The Start of the Annual First Thursday Festivals in Canton

On June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn MarylandLeave a comment

On the first Thursday of the month during the summer, there is a free concert at the Canton Waterfront Park in Baltimore, Maryland. There are several local bands who play on the main stage and there are also food trucks and vendors selling a variety of arts, crafts, and other goods. Last year was our first time going to the festival, which can get very busy, so it was interesting to see and enjoy some of the live music. The concert goes on rain or shine and on this day, rain was in the forecast, which caused the crowds to gather later than normal, but the rain held off making it a wonderful evening. This evening is the start the 2023 edition of the concert series, so it is expected to be quite busy once again.

One of the Bands

Since the concert is located at the Waterfront Park, the backdrop to the concert is the water of the bay and the large trees of the park provide a place to find some shade. People come with blankets or chairs and sit on the lawn to listen to the variety of bands that play throughout the evening. The music starts at 6:00 pm and the bands play until almost 10:00 pm. Last year was the first year since the start of the pandemic that the concerts have been held, so the excitement in the area for their return was very obvious. We are definitely looking forward to enjoying the concerts over the next few months.

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal

On May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Nepal4 Comments

One of the last places that we visited during our time in Kathmandu was to Swayambhunath Stupa, which is located on the hillside overlooking the city. It is commonly referred to as “monkey temple” due to the abundance of monkeys that live in the trees that surround the temple grounds. Although there are plenty of monkeys and, as always, you need to be careful around them as they will steel anything that they can get their hands on, we found the nickname to be somewhat derogatory. The temple grounds and the large stupa at the top of the grounds are definitely worth visiting and it is quite busy because it is located on the edge of the city and is a short drive from most of the hotels.

Colorful Buddha Greets You as You Start to Climb Up the Hill

Some of the Many Monkeys that Give the Stupa It’s Nickname

Looking Up at the Architecture of the Stupa

The shape of the Swayambhunath Stupa has very specific meaning as the white, round dome base represents the earth and the 13 golden tiers on the tower of the stupa represent the 13 stages to nirvana. Also, the face of Buddha on the four sides of the tower each face in the directions of west, north, east, and south. There is much more to the temple grounds than just the stupa as there are many different temples and statues surrounding the stupa. There are also the famous prayer wheels that wrap around the base of the stupa and faithful will spin each wheel as they walk around the stupa.

Prayer Wheels and People Walking Around the Stupa

Unique Artwork and the Iconic Prayer Flags

It was the most crowded location of all of the places that we visited while in Kathmandu other than perhaps the Durbar Square in Kathmandu. You will also find plenty of vendors selling goods around the temple grounds and we actually purchased a set of the famous prayer flags before leaving to go back to our hotel. In addition to the stunning architecture, there are also wonderful views of the city from the top of the hill, but it was a little cloudy on the day that we visited, so the views weren’t as dramatic as they might be on a clear day. Especially considering how close it is to the heart of Kathmandu, it is certainly worth taking a couple of hours to visit the Swayambhunath Stupa.

Interesting Features Around Every Corner

These Prayer Displays Were Located Around the Stupa

Weekend Getaway to Ocean City, Maryland

On May 9, 2023May 9, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn MarylandLeave a comment

Ocean City in Maryland is a popular destination due to its beaches and boardwalk with all of the activities. It is a location that is important to us as it is where we met thirty-four years ago and this was our first time going back since that time. It was interesting to see that much of the city was the same as it was years ago, but obviously a lot of it had changed and it has certainly grown over the past few decades. The city resides on a narrow strip of land that has the bay on one side and the ocean on the other, which makes it very scenic. You can watch the sun rise over the ocean side of the city and then watch the sun set over the bay side.

We spent most of our time walking along the beaches along the ocean and enjoying the different places along the boardwalk. Even though the official beach season has not quite yet started, the boardwalk was definitely quite busy with a lot of tourists. We can only imagine how busy it actually gets during the summer when all of the tourists descend upon the beachside city. There are many resorts along the beach as well, which is where we stayed, but there are also lots of vacation rental properties as well.

In addition to enjoying several wonderful meals while were in Ocean City, we also made sure to get some ice cream and we brought home some saltwater candy as well. Another common item to get while walking along the boardwalk is fresh fudge and you will likely see people walking with small buckets of fries. The biggest draw to the end of the boardwalk are all of the carnival rides and giant Ferris wheel. Although we didn’t go on any of the rides, we certainly saw lots of children and adults enjoying all of the various rides.

Besides the boardwalk, the main reason that people go to Ocean City is to enjoy the beach and swim in the ocean. We also saw several surfers out riding the waves as a storm had passed through the evening before. We will definitely go back to Ocean City at some point, but probably not until autumn when the summer crowds have subsided. It was certainly an interesting trip down memory lane for us and brought back lots of wonderful memories.