ANNOUNCER: And now, Get Out of Town, a WETA original series.

♪ LAUREN: We're on the road again ♪ ♪ LAURITA: Yes we are.

LAUREN: So come along.

LAURITA: Look what we have!

LAUREN: Oh yeah!

(gunshot).

LAURITA: Isn't this room beautiful?

(cheering).

LAURITA: I did it!

GRETCHEN: Thank you.

LAURITA: Oh!

That was so cute!

LAUREN: Oh my goodness!

Crank it, crank it, crank it.

LAURITA: It's never a competition, is it?

LAUREN: Look at that.

(cheering).

LAURITA: What's next, what's next?

Hi, I'm Laurita.

LAUREN: And I'm her daughter, Lauren.

LAURITA: We're from the DMV, and we love to travel.

LAUREN: We definitely do.

LAURITA: One of the best things about living in DC are the many places you can visit that are just a few hours away.

LAUREN: So many options, and now we get to check them out together.

LAURITA: So join us for a weekend of some very cool places to stay... LAUREN: Great food.

LAURITA: And nonstop fun.

BOTH: As we Get Out of Town!

LAUREN: Are you excited to head to Baltimore?

LAURITA: You know, I am excited because we are so close to Baltimore.

LAUREN: It's literally our backyard.

LAURITA: And how often do you go?

LAUREN: Considering that they have great seafood, I don't go as often as I should.

Really less than like an hour from our house.

LAURITA: Oh, easy.

LAUREN: But I feel like there are a lot more things to offer, that people don't even think about.

LAURITA: Well our first place we're gonna eat is located... LAUREN: We're getting crabs there!

LAURITA: It's called Nick's and I've heard really good things about it.

I thought it was on the Harbor, but it's actually in a little area that's called the peninsula And everybody really knows about the harbor, so it's kind of cool that we're going someplace a little bit different.

LAUREN: That's going to be peninsula to table!

LAURITA: And we're doing the aquarium.

LAUREN: You know I've been working on my little dolphin call, you gotta go (squeaking).

(laughing).

(squeaking).

LAURITA: How about we listen to music instead of your dolphin.

LAUREN: You don't like my dolphin sounds?

LAURITA: I don't think that dolphins would like your dolphin sounds.

LAUREN: The dolphins are gonna come straight up to me because they know exactly what I just said.

LAURITA: We'll see.

LAUREN: Let's bet on it.

♪ It's all for you ♪ ♪ If you gotta have it ♪ ♪ It's all for you ♪ ♪ I see you staring out the corner of my eye ♪ ♪ You seem uneasy, want to ap proach me, throw me a line ♪ ♪ But then something inside you gr abs you says, "Who am I?"

♪ ♪ I know exactly 'cause it happens ♪♪ SERVER: Hi ladies.

LAUREN: Hi.

LAURITA: How are you?

SERVER: Welcome.

Would you like a table for two?

LAUREN: Yes, and can we sit somewhere we can see the water?

SERVER: Absolutely, follow me.

LAURITA: You know what I'm getting?

LAUREN: What?

LAURITA: Crabs.

With a side of crabs.

And then maybe, an appetizer that has crabs.

LAUREN: Say crabs one more time.

LAURITA: Crabs!

(laughing).

SERVER: Well we have plenty of that.

LAURITA: Oh, good, good, good, good, good.

LAUREN: Thank you.

SERVER: You're welcome.

CARLY: Nick's Fish House has been here in the Baltimore community over 20 years.

Nick was the grandfather of a previous owner.

We are located at the Baltimore Peninsula, so the beautiful water and the scenery in the back is the Patapsco River, and the Hanover Street Bridge.

This is the new, upcoming area.

They are building every day at the Baltimore Peninsula.

We're located right where Under Armour headquarters are.

Coming to Nick's is like you transport to a vacation spot.

You're 10 minutes from downtown, but you feel like you're in your own island oasis, so the vibe's contagious, you're just excited to be here.

LAURITA: So you know the cool thing about this place?

LAUREN: What?

LAURITA: Is that they do crabs in so many different ways.

LAUREN: Mmmm.

LAURITA: You see that crab pretzel?

LAUREN: I know.

LAURITA: We gotta get that.

LAUREN: I totally think we should get the crab pretzel.

LAURITA: We should do that.

LAUREN: And then I think I wanna do the cream of crab soup.

LAURITA: I will take crabs any way they give them to us.

LAUREN: I will say, you can never have too many crabs.

LAURITA: Mmm-hmm.

LAUREN: It's the Marylander in me.

CARLY: Busy season we go through about 2,500 crabs a day.

Typically we get our crabs locally.

We serve live steamed beautiful blue crabs.

We have crab cakes, fresh fish, raw oysters, steamed shrimp, homemade soups, we have something to offer everyone.

SERVER: Cream of crab soup.

LAUREN: Delicious, wow.

SERVER: And the crab pretzel.

LAURITA: This pretzel looks like a face!

And that's the face.

Let's stop playing with the food, it's time to eat.

LAUREN: Time to eat.

Let's do it.

What do you think, is it good?

LAURITA: I was expecting it to be really cheesy, but it's not, it just like, mostly crab, which is what you want in a crab pretzel, right?

LAUREN: Very nice.

Yeah, mm-hmm.

CARLY: The next dish Lauren and Laurita will have will be our amazing steamed crabs.

SERVER: I got a half dozen jumbo crabs.

LAURITA: Yes!

SERVER: I'm just gonna throw these down, is that alright?

LAURITA: Do it, do it.

LAUREN: Throw 'em.

SERVER: Alright.

LAUREN: Oh yeah!

They're huge.

LAURITA: Yes.

LAUREN: And I feel like you don't usually see big jumbo crabs like this.

LAURITA: Look at this guy.

LAUREN: Right, like... LAURITA: Hello!

CARLY: Need some bibs!

LAUREN: We do.

LAURITA: I always need a bib.

CARLY: I think crabs bring people together, it's the great equalizer.

It's a bonding experience with family and friends.

Nick's represents the community, the gathering space for people, the inclusion of everybody.

Nick's is Baltimore.

LAURITA: This is a great start to the day.

LAUREN: Mm-hm.

LAURITA: Crabs and.... LAUREN: A beautiful scenery.

LAURITA: We're gonna head to the Canopy.

BOTH: Cheers!

(camera shutter).

♪ ♪ AL: Baltimore, we're known as, "Charm City" And that's done intentionally, because Baltimore is the kind of city, it's made up of over 200 neighborhoods.

But people wear the love of Baltimore on their sleeve, they love this place.

Sometimes Baltimore is looked at as an underdog, so we have that fighting spirit.

It's a hard-working town and it was started on blue-collar factory work.

The first railroad, the B&O railroad, started here in Baltimore.

When you think about the first gas street lamp, invented right here in Baltimore.

The first federal highway, a national road here in Baltimore.

So we are a city of firsts.

This is a large port city, we celebrate the waterfront, one of the few cities in America have a body of water coming into our downtown.

I think that makes us really unique and special, we're not a cookie-cutter city.

This city is very raw, it's a very organic city, it's a city with a soul.

That's who we are and we want to showcase all that, because we want people to fall in love with the beauty of Charm City.

♪ ♪ LAUREN: Look at that view!

LAURITA: I definitely hope we have a room that faces this view.

ERICKA: Welcome to the Canopy.

LAURITA: Thank you!

ERICKA: We do have you booked in a king harbor view suite.

LAUREN: Oh, nice, we were just talking about how we wanted a nice view!

LAURITA: Yes, thank you.

ERICKA: I hope you guys enjoy your stay with us.

LAURITA: Thanks so much.

ERICKA: The Canopy brand is new to the Hilton portfolio.

It's a luxury, lifestyle, boutique-style hotel, which opened in October of 2020.

The hotel is in the midst of Fells Point and Harbor East, so that's how we got the name Harbor Point, so it's a newer neighborhood, and it's just amazing to see all of the new development here.

And that's what the Canopy brand is known for is fitting into the neighborhood, and making the neighborhood show within the hotel.

The site of the Canopy now, used to be a chrome processing plant.

So it's really cool when you talk about the history of the hotel.

Our design is more focused on like the industrial, nautical sense of what makes Baltimore Baltimore.

You'll see the different metals that we have, we have oyster cans that are hidden within the lobby.

The oyster cans come from the Eastern Shore.

Lauren and Laurita are staying in our King Harbor View suite, which is our best room in the house.

You can see the entire city from the room.

LAURITA: This is the perfect room, cause you can see the water all over the place.

Aww.

LAUREN: Look at the TV!

LAURITA: Welcome Lauren.

LAUREN: I feel so special!

LAURITA: Aww.

Can I stay here with you?

LAUREN: No, absolutely not!

LAURITA: Ugh!

LAUREN: No!

This is all for me!

Ah.

LAURITA: I can see bringing the boat, and coming here.

LAUREN: I love it here.

LAURITA: Well, let's go look at the bedroom.

(gasps).

LAUREN: Look at this view!

LAURITA: Oh hoo!

Wow.

And look at that backdrop behind the bed.

You know, cause it reminds me of a wave.

So it still makes me think of water, yeah.

LAUREN: Like the water.

Ties it all together.

LAURITA: Yes it does.

LAUREN: Or actually, maybe like a canopy!

LAURITA: Well, thus, we're staying in the Canopy Hotel.

Makes sense.

LAUREN: Alright, let's get going to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

LAURITA: Okay, but I cannot wait to come back to this room, for the sunset.

♪ ♪ TERRI: The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is a museum of Maryland African American history and culture.

Reginald F. Lewis grew up in East Baltimore, he was the first African American to do a billion-dollar buyout deal on Wall Street, he was an attorney, and he was the first individual who got into Harvard Law School without having to do an application.

We have 11,000 individual objects.

Third floor is the permanent exhibition, with a 300 years of Maryland African American history.

Third floor really captures some of the names that people will be very familiar with, like Frederick Douglass, like Harriett Tubman.

Additionally, we have on display, paraphernalia from Black Greek-letter organizations.

We have a cane, some shoes that were used for step shows that would be done on campus.

(clapping).

One of my favorite exhibits is the installation that talks about the statue "Freedom", and we have actually a replica of that piece of work that we see every time we go into Washington D.C., actually created by enslaved hands.

This museum is a point of pride for African Americans in the state, particularly though in the city of Baltimore, because wow, Black people have been involved in so much of what has made Maryland Maryland, and I didn't even realize that.

LAUREN: One exhibit as I was walking through the museum that really touched me and kind of brought me to tears was the Breonna Taylor exhibit.

In the painting, it was a bunch of pictures of signs of Black Lives Matter from when all those protests were happening back in 2020.

LAURITA: I saw a really cool exhibit about church hats.

My grandfather was a Baptist minister in Virginia, and when you went to church, ladies and little girls wore hats.

And so I saw some hats that reminded me of my grandmother, my mother, and a hat that I still have now.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ SHANNON: Welcome to Fort McHenry!

LAURITA: Thank you.

SHANNON: You guys haven't been here before, huh?

LAURITA: I have never been here.

SHANNON: Alright, well, welcome to Baltimore.

Now, my name's Shannon and I'm going to be showing you around, I'm a Park Ranger here.

Hat's a giveaway.

So we're just in time for the flag change, the most popular program, so we're gonna head on up to the fort.

LAURITA: Awesome, let's do it.

SHANNON: Alright.

Good morning folks, and welcome to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

Each morning we've done this, they've done it here for well over 200 years, we're gonna switch out the flag.

Now you guys are all represented on that modern flag, the one we're going to put up in a few minutes is, we're going to put up this 15-star, 15-stripe version of The Star-Spangled Banner.

So, the flag they would have flown during the War of 1812, the thing that makes Fort McHenry famous, makes us a national monument and historic shrine.

♪ ("Yankee Doodle" playing).

♪ So was that fun?

LAURITA: It was!

LAUREN: That was!

SHANNON: Alright, so you raised the flag over Fort McHenry, not everybody gets to do that.

Fort McHenry was built in 1802, it is a 43-acre park situated just inside the city.

And it was built here specifically to protect the Port of Baltimore, as kind of a sentinel of the harbor just in case, because things are heating up over in Europe with the Napoleonic wars.

So, there's concern about coastal cities, generally.

Fort McHenry is best known as the home of the "Star-Spangled Banner" and Francis Scott Key's famous song, which we now know as our national anthem.

The Battle of Baltimore comes around in the summer of 1814, and Baltimore at that point in time is the third-largest city in the United States, it was one of its major ports.

Key was just beyond the British command ship, he's on a truce ship, and he watches the bombardment, looking toward the fort.

And so he's writing his emotional reaction to the bombardment and its aftermath.

Often folks, when they hear the national anthem, they think it's about the flag, right.

It actually serves as a symbol indicating that the fort is still standing.

So he's really writing about the defenders themselves, who are the people of Baltimore.

Recognizing that the Americans had persevered throughout the night.

LAURITA: When you listen to the Star-Spangled Banner now, you get a different point of view, knowing that was a first-hand visual account.

SHANNON: Yeah, it is an emotional reaction to a moment.

LAUREN: So, you mentioned that Francis Scott Key was waiting and watching for the war to be over, where was he exactly?

SHANNON: He's actually just a few more miles down here, if you head toward the, that's the Key Bridge.

LAUREN: Okay.

LAURITA: Okay.

SHANNON: So it's, it's a handy reminder.

I always remind folks, you know, you're standing exactly where those men stood when they did this back in 1814.

And just to think about what for the people of Baltimore were doing for the nation at the time.

LAURITA: Shannon, I have my National Parks passport book.

SHANNON: Okay, we can give it a stamp just here.

LAURITA: This is the Fort McHenry stamp.

LAUREN: Star-Spangled Banner stamp.

LAURITA: Well thank you so much, Shannon.

You are a walking history machine!

SHANNON: Oh, thank you guys for visiting.

I'm glad to have you guys in our hometown.

(camera shutter).

♪ ♪ LAURITA: Hello!

CALVIN: Hi, you must be Laurita... LAURITA: I am.

CALVIN: And Lauren.

LAUREN: Yes.

CALVIN: It's my pleasure, I'm Calvin.

LAURITA: Nice to meet you, Calvin.

CALVIN: Please, have a seat.

LAURITA: Thank you.

CALVIN: And welcome to The Ivy.

I want to make mention we have what you call a "Barmoire".

It's a cross between an armoire and a bar, and there is a complimentary tea.

LAURITA: Ooh.

CALVIN: And here are the keys to suite seven, please enjoy your stay.

LAUREN: Thank you!

LAURITA: We will, thank you so much.

ROB: The Ivy Hotel is like staying at a wealthy friend's home who's traveled the world and has wonderful stories to tell, wonderful pieces of art, has an incredible bar to share, great food, great ambiance.

So we are located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood it's the cultural and arts neighborhood of Baltimore.

The house was originally built in 1889, and the predominant owner through the turn of the century was William Painter, the inventor of the bottle cap.

It went through quite a few different transitions and by 2008 the Browns purchased the property from the city.

The Browns' original interest in the property was to bring it back to its former glory, to make a hotel that showcased Baltimore and put Baltimore on the map.

LAURITA: Wow.

LAUREN: It's so elegant.

My eyes immediately went to that little lavender nook, the lavender curtains are so pretty, and look at that view we have out of the street.

LAURITA: Love it!

LAUREN: I love it so much.

LAURITA: You could probably have a cup of coffee over there.

LAUREN: Mm-hm.

LAURITA: Look, another elephant.

LAUREN: It's really cute, and all the details.

LAURITA: You know I love a good armoire, this must be the "barmoire".

(laughing).

It is, oh this is nice.

LAUREN: I love that all this is just included in your stay.

LAURITA: I know.

Now I see what they mean about things being inclusive.

LAUREN: Mm-hm.

LAURITA: Let's check out the bedroom.

LAUREN: Let's go.

LAURITA: Oh, Lauren, this is so cute.

Look at the colors, and look at the bed!

LAUREN: The canopy is so pretty, I love all the details that are within the pattern of it.

And it just like ties all the colors in this room, with that canopy.

LAURITA: It does.

LAUREN: Okay, I need to go check out this bathroom.

LAURITA: Oh, I love it!

LAUREN: Look at that shower!

LAURITA: And how do you like my tub?

LAUREN: Oh, I love this tub.

Alright, almost time for afternoon tea.

LAURITA: Alright, well let's go.

LAUREN: Let's do it.

LAURITA: Isn't this room beautiful!

LAUREN: I know, the details, just like in our room are immaculate.

LAURITA: I know.

LAUREN: Here's to you and here's to me.

LAURITA: Here's to us, here's to we.

Cheers!

LAUREN: Cheers.

ROB: When guests leave here, they feel rejuvenated, revived, refreshed.

It's really a place of sanctuary to come.

You get to just, come to Baltimore and escape it all, RIGHT here in our little hotel.

(camera shutter).

♪ ♪ JOHNTAY: The Food Market here on the avenue was originally a grocery store, back in the 60s-70s.

So found the place, and decided to keep the name and the history of the neighborhood, Hampden.

Hampden is on the north end of the city, popular, boutique-y, lot of neat little stores and shops, and we just thought it would be a good spot to bring in people from both the county and the city.

ERIC: When you come to The Food Market in Baltimore, it is truly a Baltimore experience through and through.

The basic layout with the open kitchen, everybody is a part of the dining experience.

You have your guests in here, sharing this moment with the wonderful people cooking their food.

And that was done by design.

The effect it has is wonderful.

JOHNTAY: Gonna start with some pan-roasted mussels, with a bacon and champagne sauce.

And then for your entrees, we're gonna do a oven-roasted short rib, some hickory demi and gouda cream, and then a uh, spaghetti and crab meatball.

LAURITA: Ooh John, you are speaking my language!

LAUREN: Our language!

(laughing).

I love the vibe of the entire restaurant, it feels very homey in here.

JOHNTAY: Excellent, yeah we wanted to stick to some of the tradition of the original food market as a grocery store.

LAUREN: Nice, uh-huh.

JOHNTAY: So we kept the exposed brick, and then added some industrial steel.

Well, we'll get cooking.

LAURITA: Alright.

LAUREN: Thank you!

JOHNTAY: Alright, cool, thank you.

LAURITA: Thank you.

JOHNTAY: Just growing up in Baltimore, we didn't have really like, any good like, independent style restaurants, right?

So, The Food Market was this not-mainstream restaurant, that presented big flavor, creative ideas, and fun plays on traditional dishes.

Alright, so here are our pan-roasted mussels.

You guys enjoy, we'll get dinner working for you.

LAUREN: Thanks, chef.

When you eat mussels you don't use a silverware, what are you doing?

LAURITA: You mind your bus... LAUREN: This is how I know that you're not a true Marylander.

True Marylanders use their fingers!

LAURITA: Look... JOHNTAY: Alright, ladies, got our entrees ready.

LAURITA: Oh my gosh.

LAUREN: Wow.

LAURITA: You know, let me just say that the coolest thing about Baltimore is that you can have crab in so many different ways... LAUREN: I know.

LAURITA: And we've never had it this way, so, bonus.

JOHNTAY: Yeah, I think a lot of people just think crab cakes, right, or steamed crabs.

LAUREN: Mm-hm.

JOHNTAY: And sure, it's a form of crab cake, but it's fun to present it with this like approachable, comforting, pasta dish.

LAURITA: Mm-hm.

LAUREN: Right, cause you wouldn't normally pair crab with spaghetti.

JOHNTAY: Exactly.

LAUREN: I think that's such a unique pairing, I can't wait to try it!

JOHNTAY: Absolutely.

LAURITA: I'm just grateful that we were able to taste your artistry today.

JOHNTAY: Well I really appreciate it, thank you so much.

ERIC: People say Baltimore's a small city, but it's got huge personality, and a variety of them.

And that nature of Baltimore is what truly allows a place like The Food Market to exist and to thrive.

LAUREN: A lot of times when people think of coming up to Baltimore, they think about the Inner Harbor and being by the water, but I'm so glad we were able to find this gem of a restaurant, in the Hampden neighborhood.

LAURITA: I appreciate Baltimore now, because we've been on this trip, because we are seeing different parts of the city.

LAUREN: Yeah.

LAURITA: And we didn't know about this neighborhood.

LAUREN: Right.

JOHNTAY: Where are you guys headed for the rest of the day?

LAUREN: We're actually gonna go head over to the aquarium before we head back down... down 95!

(laughing).

JOHNTAY: I take my daughter there frequently, so make sure you see the uh, jellyfish exhibit, it's really neat.

LAURITA: Oh, this can be fun today.

LAUREN: Mm-hm.

JOHNTAY: Have a great day.

LAURITA: Thank you.

LAUREN: Thanks, you too!

♪ ♪ (camera shutter).

♪ ♪ LAUREN: Ooh!

Look at that!

(splashing).

We are at the National Aquarium in Baltimore!

LAURITA: Yay!

LAUREN: I am so looking forward to our trip here, we are going to see some dolphins!

LAURITA: And then we're going to see the sharks.

LAUREN: And then I'm pretty sure we're gonna be able to touch some jellyfish!

LAURITA: Talk about the trifecta of fun today!

Dolphins, and sharks, and jellyfish...

BOTH: Oh my!

(laughing).

ROSE: The National Aquarium's mission is to connect people with nature, to inspire compassion and care for our ocean planet.

We are a conservation organization, we care really deeply about climate change and plastic pollution and biodiversity.

In the 1970s Baltimore had a mayor named William Donald Schaefer who noticed the Inner Harbor wasn't the nicest place and he wanted to revive that, so he proposed the building of a world-class aquarium.

In 1981 was when we first opened and within the first few years became over a million visitors every year so it was really popular.

You know the oceans make up 65% of the planet and they're really unexplored so everything feels new and interesting and special.

Lauren and Laurita today started off in Dolphin Discovery so they got to see a training session with our dolphins you get to come up on the back deck and get a really close look at what our trainers do with our dolphins.

LAURITA: There's one!

Oh look, they're playing.

LAUREN: Oh, he has something in his mouth.

Oh, let's go over there and meet Ivan.

LAURITA: Oh, there he is.

IVAN: Good morning, welcome to Dolphin Discovery, are you guys excited?

LAURITA: Yes!

LAUREN: So excited!

IVAN: We're gonna do what we call a husbandry session.

LAUREN: Okay.

IVAN: Which is basically a session where we rehearse some of the medical behaviors we're training our animals, which are really helpful to make sure we can provide them with the care and the welfare that we want the right way.

Are you guys ready to get closer to the animals?

LAUREN: We are!

LAURITA: Yes, yes.

IVAN: Alright, you can go ahead and follow me this way, we're gonna go to the other side of the habitat, and we're gonna meet one of our senior trainers, Gretchen.

GRETCHEN: We're gonna be working with Bo today.

LAUREN: Splash, aw.

GRETCHEN: Good job, sir.

LAUREN: Look at him!

LAURITA: Awwww.

So cute!

LAUREN: About how many teeth does a dolphin have?

GRETCHEN: So they have 80 to 100 cone-shaped teeth, and they only get one set that has to last them for their entire life... LAUREN: Oh, wow.

GRETCHEN: So that's why doing tooth checks is really, really important.

So, we had a very good husbandry session, we got a lot of Bo's medical behaviors accomplished this morning.

LAURITA: Awww.

GRETCHEN: Give me a high five?

Thank you.

LAURITA: Aww, that was so cute!

GRETCHEN: I am gonna... All set?

LAURITA: Well I want Lauren to test out her dolphin skills, and tell me if you think she's somewhat close.

LAUREN: Okay.

(clears throat).

LAURITA: Do it.

(squeaking).

GRETCHEN: That's not bad, however a cool thing about this, dolphins actually don't use their mouths to make their noises, they don't have a vocal box like we do, they use their blowhole on top of their head...

BOTH: Ohh!

GRETCHEN: To make a lot of their sounds that you hear, they come out of the blowhole.

LAURITA: That explains why you're speaking... LAUREN: Right, not dolphin.

LAURITA: Seal, perhaps, but not dolphin.

This has been so enriching for us.

LAUREN: Yeah.

LAURITA: We couldn't wait to come today to see, to see your kids!

GRETCHEN: Aw.

LAURITA: And they did not disappoint.

Thank you so much.

GRETCHEN: Thank you, guys.

ROSE: Lauren and Laurita also got to participate in our shark catwalk tour, and that's where we have our largest sharks.

You get to be really close, you get to watch them swimming underneath.

STEHLE: The catwalk here that we're standing on is the area where our animal care team can come and feed and care for the sharks, train them.

And then additionally right where you all are standing is where our divers can enter and exit the water, as designated for care and maintenance as well.

LAURITA: Okay.

So, do they come from all over the world or?

STEHLE: These are Atlantic species.

So, the really cool thing about Shark Alley is it showcases some of the animals that you might see locally, if you were to go visit the beaches in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware.

LAURITA: I would hope not to!

LAUREN: Thanks.

LAURITA: Until next time, sharks.

♪ Dun dun dun dun ♪ ♪ Dun dun dun dun dun ♪ ROSE: Hey guys, welcome to the moon jellies.

LAUREN: Ooh, thanks.

LAURITA: Thank you, wow.

ROSE: Yeah, this species is called moon jellies, this is a species that's safe to touch, and it's safe to touch because they have such small, tiny stinging cells, that can't get through human skin.

LAUREN: Ooh, okay.

ROSE: Yeah, you can touch right in the middle of that smooth top.

LAURITA: Wow.

ROSE: Exactly.

LAURITA: You know, I've been in the beach, and I've been stung by some jellies, and so I was a little nervous, but...

I'm glad you explained how to touch them, and they feel pretty cool.

Thanks for having us.

LAUREN: Yeah, thank you for this.

LAURITA: We can't wait to come back and bring friends!

ROSE: Please do.

LAURITA: Bye jellies!

LAUREN: See ya.

ROSE: I think the National Aquarium is perfectly suited for Baltimore.

Not only are we really close to water, we are here helping people connect to that still, and see why it's so important to clean that water up, and be proud of the progress that the entire city and the entire watershed has made.

LAURITA: Wow, we just had a great time in Baltimore!

"Charm City" was so charming!

LAUREN: Talk about it.

We started out with some good crabs at Nick's Fish House.

LAURITA: We also enjoyed some great history, we started at the Reginald Lewis Museum.

LAUREN: And you know, Fort McHenry also had a lot of history too.

Learning about that Star-Spangled Banner was interesting.

And you know one thing that we always do together is get some fun in.

LAURITA: Yes.

LAUREN: And I think the aquarium was a great place for fun this weekend.

So we've hit food this weekend, we hit history this weekend, and then we had a lot of fun.

LAURITA: We are going to back.

LAUREN: Oh, yeah.

LAURITA: Many, many times with family and friends.

Let it rip.

Perfect.

♪ Oh oh, you've got the best of my love ♪ ♪ Oh oh, you've got the best of my love ♪ ♪ Oh oh, you've got ♪♪ LAURITA: And I know how you like animals.

LAUREN: I know I gotta work on my... LAURITA: Manimals, animals.

LAUREN: It's mammals, not manimals.

(laughing).

LAURITA: Come on, girl.

(laughing).

LAUREN: Can I just pack the shower up... LAURITA: Clean.

LAUREN: Can I talk?

LAURITA: Clean!

LAUREN: Go ahead.

Here's to you, here's to me.

LAURITA: Here's to us... here's to we.

(laughing).

LAUREN: Maybe I'll take that.

LAURITA: You take that part.

I'm from Virginia so you do the Maryland part.

LAUREN: Right, I am the Marylander.

LAURITA: Do it!

Okay.

(laughing).

ANNOUNCER: To discover more places to visit outside the Washington Metro area, visit weta.org/getoutoftown.