June 28, 2009 (Baltimore, Annapolis)

We had a fun Sunday exploring around the Baltimore area. We started by attending church at the Inner Harbor ward. Very nice experience.

This picture of a building on the harbor is my favorite picture of the trip so far. I love the industrial red brick look of Baltimore.

Our first stop after church was at Fort McHenry, the military fort in Baltimore where Francis Scott Key penned "The Star Spangled Banner". We found out here that if you go in with a senior (Grandma) who is paying $10, three adults and all the children get in for free. So, that was our whole group. I love deals.

We next drove to Annapolis to visit the U.S. Naval Academy. Jake was feeling really sick today because he didn't get much sleep at his leadership conference at Utah State earlier in the week. While we waited for Craig to park the car, Jake fell sound asleep on this bench and dreamed that we were stealing his pop tarts.

After we woke Jake up and walked a few feet to the building, we saw this sign:

Oops!

This is my favorite picture at the Naval Academy. This is the building where the midshipmen eat their meals. I love the banner that says, "Don't give up the ship". We learned that before the midshipmen can graduate from the academy, they have to swim 1600 meters in full uniform (except for shoes) in under 40 minutes. It's quite a challenge for some.
This picture was taken on the grounds of the academy. Not sure what Evan is looking at.

After our tour of the academy, we walked around Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. Cute little town.

This is the Maryland state house: