Monthly update

      Once again Uncle Jack must beg the forgiveness of that hardy band of readers who continue to look for something in this space every day while the perpetrator dawdles.  He knows it has been a month since he last blogged but the pictures show that he and Mrs. U.J. have not been entirely idle during that time.  Nor have the Orioles who have risen from the dead under their new manager, Buck Showalter, and have actually won more games than they have lost in the past 30 days.  Oh joy.
      In addition to traveling they have enjoyed a number of other activities in recent weeks including "Mencken Day" last Saturday celebrating the Sage of Baltimore's birthday which included a delightful talk by the esteemed author and critic Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post. Uncle Jack bought a book of Yardley's columns for the Post titled "Monday Morning Quarterback" which he has greatly enjoyed reading.  Yardley is a worthy successor to Mencken in the acerbity department and he has a wicked sense of humor to boot.
      Now that the stupefying heat of summer has moved out they have resumed exploring various nooks and crannies of Charm City on foot.  Most recently they visited "Old Town" which still retains a sizable number of 18th and early 19th century buildings including the famous "Shot Tower", a couple of delicatessens and a very old synagogue-museum dating back to the time when it was an enclave of Jewish immigrants. Baltimore is full of charming old neighborhoods like this and they look forward to continuing their explorations through the fall.

Their annual visit to Camden was delightful in spite of the unbelievable heat which curtailed physical activity like the long walks they usually take while there.  They were forced to spend inordinate amounts of time sitting under a ceiling fan in their marginally cooler living room watching the passing parade of yachts.  This monstrosity called "Copasetic" passed by on the way to sea just before Hurricane Earl was supposed to arrive.  She's for sale, by the way.  $22.8 million is what the owner has in mind if you're looking to buy a bigger boat (120 feet long, five levels of  luxury).

A windjammer arrives for what was to be Camden's annual Windjammer Weekend.  The event had to be truncated by the impending arrival of Earl but as it turned out the anti-hurricane precautions were unnecessary as Earl passed by far offshore.  Sound familiar to Outer Banks readers?

This "Observatory" high on a hill overlooking the harbor in Portland, Maine provides a stunning view.  It was built in 1807 by an entrepreneur who kept a lookout for incoming ships and then notified the owners of their arrival.  The climb to the top was a challenge for both Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. but it was worth the effort for the view of the Portland area which is topographically fascinating.

Winded tourists at the top of the observatory with their guide and host, Gigi Guyton and the entrance to Portland harbor in the distant background.

They stopped to admire this picturesque but non-functional covered bridge somewhere in southern Vermont on their way home. Anything that will make a tourist stop and perhaps buy something is fair game.

The view from Hogback Mountain overlook which encompasses parts of four states was enough to stop them.

They enjoyed lagniappe in the form of this snazzy bike parked at the overlook.  In the gift shop one could purchase a gallon jug of pure Vermont maple syrup for a mere 60 bucks----more than a lifetime supply for Uncle Jack who doesn't eat that many pancakes any more.

Building of the new library annex at Johns Hopkins is proceeding apace.  Uncle Jack plans, lord willing, to compile a pictorial record of this project over the next couple of years.  He can only hope that somebody over there knows what they are doing because it is bewildering to him.

Another view of the big dig.  Each one of those machines probably does the work of 25 men which doesn't help the unemployment situation.