Annapolis Maritime Museum

The last several weekends have been all about business.  Running errands together, going out to lunch, church, and relaxing.  We have had Spring teaser days where it's downright beautiful only to revert back to Winter weather.  It's gently snowing now as I type.  We are all ready for a change of season!  When this last Saturday hit we were itching to get out for a Family Adventure Day.  And, of course, they were calling for rain ~ 80% chance.  When we woke up it was cloudy...a bit gloomy, really...but no rain so off we went.  The mission was to explore Annapolis a bit more.  What a great town!  So much history, beauty, and of course, the Naval Academy.  Often, the way we operate these Family Adventure Days is I plan the activity and Garrett is in charge of finding a fantastic local lunch spot.  He had a bit of a miss-fire last time so the pressure was on!  Avid blog readers may have noticed by now we take our dinning seriously LOL!  In all seriousness though, I truly believe experiencing the local foods, traditions, and one-of-a-kind (non chain) dinning establishments lends a better understanding / connection to the community.  Which is what we're all about in this nomadic life we live.  In Hawaii it was luaus, kalua pig, sushi, and poi; Colorado had bison burgers and the best Angus steaks around; North Carolina gave us an introduction to Southern cookin' ~ fried chicken, greens, and classic Carolina bar-b-q; in Arizona we couldn't get enough fresh, hand made tortillas at the farmers market, the salsas....my mouth is watering just thinking about all the amazing traditional Mexican foods.  Now in Maryland, of course, sea foods is where it's at.  Obviously, Garrett and I are no strangers to the stuff.  We grew up in Southern California.  Home of the fish taco and lobster burrito.  Tuna {Albacore, Bluefin, and Yellowfin} is a staple of our seafood menu.  Marylanders love their Blue Crab and Eastern Oysters, as well as various native Atlantic fishes.  YUM.  I feel like I just ate my way across America.......

Anyways; our plan was to visit the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and just a stones throw away is the Boatyard Bar & Grill.  It had great reviews and seemed to be a local favorite, so it was a no-brainer!  When we sat at our table I turned around to see this.....!           

Very cool.  And the food definitely was awesome.  I do believe this place will be much frequented by us when we're in town :)

After our tummies were well satisfied we pushed on to the museum.  What a little gem!  And I do mean little.  The Chesapeake Bay has a long history of harvesting oysters and the museum is housed in the last remaining packing plant {the McNasby Oyster Co. building} which dates back to 1886. 

That old workboat, back there, was pretty cool!  The kiddos could climb around on it and inspect the various components. 

Learning the different parts of the oyster was a highlight for them.  They can now proudly show you where their 'business' comes from!

The main focus of the museum seems to be an educational partnership with the local elementary schools.  Truly a fantastic year long program that connects 6th graders with the "culture, ecology, and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster."  It turned out to be a great little outing!