(Last) Year in Review: Annapolis

By now, it's really two years ago. In May 2011, I made a mini-trip to Annapolis MD, which I meant to write about but never did. Thought I'd catch up. Hmm, I find myself a little paranoid that I already wrote about Annapolis, but I can't find a post about it, so probably not.

In the old part of Annapolis.

I stayed at my pal Jane's house, which was super cool, tucked away in some woods and built like a large old cabin, with an all-wood great room. Jane has since relocated, so I won't get to hang out there again, but I'm glad I got one chance at least. Should have remembered to take some photos, but I didn't.

I did remember to take photos when I went exploring the town, though. I spent part of my visit in the old part of town, which is home to the U.S. Naval Academy and lots of old buildings and twisting roads. This wasn't my first visit to Annapolis, or even to the Naval Academy. In fact, when I was about 15, I briefly thought I might like to attend one of the military academies -- specifically, Navy. But a trip to the campus while on a family vacation opened my eyes to the reality of life there (all work, no play, no sleep) and I concluded I was probably better off at a liberal arts college.

The U.S. Naval Academy.

That same trip to Annapolis also opened my eyes to the small St. John's College (a liberal arts college!), which in many ways might have suited me very well. It's an unusual school in which students have no majors, and everyone studies the same books, same subjects, etc. I liked Annapolis, and I liked the idea of attending a "different" kind of school. Sadly (maybe for St. John's, maybe for me, I'll never know...) I read the St. John's syllabus before applying. And saw that Huckleberry Finn was on the required reading list. I had a really bad experience with Huck Finn in high school, and the thought of having to deal with it again was so off-putting that I didn't apply to St. John's. I had a pretty satisfying experience at American U, though, so my college experience turned out alright.

My other explorations through Annapolis were along the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, by bike. I hadn't ridden a bike in years (I owned one but didn't like riding around the DC area -- too much traffic) and it felt really good. I didn't wear a helmet, either, so part of me felt like a rebel and the other part felt like a totally normal person, since I managed to survive my childhood without dying of a head injury while riding a bike.

I liked the parts of Annapolis I road through; they were the newer parts, with larger homes and larger yards. But they weren't near anything except other homes and, for some, the Bay.

Here's a photo of the Bay Bridge, which scares the crap out of me even more than most bridges:

Terrifying. Even the gulls are frightened. See how they're paralyzed with fear?

It doesn't help that the bridge has five lanes across two spans, and that the lanes can flip from east-bound to west-bound depending on traffic, so sometimes the three-lane bridge has traffic going in both directions. Apparently, I'm not the only person who's afraid of the Bay Bridge: The state of Maryland contracts with a private company to drive people (and their cars or bikes) over the bridge for a pretty hefty fee.

Overall, it was a laid-back couple of days in Annapolis. If you're ever in the vicinity, or need a day trip away from D.C., it's worth a visit.

So quaint.