrive shortly before noon. The main disadvantage is that the museum was way more crowded than I remembered last year when I arrived later in the afternoon. But I still tried to make the best of my visit since it was free admission day.

One of the buildings had a new exhibition which featured this giant dragon sculpture that was made entirely from balloons.

There were a few wall hangings that were literally displayed on the ceiling of that building.

I managed to arrive on the third floor of the building where the birthday cake was being served along with a few other activities as well. There was an opportunity to create buttons, which I didn’t get to do because the museum had run out of button making supplies by the time I arrived. But I managed to get a photo of a couple who were able to make buttons.

The entertainment featured a children’s gospel choir known as the Cardinal Shehan School Choir, who came from one of the local Catholic schools in Baltimore. This group has been featured on Good Morning America after one of their videos went viral. After hearing them, I understood why because this choir was so phenomenal, especially since the singers were all children.

In fact, I shot this video of them doing their final number called “Rise Up” that I think you will definitely enjoy.

While the choir was performing I got a chance to look at the birthday cakes that were served to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. The cakes were available in a variety of flavors.

The museum also gave out a variety of hot beverages (including hot chocolate and a few different flavors of tea). The next photo shows my cup of hot chocolate and the slice of cake that I chose.

This next photo should give you an idea as to how crowded this room got with people making buttons and consuming cake and hot drinks.

I stepped out of the balcony on that third floor where I got a great view of both the museum’s main building and Federal Hill.

Once I finished eating my cake and the choir finished performing its set, I left that large and crowded room and explored the rest of the museum where I took these pictures.

The museum had this special exhibit called The Great Mystery Show, which featured art related to science and mysticism. This NASA astronaut sculpture in the next photo had me thinking about how my ex-husband would’ve loved this since he works for NASA and he told me that he once wanted to become an astronaut only to find out that his eyesight would’ve been considered too poor for such a position. (He managed to study computer programming so he found another way of working for NASA even if he never became an astronaut.)

The statue in the next two photos intrigued me because it was made mostly from sea shells.

The most memorable part of the museum was seeing this sculpture of Edgar Allan Poe that was made entirely from marshmallow Peeps.

The base of the Poe sculpture was flanked by a black cat and a raven, who were both also made from marshmallow Peeps. (Those two were references to two of Poe’s famous works—The Black Cat and The Raven.)

Near the Poe sculpture was this heart that was made from glass, which was a reference to another famous Poe piece known as The Tell-Tale Heart.

The most surreal part of the museum was seeing a TV monitor that had non-stop showings of Martin Luther King giving his famous “I Have a Dream” speech while the monitor was flanked by flowers, tarot cards, two gold masks, and an Ouija board.

I was amazed by this life-sized sculpture of what looked like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.

I found this interesting recipe posted on the museum wall that I would like to try at some point in the future.

I really liked this colorful and funky cat illustration.

This dress looked like it was made from glass with all of the glass beads.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this inspirational quote from Leonardo da Vinci regarding science and art.

I really liked this next photo, which is a painting of Albert Einstein.

I was also amazed by what this one artist did with small tins (such as a sardine tin and a tin box that was about the size of a pack of Altoids). This person created scenes with paper cutouts. The tiny details were astounding.

I made only one purchase at that museum. I found this crochet pattern book for $5 that was about creating tiny equipment, furniture, and buildings that were small enough for LEGO Minifigs, tiny dolls, and other types of tiny toys. It looked really interesting.

Even though I had that slice of cake, it was no substitute for lunch and I was starting to feel hungry as I was touring the museum. I thought about eating in the museum’s cafe until I saw that it was very crowded. I began to become tired of the throngs of people who were crowding in the museum because they were also taking advantage of the free admission. I decided to leave the museum and walk along the Inner Harbor while taking some photos. This next photo shows a building in the middle that’s under construction complete with a construction crane.

The weather had been mostly non-stop freezing since Christmas with an exception of a couple of days when the temperature reached the low 50’s just a couple of days before MLK Day. Unfortunately that respite was short-lived and the area was plunged into yet another deep freeze. The next few pictures clearly show the effects of the below-freezing temperatures had on the water itself where you can clearly see ice that had been forming.

Some of the litter thrown into the Inner Harbor had been encased in ice.

A pair of ducks were swimming in the non-icy portions of the water.

These stone installations resembled three Adirondack chairs.

The next photo shows the statue of William Donald Schaefer, who served as the mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland.

I walked by Harborplace where I visited It’s Sugar.

 

I bought a few things in that store, including a special pack of Skittles that  was known as “Sweet Heat” because spices were added to the candy. I tried them and I found the spicy taste to be interesting but, to be honest, I prefer regular Skittles.

I bought a small box of this treat called Marshmallow Madness. The idea is based on the Lucky Charms cereal except that the cereal part has been excluded so all you get is just small colored marshmallows in a variety of shapes. I’ve seen Marshmallow Madness be available in cereal-sized boxes. On this trip I saw that there were smaller box versions of Marshmallow Madness so I decided to buy it to see what it tasted like.

My verdict is that while the marshmallows are tasty, I found myself missing the cereal part. (I used to frequently eat Lucky Charms cereal as a child. Even though I rarely eat presweetened cereal these days, I still found myself lamenting the lack of cereal in Marshmallow Madness. I guess old habits die hard. LOL!)

I purchased a pack of orange-flavored Donald Trump-themed gummy candy known as Make America Sweet Again mainly because the package design was such a hoot. I took a bunch of detailed photographs of this product so you’ll get the idea.

I haven’t opened that candy as of this writing. I have an idea of doing something creative with this candy so I don’t want to just eat it right now, especially since there are only two It’s Sugar locations in the entire Baltimore-Washington, DC area (one at Harborplace and the other in the Chinatown area of DC) and I don’t really live close to either location so I can’t shop there too often.

I took a couple of photos of Harborplace, which showed it becoming more and more of a dead mall. This was shot on Martin Luther King Day when a lot of people are off from school and work. I remember Harborplace in better days when it used to draw a huge crowd of shoppers. I remember the days when I made special trips to this place so I could spend the day there. Despite the presence of It’s Sugar, H&M, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, this pavilion is still pretty much empty. I didn’t even bother with visiting the other pavilion because I know it’s the same situation from previous visits. Too bad, so sad.

The sign announcing a “New Tradition” at Harborplace that “Begins Fall 2016” had me laughing. Or maybe having a mostly empty mall is Harborplace’s idea of a “new tradition.” LOL!

The only area of Harborplace where I saw quite a few people was at the temporary ice skating rink that was set outside of one of the pavilions.

There weren’t really a lot of affordable place to eat lunch at. (I still remember the old days when that pavilion I had just visited used to have an entire floor dedicated to a food court that had all kinds of foods ranging from pizza to sushi to Chinese to Subway subs.) I decided to go to the Così that’s located across the street from the Baltimore Convention Center for a late lunch. Except when I arrived just 15 minutes before 3 p.m. I saw a notice on the door saying that Così would be closing early at 3 p.m. for MLK Day. I basically got my lunch to go and walked around the area looking for an appropriate place to eat lunch. Unfortunately it was way too cold to eat anywhere outside. I ultimately walked to the Hilton Baltimore where I sat down in one of the cushions in the lobby and quietly consumed my TBM (tomato, basil, and mozzarella) sandwich with a bag of potato chips and a Diet Coke. That hotel was very empty that day where the staffers outnumbered everyone else.

After I finished lunch, I decided that it was time to head back to the light rail station and get out of the city. I walked past Orioles Park at Camden Yards and took this one last photo. The place definitely looked pretty sad and deserted in the off-season. Baseball season will begin in a few months so this area will have a lot of Baltimore Oriole fans entering through those gates. (It also reminded me of the fact that the last time I attended a game there was back in 2007. It was the year before my hip replacement and it was also when I was still married because I used to accompany my husband to those games. I don’t know when I’ll ever attend another game there in person.)

Tyson’s Corner Center, December 18, 2017

My birthday is on December 15 and I usually like to do something fun. Last year I spent my birthday last slogging through Baltimore in very bitter cold temperature and frantically trying to contact someone in authority about a homeless man who was sleeping on the steps of the Baltimore Convention Center despite the fact that the Polar Vortex had come through the area plunging the temperature below 20 degrees.

I don’t know if I reached anyone and I was stymied by the fact that I don’t live in Baltimore so I didn’t know who to turn to. I spent the next couple of days doing Google searches to see if anyone had frozen to death on the steps of the Convention Center only to turn up empty. I guess the man survived that bitter cold night but I’ll never know for sure.

This year I decided to go to Tyson’s Corner Mall in Virginia because I had spent some fun birthdays there in previous years and I also wanted to avoid any more drama about homeless people in cold weather. December 15 fell on a Friday this year so I was looking forward to it.

Except it rained that day then the temperature plunged to below freezing so all that rain on the ground turned into ice. I still have memories of when I slipped on ice in Annapolis back in 2011, which resulted in my hip replacement being knocked out of position so I had to undergo hip revision surgery later that year in order to put it back into place. I just wasn’t willing to risk falling and having my hip replacement messed up.

So I decided to postpone that trip a couple of days. December 18 fell on a Monday, which is usually a relatively quiet night at that mall. Except it was just a few days before Christmas so there were more people shopping there on a Monday night than usual. But it still wasn’t bad. Here are the photos I shot that night.

I took the Metro to the mall, where I was greeted with this cool rainbow Christmas tree and some lovely twinkling lights when I arrived.

Some people were resting at one of the many fire pits that are set up outside this time of the year.

People could be found skating on a temporary ice skating rink, which is also usually set up this time of the year.

The first store I hit was American Girl Place. I was on a mission. Here’s the backstory: This year American Girl decided on an African American character for its Girl of the Year named Gabriela McBride. She was the first girl of color to be given such an honor since since 2005. She’s described as being an artist, which I find personally cool since I’m an artist myself. Earlier this year I was having camera problems so when I arrived at American Girl Place back in June, I was unable to shoot any photos while I was there. A few weeks later it was July and I decided to return to American Girl Place with my Canon DSLR in tow. I was able to shoot a few pictures until the battery ran out of juice. So I got pictures of the new contemporary doll Tenney Grant and her friend, Logan Everett, who’s known as the first boy doll that American Girl has ever released. I also got a picture of a case displaying what was the newest BeForever doll at the time—Melody Ellison, who’s supposed to represent the 1960s. But those were the only pictures I got before my camera battery died on me.

Ironically  I came close to arriving at American Girl Place without a camera this time around. I had left my Canon PowerShot camera in the car and I didn’t realize it until after I had gone on the Metro train at the Greenbelt station. I managed to dart out of the train before the doors closed and walked outside the station and back to the parking lot so I could retrieve my camera.

It was worth the effort to retrieve my camera and arrive at the mall a little bit later because, at long last, I was finally able to take pictures of the 2017 Girl of the Year, Gabriela McBride. On top of it, this doll was scheduled to retire after New Year’s Eve and be replaced by the 2018 Girl of the Year (which means that this doll will be retired by the time you read this). Here’s the standee where people can take selfies with Gabriela and a brick backdrop.

Here’s Gabriela herself. I think she’s a cute doll and I love her art accessories, especially the miniature replicas of a paint set and a sketchbook pad.

I was also able to take pictures of another doll on this trip. American Girl has been releasing a new line of contemporary characters who are growing up in today’s era. I took pictures of would-be country musician Tenney Grant and her male friend Everett Logan on the last trip. American Girl released another character who have nothing to do with Tenney or Everett and she has her own separate story. Her name is Z Yang, she is a Korean American, and she is passionate about photography and videography. Like Gabriela McBride, Z Yang also shares my interest. (To be fair, Tenney Grant shares my interest in playing the guitar except I prefer rock and folk music over country.) Z Yang’s miniature photography and video equipment are absolutely adorable (even if they are expensive).

They even have a human version of Z Yang’s meet outfit, which I personally find adorable. Sadly they are only available in children’s sizes.

Since my last visit to American Girl place back in July, American Girl have released a new BeForever historical doll. Her name is Nanea Mitchell and she has a white American father and a Hawaiian mother. She is described as growing up in the then-U.S. territory of Hawaii in 1941. Anyone who knows history will know what major event happened in Hawaii back in 1941.

I found Nanea to be gorgeous in person. I loved her meet outfit and her shell necklace.

They offer a variety of Hawaiian clothes for Nanea that are sold separately.

American Girl offers Nanea’s Family Market, which can be yours for only $250. (LOL!) I have to admit that I’m really impressed by the details on that furniture, including the tiny replicas of vintage World War II-era posters.

 

Here’s a photo of the 1960s BeForever character, Melody Ellison, wearing this gorgeous yellow outfit.

American Girl had this good sale on Melody’s Hairstyling Set, which was only priced at $5. That’s a pretty good deal compared to the high prices that this store usually charges. If I had a Melody doll, I definitely would’ve purchased it.

American Girl had a really cute new outfit for Julie Albright, who represents the 1970s. I remember people actually wore embroidered peasant blouses and blue jeans skirts back when I was a kid so her outfit definitely brought back memories for me.

Since another BeForever character, Rebecca Rubin (who represents the 1910s), is Jewish, there was a Hanukkah display featuring this doll.

The next two photos show a display of the Wellie Wishers dolls. They are pretty cute and I like their outfits.

American Girl had a display touting this one new service that they offer called Create Your Own. The idea is that if you don’t find a doll and/or an outfit that you want, you can always create a customized product. The idea of a customized doll isn’t new. The Japanese ball-jointed doll company Volks has long offered something called a Full Choice System which, from what I heard, can run into hundreds of dollars. The now-defunct Makies dolls had a similar service where you can get a 3D printed doll for far less. (I still miss that company. Sigh! If you’re curious, you can check out my posts about my one and only Makies doll, Victoria.)

So American Girl is now trying its hand at a similar customized service. There are two caveats about this new service: 1) You can only order the doll and/or outfit online since the store don’t offer any facilities to allow anyone to design something in-store and 2) Your customized doll and/or outfit will cost way more than an off-the-shelf product. According to this link, a Create Your Own doll costs $200 versus an off-the-shelf doll for $115.

I saw these American Girl Mega Construx kits featuring characters who were previous Girls of the Year, including Mia St. Clair, Kanani Akina, Isabelle Palmer, Lea Clark, and Saige Copeland.

 

Here’s a case full of the 9-inch mini doll versions of the historical 18-inch BeForever characters.

Here are a few more miscellaneous photos I took inside of American Girl place, including the  store’s Christmas tree.

I went to Build-A-Bear Workshop where I checked out these Star Wars plushes and some Christmas reindeers.

I checked out this temporary Christmas shop that will be in business until after New Year’s Day.

Strangely that store had some Day of the Dead-themed ornaments and decorations even though that holiday had long since passed.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Beatles Christmas ornament available for sale.

I went to The Disney Store, where I saw a lot of tie-ins to the new Disney/Pixar movie Coco (which I actually saw on Christmas Day) and the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi (which I saw on the day after Christmas)

I went to the LEGO store where I saw some cool things on display.

I ate my belated birthday dinner at Wasabi, the Japanese sushi place that delivers its food on conveyor belts. I really love the food, which is why I keep on returning to that place. If my finances weren’t so tight, I would be eating there more often than once or twice a year.

I went to Lolli and Pops where I purchased some gummy bears made from champaign and took these pictures.

That store sold two teddy bears named—what else?—Lolli and Pops.

Here are a few miscellaneous photos I took during my time at that mall.

A Birthday Trip to Baltimore and Glen Burnie, December 15, 2016

 

 

 

 

Last year I planned on going to Baltimore to celebrate my birthday at Christmas Village in Baltimore. I had to scuttle those plans because my birthday fell on a Tuesday and it turns out that the place was closed on certain Tuesdays including my birthday. (I ended up going to Tyson’s Corner instead and I still had fun last year.)

This year my birthday fell on a Thursday so I decided to go to Baltimore, just like I planned last year. I was determined to go there despite the fact that the Polar Vortex had just arrived in my area so the temperatures plunged to below freezing. (I basically wore a heavy winter coat and a hat so I was able to brave the deep freeze.)

On the way to Baltimore I stopped off at a local Jo-Ann’s Fabrics & Crafts store to check out the recent sales. I found a bundled pair of slipper socks. The original price was $9.99, which would’ve been a decent price for two pairs of thick socks. But they were on sale for half-price, which meant that I paid $5 for the bundle (or $2.50 per pair).

I took the light rail into the city. I initially went by Harborplace where I saw this ice skating rink.

Since my last visit to Harborplace, I found that the store It’s Sugar had moved from one pavilion to another. (It is now located next to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium.)

I purchased a few things for myself on my birthday. Here is this cute gingerbread man cookie I bought.

I purchased this Pez dispenser featuring Badtz-Maru, one of Hello Kitty’s friends.

I bought myself this Guinness Luxury Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar. It was very delicious.

I took a few photos of other items in that store but I didn’t buy any of them.

After my visit to Harborplace I took a couple of photos of the Inner Harbor area at sunset.

I eventually made my way to the Christmas Village in Baltimore.

I’ve been there other years (see the photos I took in 2013, 2014, and 2015). Some of the same vendors were there this year while there were others whom I had never seen before. I also saw some empty booths but I had no idea if fewer vendors signed up or if it was because I came on a Thursday night and some of the missing vendors only worked on the weekends. I had been looking forward to eating some bratwurst with sauerkraut for dinner followed by a Belgian waffle topped with hot fudge and whipped cream for dessert. Unfortunately the waffle place wasn’t there this year, which was a big disappointment. The German food booth was still there so at least I was still able to eat the bratwurst and sauerbraten platter.

I purchased only one item. It was a pack of incense that I got from the large Käthe Wohlfahrt booth that was located at one end of the main tent. I’ve been lighting the incense each night since then so my home can smell like Christmas. (LOL!)

On my way back to the light rail stop, I saw this homeless person laying down under a thin blanket outside the Baltimore Convention Center. Usually I wouldn’t pay this person much notice other than the fact that the Polar Vortex had arrived and the temperatures were forecasted to dip under 20 degrees Fahrenheit over night. (The following morning my AccuWeather app on my smartphone registered 18 degrees Fahrenheit.) I felt that this person should really be indoors but I didn’t know where to turn since I live 30 miles south of Baltimore.

I took the above picture and frantically did Google searches on my smartphone for homeless organizations in Baltimore. I texted the photo to a couple of organizations while indicating where the person was located. For added measure I texted the photo to the Baltimore Police Department. I even uploaded this photo on my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts using people to forward this to anyone who could help bring this person in from the cold. I don’t know if my efforts helped or not other than the fact that for the next few days I did a Google search for any recent homeless deaths in Baltimore outside the Baltimore Convention Center only to turn up empty-handed. I guess this person somehow survived the Polar Vortex but I’ll never know for sure.

Once I reached the North Linthicum Light Rail Station (where my car was parked) I drove over to Glen Burnie. Last year I found out about this overdecorated house on Delmar Avenue and I saw it for the first time on Christmas Eve. This year I decided to check it out again and, yes, it is still just as heavily decorated as it was last year.

The only difference I could tell between this year and last year is the next-door neighbor’s lighted sign that said “DITTO” with an arrow pointed to the other house. (That neighbor’s house didn’t have any outdoor lights at all other than that “DITTO” sign.)

By the way the house on Delmar Avenue has its own Facebook page that you can view to get the latest news and photos about that house.

Last year I shot a bunch of still photos of that house. This year I decided to shoot a video so you can get a sense of the flashing lights (including an animated laser display that’s shown on the garage door) and the constant Christmas music.

I headed home after visiting that house so that was it for celebrating my birthday in Baltimore and Glen Burnie.

Spending My Birthday at Tyson’s Corner Mall, December 15, 2015

Ever since my husband left me just three days after Christmas in 2011, I’ve been celebrating my birthdays by going out to all-you-can-eat Asian buffet places. While they were okay, I was ready for something a little bit different. I got a combination birthday/Christmas check from my mother so I could indulge myself a little bit. I originally planned on going to the Christmas Village that’s temporarily located in Baltimore where I would indulge in German food and do some shopping. But then I looked at operating hours and I found that the Christmas Village is closed on certain Tuesdays—including December 15.

Okay so that plan fell by the wayside. Then I decided on Plan B. I went to Tyson’s Corner Mall instead.

Here are the first few images of the plaza area where Metro riders arrive at the mall.

Käthe Wohlfahrt had a heated tent set up outside.

The next shot is one of the two giant wooden soldiers that guard the entrance to the tent. There was a photography ban inside the tent but you can just go on the website to see the variety of German-made Christmas decorations that are currently for sale.

Once again the mall has erected an ice skating rink on the plaza. It was empty mainly because I came on a Tuesday night.

I saw that Jon Wye now has a kiosk in the mall. I can remember when Jon Wye was a regular fixture in many of the local indie craft shows (such as Crafty Bastards). One year I purchased this t-shirt for my then-husband, which he really loved. (My husband loved to cook, although in the later years of our marriage I did more of the cooking because he would come home from work totally exhausted.)

I ended up eating my birthday dinner at Wasabi. It’s cool they deliver food on a conveyor belt plus the food is excellent.

After dinner I walked around the mall some more. I saw these cute Christmas villages made from Legos at the Lego Store.

A few months ago I wrote a rant on Why Kim Kardashian and Her Family Need to Just Go Away. I was exasperated over the fact that the entire family seem to have a knack at calling media attention to themselves even though most of them have no discernible talent. Even though I go through great lengths to avoid having anything remotely to do with Kim Kardashian and family, even I can’t avoid them completely. One example is this poster in a store window touting a fashion collection that’s promoted by two of Kim Kardashian’s younger half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

Nintendo set up this temporary display in the middle of the mall. People had the opportunity to actually try some of the latest Nintendo games that are currently on sale for both their 3DS and Wii U systems.

I saw these cute dolls made by the German company Götz in a Pottery Barn Kids store. Here’s a fun fact: Götz was the manufacturer of many of the early American Girl dolls, which ended when Mattel purchased American Girl and, in a cost-cutting measure, shifted all production to China. These days Götz makes its own 18-inch dolls that are sold in Pottery Barn Kids stores.

I also saw this Star Wars display in the Pottery Barn Kids store right across from where the Götz dolls were displayed.

In the middle of the mall was something called Those Animals, which were motorized stuffed animals that one could ride through the mall. Each animal is billed to carry a person up to 500 pounds. I thought about renting one briefly to try it out but I didn’t because I wasn’t sure if I would be considered too old to ride one. I later saw a group of teens riding those animals so maybe it would be okay for adults to ride as well. Maybe I’ll consider it again if Those Animals are still around the next time I go to Tyson’s Corner Mall.

I went to the American Girl Place. I focused mainly on the Christmas related stuff this time around because I’ve already taken so many pictures of that store in the past. There was this store exclusive dress that was displayed on different dolls.

There were also other types of holiday outfits for dolls available as well.

They also brought back the horse carriage that I photographed extensively last year at the same store.

Earlier this year I wrote extensively and posted a bunch of photos on Samantha Parkington’s gazebo. It was adorned with Christmas decorations when I saw that gazebo this time.

Their Bistro area was all decked out in holiday ornaments. The doll on the counter is Kit Kittredge, who’s the BeForever historical doll representing America during the Great Depression.

There were a variety of winter holiday decorations strewn throughout the store.

I took one more token photo of the 2015 Girl of the Year, Grace Thomas, because by the time I make a return visit to the American Girl Place, she’ll be long replaced by the 2016 Girl of the Year.

I took a few more photos of various store windows and displays throughout the mall.

I saw the ultimately geeky Christmas ornament: Darth Vader wearing a Santa hat and one of those ugly Christmas sweaters featuring all kinds of Star Wars-related motifs. I didn’t buy it at the time because I didn’t have enough money on me (after eating at Wasabi). When I attempted to go to a Hallmark store located closer to me, I found that all of the Darth Vader ornaments had been sold out except for the display model.

I finished with a visit to the Nestle Toll House Cafe. Instead of getting a birthday cake for myself, I opted to purchase a cookies and cream brownie. Boy, was it good!

I purchased only one thing during my trip to the mall. I found this $9.99 miniature gumball machine that had the images of Anna and Elsa on it from the Disney movie Frozen.

There is a coin slot but one can get the gumball just by twisting the handle. However, if you opt to pay with a coin, there is a lid at the bottom where you can retrieve your coins. (In other words, it functions as a bank as well as a candy dispenser.)

As I went back out on the plaza in the direction of the Metro station (so I could return home), I saw an employee spraying the surface of the ice skating rink with water.

I also saw some people sit on the outdoor couches by the tables with lit flames, such as this family in the next photo.

Edgar Allan Poe’s House and Christmas Village, Baltimore, December 7, 2014

On December 7, Pearl Harbor Day, I finally got around to going to some place that I’ve always wanted to visit but I never got around to do it. I finally decided to check out the former home of Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore.

I’ve seen Poe’s grave a few times but I never went to his house. That’s because I usually took the light rail to get to the grave and, despite the fact that his home is located close by, most travel reviews tend to advise against walking or taking public transportation to the Poe house. So I decided to drive my car into the city. I found that it wasn’t too bad and there were plenty of parking spots. As these next photos show, I can understand why most people advise getting there by car because Edgar Allan Poe’s home is literally located in the projects.

The next few shots are of the outside of the house itself. The house was originally part of a duplex. The half where Poe’s family never lived was later torn down in order to make way for the construction of the housing projects that now surrounds Poe’s house.

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston. His father abandoned the family while he was still a toddler and his mother died soon afterwards. For whatever reason none of his relatives were able to take the boy in so the young orphan was sent to Richmond to live with a couple named John and Frances Allan. While they never legally adopted the boy, they raised him as if he were their own son. As Edgar grew older, he began to clash with his foster father over his gambling debts and the costs of his secondary education. After the death of his foster mother, Edgar and his foster father decided to part ways. Edgar subsequently moved in with his biological relatives in Baltimore.

Edgar was 23 at the time and he lived there with his widowed aunt, Maria Clemm, his grandmother and Maria’s mother, Elizabeth Cairns Poe, and Maria’s two children (Edgar’s cousins)—10-year-old Virginia and 14-year-old Henry. The family mainly survived on Elizabeth’s government pension, which she received for her late husband’s service in the American Revolutionary War.

When I entered the home, I found frequent reminders of its famous former occupant.

The next two photos show a list of stories and poems that Edgar Allan Poe wrote while he lived in that home.

I’ve visited the homes of other famous people before. Most of the homes tend to be large and roomy, especially the ones that were occupied by the rich, famous, and powerful. Not this one. This home has got to be the smallest, most narrow historical home that I have ever visited. At times I had to remind myself that five people once lived together in that house. That family must have been very tolerant and cooperative of each other because I could only imagine the stress of being crammed together with very little or no privacy. Even the staircase was incredibly narrow, as you can see in the next photo.

All I can say about those steps is that they are definitely not meant for anyone who is obese because it would be so easy for someone of a certain width to get stuck trying to go up and down.

The second floor only had one small room and it had a few artifacts, such as this telescope that once belonged to Poe.

Getting up to the third floor leading to the attic room where Edgar Allan Poe worked and slept was the biggest challenge. These steps were even more narrow than the ones leading from the first to the second floors. In fact they were so narrow that there was a sign saying that only one person can use them at a time. In addition, you can’t go all the way into the bedroom due to this barrier that was placed at the top of the steps.

At least I could reach the camera over the barrier and take the photos of the room where Edgar Allan Poe started his professional writing career.

Edgar Allan Poe only lived in that home for a few years until his grandmother died. Unfortunately for the family, the government payments stopped with Elizabeth Cairns Poe’s death. Maria Clemm was unable to cover the rent so the family had to move. Soon afterwards Edgar married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia, (which made Maria Clemm both his aunt and his mother-in-law) and the couple stayed married until Virginia’s early death from tuberculosis just 11 years later. Edgar Allan Poe himself died an early death at age 40 under circumstances that remain mysterious to this day.

The house itself is a pretty short tour due mainly to the fact that it is so small and narrow. (I was there for about an hour.) There is a very small gift shop located near the entrance, which consists mainly of books and a few small Poe-themed mugs, buttons, and other knick knacks. The admission was $5, which is the right price for a house this small. I’ve heard that this house gets plenty of visitors, especially around Halloween. When I went it wasn’t very crowded but, then again, I went in early December.

Since the house was such a short trip, I decided to visit another place in Baltimore since I was in that city anyway. I headed over to the Inner Harbor where I saw something at McKeldin Square. I can remember three years ago when McKeldin Square was the site of Occupy Baltimore. The protesters have long been since evicted and now there is a temporary ice skating rink that people can use as a way of getting into the holiday spirit.

I decided to check out the Christmas Village in Baltimore, which has recently returned. (I was there a couple of times last year before Christmas and on Christmas Eve.) I knew I was getting close to the place when I saw these charming looking signs.

Christmas Village in Baltimore was set up the same as last year. There were outdoor wooden kiosks that sold all kinds of goodies—both edible and non-edible.

There were holiday lights and, of course, there was a giant Christmas tree.

There were also a giant Advent wreath and a large Advent calendar as well. (It was the second week of Advent when I was there so only two of the electric candles on the wreath were lit.)

Then there was the main building, which had more stalls featuring all kinds of food, drinks, and crafts. It was such a visual feast for the eyes.

Like last year, one end of this temporary structure was dominated by Käthe Wohlfahrt, which specializes in Christmas decorations imported from Germany. Photography was forbidden inside the store itself so I had to make do with just photographing the outside entrance. The official U.S. website has a lot of photos of their merchandise so it should give you an idea of what visiting that store was like.

On my way back to the parking garage where I left my car I saw this person making various items out of balloons.

I also ran into a guy dressed as the Grinch outside the entrance to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium at Harborplace.

Day 2 in New York City

Yesterday I did a full day of walking around the city. I felt very fortunate that I was able to do so in light of my recent injuries and that devastating diagnosis regarding potential trouble with my back. I enjoyed myself for the most part but there were times when I kept on wondering if it would be the last time I would ever be able to do something like this, especially if further medical treatments for my degenerating bones somehow fail and I end up being too disabled to even walk a few steps. So it was an enjoyable day mixed with the occasional sadness and trepidation about my future health.

I began my journey with a trip to Times Square. This morning I skipped breakfast because I was still full from that birthday dinner at the restaurant that the family ate at to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday. By the time I got on the subway, I still wasn’t hungry but I began to feel a little woozy because I made the mistake of taking my prescription meds on an empty stomach. So I got off at the Times Square stop and got myself a hot pretzel from one of the vendor stands. One cool thing that the powers-that-be did to Times Square was to close off a block of traffic and turned the street into a little pedestrian park with tables and chairs. On top of that, there was even free Wi-Fi available. I did a brief post on Facebook with my iPod Touch but the weather was really too cold to do much sitting outside. (The temperature in New York began at a very chilly 23 degrees Farenheit had reached a high of 47 degrees as the day progressed.)

I made a brief visit to the big Hershey store in Times Square. They had some specially marked candy that was a tie-in for the upcoming animated Easter film Hop.

I did some web surfing the night before and learned that Disney had closed its World of Disney store on Fifth Avenue and the smaller one that was located next to the Amsterdam Theatre in Times Square. As a replacement, Disney took over this space in Times Square that used to be occupied by a Virgin Megastore (which was one of my favorite places to visit in New York City because of its huge stock in books, music, and movies—one could find an obscure movie classic or CD in that store) until that chain went out of business a few years earlier. I have to say that the newer Times Square Disney Store is pretty huge.

While I was at the Disney Store I purchased this little 3-inch Vinylmation souvenir of Minnie Mouse dressed as the Statue of Liberty, which is exclusively sold at the Times Square store. In the meantime I had carried not only my purse but also a small cloth Mickey Mouse shopping bag that I had purchased at the Disney Store at Arundel Mills back home and I used the smaller shopping bag to carry my camera and maps in. Two store employees noticed that bag and asked me where I had gotten it from and they told me how much they liked it, which was pretty wild.

I also did some walking around in Times Square. I shot this photo of the Broadway theater that is showing the controversial new musical based on the Spider-Man comic book called Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark. That musical had generated bad press when a few of the actors were injured during rehearsals and the previews themselves had garnered much negative reviews among theater critics. The musical is still having preview shows that are opened to the general public. My husband’s step-mother said that the people behind that musical are charging as much per ticket as a typical Broadway show that’s being performed for real (meaning that it’s not a preview show), which is a rip-off if you consider that the price of a regular Broadway show starts at $100. If what she said is true, then it is really a rip-off since the shows are technically considered rehearsals and are not real regular performances.

I soon began to grow tired of the constant crowds, noise, and visual stimulation of Times Square so I hopped on a subway and headed farther downtown to the East Village. Greenwich Village and Times Square are as different as night and day in that the former is much more quiet and the streets are filled with nice architecture (some of which dates as far back as the mid-1800’s).

My first stop in that area is a bit of a history lesson for anyone who reads this. Last Friday was the 100th anniversary of the most tragic event that ever happend to workers on the job in the United States—The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. If you do enough research, you’d realize that this was a tragedy that could have been prevented had the owners of the company showed more concern about their employees in terms of occupational safety. What was really tragic was that many of the workers were young women who were in their teens and 20’s when they died.

The building where the tragedy took place is still there but it is now known as the Brown Building and it is part of the campus of New York University. There was a special event last Friday on the actual 100th anniversary but, as you can see from these photos, the flowers and writings on the sidewalk were still there. There were also purple banners hanging out the same windows where many of the people had jumped to their deaths in their efforts to escape the fire.

Afterwards I walked around the East Village a bit. Went to this really neat locally-owned bookstore called St. Mark’s Bookshop where I treated myself to thick paperback book of the complete writings of Oscar Wilde. (A few years ago I saw some of my friends act in a local amateur production of Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest and I really enjoyed it.) I ate a late lunch at this Japanese restaurant called Zen (located at 31 Saint Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) where the prices were pretty reasonable by New York City standards and the service was pretty good. I did a little bit of window shopping. I purchased something really cute at this store called AC Gears, which specializes in really neat looking electronics from Japan. It’s called Stargirl and it’s manufactured by Headphonies. Stargirl is both a cute figurine and a portable external speaker for a computer or MP3 player of your choice. Is that cool or what? I can’t wait until I get home and try this one out.

I also took a few photos while I walked around the East Village.

After I walked around for a while I took the subway to Rockefeller Center. Somehow I managed to get off at the subway station that was outside Rockefeller Center itself instead of inside the building (where I usually embark and disembark) so I decided to walk up 47th Street to get to the front of the building. As I walked up 47th Street, I began to kick myself for not using 46th Street or 48th Street because I forgot that this particular part of 47th Street is the Diamond District and there were so many sales reps and shop owners perched outside their stores asking every single passerbys if they wanted to buy diamonds or if they had gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, or other precious metals and stones they want to sell. I found myself saying "No" every other minute because these guys were so relentless, especially the ones who were asking me if I had any gold or silver I wanted to sell. I was so relieved when I finally hit Fifth Avenue because it was like a jungle in that block.

Once I got to the front of Rockefeller Center, I walked around the area where I took a few more photographs.

While I was there I checked out the new Lego store. There was a Lego store that opened in Arundel Mills Mall in my area and I thought that it was big and impressive. Well the one at Rockefeller Center makes the Arundel Mills store look puny by comparison. Here’s one of the walls where people can choose from a myriad of bricks in various sizes and colors.

They had statues and reliefs made from Legos that depicted various Rockefeller Center stuff. How accurate are the Lego recreations? Well, here’s are some comparison shots of one of the original artworks that adorns Rockefeller Center with a Lego re-creation of it.

I personally find Lego statues to be totally fascinating because I can only imagine the amount of planning and design it takes to create something from tiny plastic rectangular bricks that people would recognize while taking into account the limits of using a medium that’s totally inflexible (like Lego bricks).

While I was at Rockefeller Center, I went to the MSNBC.com Digital Cafe (which is located just one floor above the NBC Store) where I had a chocolate pudding snack and a Diet Coke while I took a break from all that walking. Afterwards I headed over to the World of Nintendo store where I saw the new Nintendo 3DS for the first time. I have to admit that there were times when the 3D graphics were impressive but other times I just couldn’t tell the difference between that and a typical 2D screen. There were also not a lot of games currently available for the system that made me say "I gotta buy this thing right now!!!" I’m going to wait at least six months before I make a decision on whether to buy one for myself or not. But I have to admit that it’s cool that it was able to get a 3D effect without making users wear those dorky 3D glasses like in the 3D digital movie theaters.

As I left Rockefeller Center, I took a photo of someone who I think is the most important employee currently working at Rockefeller Center. I’m not talking about the various on-air personalities who work for NBC or one of its cable subsidiaries (i.e. MSNBC, CNBC, etc.) nor am I talking about any of the top-level executives of NBC and the other companies who inhabit Rockefeller Center. I’m talking about the guy who drives the zamboni to freshen up the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink. 😀

I then crossed Fifth Avenue to my final destination of the day before I became too totally exhausted to do anything else. I checked out the American Girl Place, which is full of American Girl dolls and various accessories. I know that American Girl originally started out as a series of fictional girls living in various eras of American history (such as the Civil War and the Great Depression). What really freaked me out and drove home the point that I’m now old is that there is a doll named Julie who is a 12-year-old girl in 1974. I was a child in 1974 and what’s really hilarious is that there are family photos of me wearing clothes that were similar to the 1970’s-style clothes that are currently available for Julie and her friends. I also owned a few of the items (such as a cheap record player and 45 r.p.m. records) that are now available as accessories for those dolls. Man, I really am old! (LOL!)

There’s also a relatively new line of American Girl dolls that are not based on historical fictional characters nor are they tied in with any book series. It’s called My American Girl and the idea is to pick an American Girl doll that resembles you the most (or to pick a doll you wish you could resemble if you only had different hair color or eye color). You can decide whether she has pierced ears (with her ears being pierced on the spot) or not, whether she wears glasses, or whether she has braces. There’s a wheelchair sold separately if you want your doll to be disabled. There’s even a medical kit that comes with bandages and crutches if you want her to be injured.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s also an online component where, if you register the doll at innerstarU.com, you’ll get an avatar version of your doll and you can interact online with others in a safe environment. This is basically a variation on Webkinz.com except you can get 20 stuffed Webkinz animals for the price of one American Girl doll.

The idea is to look at these slips of paper that contains pictures of each doll then pick the paper of the doll that interests you the most. You detach the paper slip and you look for the number on the paper. Then you look among the boxes for the number that corresponds exactly with the number on your paper slip, look for any accessories you want to buy for that doll (like wheelchairs, glasses, additional clothes, etc.), then pay for the doll at the checkout. Once you bring your doll home, you register her at innerstarU.com and you’re good to go.

Just for the hell of it I looked among the slips of paper to see if there were any dolls that resembled me. All of the dolls are a little bit on the hefty side and I’m not exactly skinny so that was no problem. I looked among the dolls and I found one that resembled me the closest. She’s doll number 39 and it’s not an exact match mainly because she has blue eyes and I have hazel eyes. But if I wanted to, I could’ve purchased her along with glasses and crutches (to symbolize my current problems with my deteriorating bones).

I opted not to mainly because I was feeling very tired and I really wasn’t into buying dolls at the moment. I’ve seen patterns for American Girl doll clothes sold at various arts and crafts store but I don’t really know if there is a market for handmade American Girl doll clothes since there are already so many official American Girl doll clothes available. I guess I could do punk rock fashions since, as of this writing, there aren’t any historical American Girl dolls representing the punk rock and new wave music explosion that happened in the late 1970’s-1980’s. (LOL!)

I guess if, for some reason, I can’t overcome my medical problems, I could order that doll online along with glasses and either crutches or a wheelchair and call her My Mini-Me. Yeah, I can think cheerful thoughts at times.</sarcasm>

Well, anyway, I didn’t buy anything at that store and I was feeling tired so I took the subway back to my in-laws’ place. I basically spent the evening resting indoors since I was totally exhausted. I don’t regret working myself into the ground because I really don’t know what my future will be like and there’s a possibility that my days when I could be active will end soon—especially if any and all medical treatments fail.