My best friend Myllz made a major move to Baltimore last year and she’s literally been begging me to come so I could explore her new city. For context, I was really bummed when she left Brooklyn. I spent most of my 20s exploring the “New Brooklyn” with her. Going to lounges, finding new black-owned businesses to support, visiting exhibits by up-and-coming artists. Since she left, I haven’t been on the scene AT ALL. So our “Woke and Bougie” group chat, which consists of me, Nikki, Kadia (and Myllz), decided to hop on a bus and surprise her in Baltimore.
Everything was set and planned seamlessly. We would leave work at 4:30 PM and catch the 5:30 PM Greyhound to Baltimore. Then we would meet her at a rooftop bar and yell SURPRISE!!!!! (Her husband, Drew, was in on all of the planning). The only problem was, it was a busy Friday and that 5:30 PM Greyhound never showed up. We waited for 4 hours. Greyhound is not a bus company I would recommend at all anymore (I say anymore because growing up my family and I took it to Niagara Falls all the time and it used to be so fun but now…). They are so unprofessional. They do not tell you how long the bus is delayed for or why. They just leave you hanging and waiting. The worst part about it is that the employees get annoyed if you ask them any questions (Maybe they are trained not to give any information because they were all tightlipped when it came time to provide that information). One employee even said, “If I told you how far the bus was you all would get up and leave and we don’t want that.”
Finally, we just said we would go get dinner and try again another weekend. The next morning we all felt guilty and knew we should try again. What did we have to lose? So this time we booked a bus ticket on PeterPan, which was a way more professional and timely company and drove 4-hours to Baltimore. We left at 1 PM and got to Baltimore around 4:30 PM. Drew picked us up from the train station. Our surprise wasn’t as big as we originally planned because Myllz’ reaction was a little delayed. Once she got over the shock of it all she was so excited and couldn’t wait to show us around her new city.
In 18 hours we were able to accomplish A LOT.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites Inner Harbor, which was actually a very nice hotel. The hotel had a free happy hour and complimentary breakfast. The rooms were like apartments, equipped with a kitchenette, dining room and living room. It’s also a pet-friendly hotel.
Myllz took us on a walk to the Inner Harbor. It’s kind of like the South Street Seaport in New York. Then we went to eat crab cakes and sipped on Frosés at Phillips.
Later that night, we had dinner and wine at 13.5% Wine Bar. I absolutely loved this place. The wine was AMAZING. I didn’t like the food as much as I loved the wine though. My suggestion, order something small like an appetizer or a platter of cheese. I made the mistake of ordering a large plate and was disappointed. This was the first time in history, that I didn’t finish my food and didn’t ask for a to-go bag. We then went dancing at Sangria, which is like a hip hop lounge. Finally before we went back to the hotel, we took a nice walk through Downtown, Baltimore.
The next morning, we had breakfast at Teavolve Cafe. It’s such a cute restaurant and it’s black-owned. I had a Mango Bellini and a red velvet pancake.
Then we went to another harbor called Fells Point. We watched the ducks and enjoyed the beautiful Baltimore views. Baltimore is really special. That’s how we spent our 18-hours in Baltimore. I’ll surely be back.
Have you ever been to Baltimore? What are some of your favorite places to visit while there?
Travel By Ky 