Baltimore, MD

Fort McHenry's history started in 1776, prior to the War of 1812. It was named after James McHenry, Secretary of War, 1796-1800. The residents of Baltimore feared an attack from the British and built a fort for protection. Originally, it was called Fort Whetstone, because of its location on Whetstone Point. Today, Fort McHenry is open to the public and you can get there by water taxi from the Inner Harbor (or any of the ports of call for the water taxi) or along Fort Ave from Federal Hill.

Fort McHenry is a great place to go with the family for the day. Pack a picnic lunch and wear comfortable walking shoes. There is much to see here.

As you walk through the park you can almost hear the words of our country's national anthem and hear the pfife and the sounds of our forefathers fighting for the liberty of the new world.

Fort McHenry offers many things to do. Places to go include the Visitor Center with a video and exhibits, followed by a walk to the fort and many more exhibits. Outdoor activities feature daily flag programs, weather permitting. Kids can work on the Junior Ranger and earn a badge and certificate. The Schedule of Events is always full of activities each year.

Re-enactors and park rangers roam the fort today. And, if you are lucky you will see them either raising or lowering the flag over the fort. You can't help but feel patriotic.

The Museums include the fort, barracks and related structures. The barracks contain several exhibits: The Enlistmen's Quarters; an Electronic Map; uniform and weapons displays; videos; Junior Officers' Quarters; powder magazine; Commanding Officer's Quarters; and the 1814 Guard House.

Check out the website and the calendar of events so you'll know what special activities are taking place. For example, in May, school children participate in a living flag event.

Groups are also welcome. We have been with cub scouts a couple times and the boys really enjoyed their visit.

Enjoy the views from the star shaped fort that was strategically built to protect the port of Baltimore from impending British attack. If you get the chance take the water taxi across the harbor and enjoy the view back to Fort McHenry.

During 2009 Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc is waving administrative fees active duty military, retired military and the families of fallen military, as well as policemen, firemen and emt's. If you enter into a contract by the New Year's eve Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc. will waive the admin fee at settlement. This is a $350 savings. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home give Advance Realty Anne Arundel a call and receive full service real estate assistance from an experienced agent. Our office is open 7 days a week and we can be reached at 410-761-1550.

June Piper-Brandon, Broker - Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc.

All Aboard!

Baltimore's B&O Museum is offering half-price admission for all visitors the first Tuesday of every month! Visitors can tour many of the Museum's facilities including the 1884 Roundhouse where you can climb aboard a real locomotive and see the most comprehensive collection of American railroad artifacts in the world.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of railroading in America. The Museum is home to the oldest, most comprehensive collection of railroad artifacts in the Western Hemisphere including an unparalleled collection of 19th and 20th century railroad equipment. The complex is housed on a 40-acre historic site which is regarded as the birthplace of American Railroading and includes the 1851 Mt. Clare Station, the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse and first mile of railroad track in America.

The museum is open Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The last admission is half an hour before closing. On Tuesday's the admission will be 1/2 price which is $4 for children and seniors and $7 for adults.

Train rides are offered Wednesday through Sunday, April through December and weekends in January for an additional $2.00 for adults and seniors and $1.00 for children between the ages of 2-12. Train rides are subject to change or cancellation without notice and are not guaranteed with your visit.

The museum is located at 901 W. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21223, which is located close to I-295 and I-95 near downtown Baltimore. There is plenty of free parking on site and on surrounding streets.

During 2009 Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc is waving administrative fees active duty military, retired military and the families of fallen military, as well as policemen, firemen and EMT's. If you enter into a contract by the New Year's eve Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc. will waive the admin fee at settlement. This is a $350 savings. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home give Advance Realty Anne Arundel a call and receive full service real estate assistance from an experienced agent. Our office is open 7 days a week and we can be reached at 410-761-1550.

June Piper-Brandon, Broker - Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc.

We're almost through the holiday season! In fact, since this is the last day of 2008, I shall end it in style: with a blog entry. Clearly, I am getting a head start on my new year's resolution of blogging more frequently. Less clear is what I should blog about in this installment. I have had so many wonderful Christmas treats this year, many of which have been in Mount Vernon, that it's hard to pick just one. But one highlight keeps jumping out at me: the Holly Tour. www.hollytour.com

I've been one of the Mount Vermin for eight years, and have managed to attend the Holly Tour on several occasions. It is an amazing opportunity to snoop into other peoples' houses. Seriously though, it's an amazing opportunity to see, in detail, the architectural beauty of Mount Vernon, and its beautiful décor, Christmas and otherwise. The Holly Tour is organized by the Friends of Mount Vernon Place, "a membership organization, which is dedicated to the conservation and revitalization of the Mount Vernon Place parks to make them more civil public spaces. [Their] purpose is to enable residents and visitors to enjoy the wealth of natural beauty, historical significance and cultural resources of Mount Vernon Place." www.friendsofmountvernonplace.org All proceeds from the Tour goes to this organization. Tickets can be ordered online, for the bargain price of $25.

This year, the Tour registration was at the Monumental Life Building. You were issued a Holly Tour Guidebook, which served not only as a wealth of information about the 12 fabulous buildings on the route, but also as your ticket to gain entry into them. Despite gusty, chilly weather, intrepid tourers viewed the properties, taking as much time as they wanted in each property. The 2008 Holly Tour focused on Biddle Street, with three properties within a two block radius, and a fourth just off of Biddle on Hunter St. The entire route spanned much of the neighborhood, with the farthest afield being Tyson St. The properties included personal residences, as well as Government House (www.ci.baltimore.md.us/visitor/inn@gh/), The Belvedere (www.belvederebaltimore.com ), decorative arts design firm McLain Wiesand (www.mclainwiesand.com), and Agora Publishing (www.agora-inc.com/Mtvrn.htm ), among others.

The only complaint I heard was that the distance of the route was a bit much for some of the guests with impaired mobility. However, since the tour is self-guided, it is easy to go to as many or as few of the properties as one chooses. And with all of the restaurants and coffee shops in Mount Vernon, there were plenty of places from which to choose to sit for a break or have a hot drink along the way. The only suggestion I heard for the 2009 Holly Tour organizers was that they consider having a spring tour, too! I second this idea, not because they weather was too cold, but because then I'd get to snoop...I mean see... into peoples' gardens, as well as their homes! Many thanks to the organizers and volunteers of the 2008 Holly Tour. A job well done!

First of all, I am a huge proponent of auctions. I bought my house almost four years ago at an Alex Cooper auction. Despite doing almost everything wrong, the deal has worked out very well for me. I now have a pretty nice house in an improving neighborhood. I can walk to O's games, Ravens games, the harbor, Fed Hill bars, etc. The best part is that I'm only in for about $100k and the house is worth roughly $150k.

I want to help get these great opportunities in front of our readers who might otherwise not consider going the auction route. We will have content on the benefits of buying at auction, possibly some video as well.

But the main draw will be our comprehensive database including Alex Cooper, A.J. Billig, Auction Brokers, Express Auctions, Trac Auctions, Fox Auctions, Steve Dance Auctions, etc, etc, etc. This way our readers can do one search and see auctions from all these great companies. For more details, they can then click over to the auctioneer's web site.

We're still working on the layout, but here is a sneak peak. Any input is welcome!

Effective January 2009, Baltimore City residents will be able to recycle MORE items. So fill up a recycle bin or two or MORE! Remember, if we all do our part, one person at a time and one home at a time; together as a City we can make a difference. By recycling we can all do our part to reduce the amount of trash that goes to the land fill and reduce our individual carbon footprints. Do your best to recycle and not trash the below material. Working together, we can minimize the damaging affects to our natural environment and the amount of energy needed to produce new products (everyday household items) from raw natural materials versus producing new products from recycled material.

Acceptable Recycling Material:

• Clean paper - all colors and types. - This includes catalogs, magazines, junk mail, newspapers and non-metallic wrapping paper
• Cardboard and paperboard boxes (including cereal boxes without liners and frozen food packaging)
• Books (including paperbacks, textbooks and hardbacks)
• Aerosol Cans (empty)
• Glass containers such as jars and bottles
• Metal food and beverage containers
• Narrow-neck plastic containers (other than for motor oil) which carry codes 1 through 7 on the bottom.

NEW (to be included in your curbside single stream recycling bin-January 2009):

• Wide-mouth plastic containers used for margarine, yogurt, cottage cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. Empty prescription bottles (lids and caps do not need to be removed) and plastic drinking cups
• Aluminum foil and aluminum pie pans
• Clean milk and juice cartons

NEW (to be taken to the citizen drop-off center and placed in container marked "rigid plastics"-January 2009)

Rigid plastics which include milk/soda crates, buckets, laundry baskets, lawn furniture, totes, plastic drums, coolers, flower pots, water bottles, pallets, pet carriers, shelving, closet organizers, empty garbage/recycling bins.

Recycling is just one way we can all help save our planet. Buying local produce from the farmer's market is another way to reduce packaging. We can also take our own bags to the supermarket when we shop. Some supermarkets are now offering credits for those who bring their own bags. If you are doing home improvements you can purchase recycled materials. There are many ways to do our part.

Advance Realty Anne Arundel is supporting the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Campaign. Please bring your donation of a new, unwrapped toy to our office at 1405 Madison Park Dr., Glen Burnie, MD by December 15. Thanks for helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

Between now and December 31, 2008 Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc is waving administrative fees active duty military, retired military and the families of fallen military, as well as policemen, firemen and emt's. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home give Advance Realty Anne Arundel a call and receive full service real estate assistance from an experienced agent. Our office is open 7 days a week and we can be reached at 410-761-1550.

June Piper-Brandon, Broker - Advance Realty Anne Arundel Inc.