Baltimore Trip Part 4: The Inner Harbor & USS Constellation

Baltimore's Inner Harbor is filled with attractions and exhibits, and I took some time away from Otakon on Saturday late afternoon to explore a little.

One of the major attractions in the area is the National Aquarium. We visited there on Sunday.

Alongside the Aquarium are several historic ships including the submarine USS Torsk, the Coast Guard cutter Taney, and the Chesapeake lightship.

Behind the lightship is the Power Plant, which houses shops and restaurants including Baltimore's Hard Rock Cafe.

One popular activity on the Inner Harbor is renting "Chessie" paddleboats.

There are lots of ways to see the harbor. Water taxis provide fast and scenic transport. There was a pirate-themed tour boat as well as this steam paddle-wheeler.

An elevated walkway goes from the Baltimore Convention Center past hotels and a mall and some extensive fountains to the Inner Harbor attractions.

Looking across the harbor, here is Federal Hill Park, where I went earlier in the day.

Here is a view looking at Downtown Baltimore from the harbor.

Some of the mooring posts were painted with brightly-colored jellyfish designs (possibly in conjunction with the temporary exhibit on jellyfish at the National Aquarium).

One of the most spectacular Inner Harbor attractions is the USS Constellation, the last all-sail fighting ship built for the US Navy.

Here are a couple of cosplayers from Otakon who were out seeing the sights.

And some more shots of the Constellation. This is a big ship. This was as close as I could get to a full-length shot.

The Constellation, a sloop-of-war commissioned in 1855, was the second US Navy vessel to bear the name (the third was an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1961).

Here is a shot of her rigging.

A view of the starboard guns.

And the bow, from the dock side.

I didn't have time to go on board, but the Constellation is still an impressive sight to see from the dock.

Saturday night I visited with a friend in the Baltimore area and stayed up late playing Magic: The Gathering. On Sunday it was off to the National Aquarium, which will be my last set of photos in this series.