The 178ft Washington Monument in Baltimore was completed in 1829 to honor George Washington. A 227-step climb to the top leads to a deck with sweeping city views. And if that isn’t enough, more great views can be had along the inner harbor from the top of Baltimore’s World Trade Center.

Trip highlights from December 7th, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland follow. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps

Mick O’Shea’s Position: -76 36.90, 39 17.60 Lunch street-side at Mick O’Shea’s Irish Pub. We rode our bikes there en route to the Washington Monument.

Washington Monument Position: -76 36.93, 39 17.85 The 178ft Baltimore Washington Monument was completed in 1829 in honor of George Washington. It was designed by American architect Robert Mills, who would later design the Washington Monument in Washington DC.

Climbing Position: -76 36.94, 39 17.85 Climbing the 227 steps to the top of the Washington Monument.

View Position: -76 36.95, 39 17.85 The view looking east from the top of the Washington Monument. The day had started out overcast, but ended up clear and sunny, perfect for our visit. The large group of brick buildings in the distance just right of center is Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Phoenix Shot Tower Position: -76 36.95, 39 17.85 Looking southeast toward the Phoenix Shot Tower from the Washington Monument.

United Methodist Church Position: -76 36.92, 39 17.87 The Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, next to the Washington Monument, was completed in 1872. The church is constructed of six different types of stone, including green serpentine.

Interior Position: -76 36.92, 39 17.87 The main sanctuary of the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church seats 900 people. The pews are made of American walnut and hand-carved by one man who took seven years to complete them all. A second-floor sanctuary seats an additional 300 people.

Francis Scott Key Position: -76 36.94, 39 17.84 A memorial on the side of the the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church to Francis Scott Key, who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner. Key died in 1843 at the home of his daughter in the location where the church now stands.

Baltimore Basilica Position: -76 37.01, 39 17.65 The Baltimore Basilica was built between 1806 and 1821 and is considered American’s first cathedral.

World Trade Center Position: -76 36.60, 39 17.16 The view looking north from the top of the World Trade Center at the inner harbor. The Phoenix Shot Tower is near the right of the picture.

USS Constellation Position: -76 36.60, 39 17.16 Looking west and down to the USS Constellation from the top of the World Trade Center.

National Aquarium Position: -76 36.59, 39 17.17 The glass-enclosed buildings of the National Aquarium are just east of the World Trade Center. Dirona is just visible across the harbor at the far right of the picture.

Harbor East Position: -76 36.58, 39 17.17 Looking east from the World Trade Center to the Harbor East neighbourhood, where we’ve stopped in at a few pubs and restaurants.

Race Pace Bicycles Position: -76 36.12, 39 16.41 We needed new bicycle seats, so we stopped by Race Pace Bicycles to get new ones installed. We’re really loving our Giant FCR IIs–they’ve lasted amazingly well in an incredibly harsh marine environment outside on our flybridge.

World of Beer Position: -76 36.01, 39 16.10 We finished the day with wings and brews at the World of Beer in the nearby Locust Point neighborhood.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps.