Baltimore: Bargain Alternative to Washington, D.C.

Our first choice for a getaway was Washington, D.C., but that was before we checked out the room rates. When we couldn't find anything we could afford close enough to the places we wanted to visit, we had a brainstorm: We'd use budget-friendly Baltimore as a base and riding the MARC (Maryland Transit Administration) train into Washington. We could get there and back weekdays for $14 round-trip.

But then we fell in love with Baltimore's Inner Harbor. With world-class museums, cheap transportation and theater a total bargain, we were able to take a big bite out of Baltimore without busting our budget.

The city lived up to its advertising slogan — "Discover Worlds of Culture." We were mesmerized by the "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum. Featuring "outsider art" never before exhibited, such as anti-government paintings by Saddam Hussein's former personal physician, Dr. Ala Bashir, it is the only museum in the world to exhibit untaught, intuitive artists.

Although my husband and I boast only one pair of pierced ears between us, we were fascinated by the Tattoo Museum in Fell's Point, which details the electric history of tattooing in America alongside its fully functioning tattoo studio. According to locals, at one time the waterfront neighborhood was rife with tattoo shops, which the city fathers felt were giving it a bad name. This galvanized some savvy entrepreneurs to offer space to the artists under one roof. Filled with photographs of the great tattoo artists and their work, plus a lavish display of tattoo patterns, the museum provides insight into the tattoo culture since its beginnings in the 19th century.

On a free National Heritage Guided Walking tour of Mount Vernon, once home to Baltimore's gilded-age elite and now the heart of Baltimore's arts and culture community, a stop at the 178-foot Washington Monument, built 50 years before the one in Washington, deepened our understanding of American history. The Baltimore monument depicts Washington in a toga instead of a military uniform since by comparing him to Cincinnatus, a toga-wearing Roman general who refused the invitation to become emperor of Rome, it symbolizes Washington's modesty. Not only did he resign his commission as general, but he also turned down the offer to be king instead of the first president of the United States.

On the Baltimore Sightseeing Tours bus, a historian unraveled another conundrum — what might really have caused the death of one of Baltimore's most famous literary figures, Edgar Allen Poe. An alcoholic who used spirits to summon his muse, Poe might have found that drink no longer sparked his creative talents, turning instead to ether stolen from the university's dental school.

The piece de resistance was the 90-minute Literary Mount Vernon walking tour of authors, poets and editors who sojourned in Baltimore's cultural hub. Created by the Maryland Humanities Council, the list of legendary wordsmiths connected to Baltimore reads like a Who's Who of great literature. Upton Sinclair, muckraking author of "The Jungle," an expose of Chicago's meat-packing industry, lived for a time at 417 N. Charles St., now the location of the American Heart Association. Because his father either drank his wages or couldn't hold a job because of his drinking, Sinclair grew up on the seamy side of Mount Vernon in down-at-the-mouth rooming houses or sometimes in better digs at the indulgence of his mother's up-market relatives. The vagaries of people's lives played an important part in his writing.

Award-winning poet Karl Shapiro attended classes at the Enoch Pratt Free Library at 400 Cathedral before serving in World War I. What's interesting about the library is its design. Completed in 1933, the imposing big window facade was intended to emulate the look of 20th century department stores rather than traditional libraries. Inside the structure is even more imposing. Here, for the first time, books were actually stored on shelves for public access instead of behind the librarian's desk. The Enoch Pratt became the model of Maryland's first free public library system.

Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore's production of "Oliver!" gave us an attitude adjustment about the quality of nonequity musical theater. Under the direction of Shawn Kettering, Reenie Codelko, Pamela Witt and Tina Marie DeSimone, the cast was transformed from a bunch of local school kids into a veritable gang of singing, dancing orphans and petty thieves. The Cockney accent, said the British member of our team, was spot-on, especially Oliver's, played by fourth-grader T.J. Langston.

Nor did we anticipate how fierce the competition would be for a singing spot on the Spirit Cruises in the Inner Harbor, where waiters exhibit impressive talent belting out show tunes and pop. More than 100 students and graduates of well-known programs such as the Peabody Conservatory audition; just one-third make it to interview, and half of those are hired. Their performance and audience-interaction skills make it an unexpectedly delightful experience.

"Art before commerce" is the mission of Centerstage, Baltimore's designated State Theater. For as little as $10 per ticket, we were able to see "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" performed by professional actors, plus enjoy a delicious and modestly priced light meal from Sascha's Express in the Mezzanine Cafe.

In 2010, Baltimore debuted the Charm City Circulator, three new air-conditioned buses that whisk visitors around the neighborhoods absolutely free. A day pass ($3.50) that permits unlimited rides on local buses, light rail and Metro subway is also a bargain. The coolest way to visit the world-class museums in the Inner Harbor is via water taxi.

IF YOU GO

For more information, visit www.baltimore.org and check for news of new hotels that may offer incentive pricing. Get a good buy on attractions with a Harbor Pass.

For a Literary Mount Vernon walking tour, contact www.mdhc.org.

Book bus tickets on the Baltimore Sightseeing Tours at www.baltimoresightseeingtours.com.

While you're in the Washington, D.C., area, don't miss the national Museum of Women in the Arts, the only museum in the world dedicated to women artists.

Sheila Sobell and Richard N. Every are travel photojournalists. Visit them at www.writersobell.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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