Day 10. Baltimore – Washington DC: Orioles Park at Camden Yards. Babe Ruth’s Birthplace & Museum. Union Station. OKI Bowl DC. [HI Washington DC]
My sleep schedule last night was erratic, so I slept in an hour later than planned, missing hostel breakfast. I checked out at 11 am, and hung out in the kitchen, eating the stuff I bought from Beiler’s two days ago.
Oh Baseball
I left HI Baltimore without my luggage, and walked to Orioles Park at Camden Yards. It was way more welcoming than any other ballpark I’ve been to. You can walk by the stadium and see the whole field through the bars. The team store right next to the field, however, was probably the smallest I’ve ever seen. The M&T Bank Stadium was nearby, and since there was a game between Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns at 4:25 pm, there were some NFL fans strolling past Orioles Park en route to the game. This was probably the closest I have ever gotten to an NFL game.
Oriole Park. 
The field. 
Babe Ruth’s Birthplace & Museum is about a block away from the stadium. It was 1:45 pm, and I had about an hour before I had to head back to pick up my luggage, so I bought a ticket ($10.00 for adult) to see more of Babe Ruth.
There were some of Ruth’s gear on display, including his bats, autographed baseballs, etc. Since I am not a super fan or anything, I felt that the museum wasn’t really that worthy of visiting, especially paying for the ticket. However, it was still nice to get to know more about the baseball legend.
Bus Again
L.O.V.E. 
Baltimore street view.
I reached the hostel shortly after 3 pm and took lyft to the bus station ($9.68 excluding tips). The driver was the most talkative I have ever had, and I tried to be polite and kept up with the conversation while dealing with my credit card issue on my phone. The issue was later resolved anyway.
The bus from Baltimore to Washington DC ($12.50) should have been an hour but it was slightly delayed. I arrived at the confusing Union Station, had a hard time finding escalators so I lugged my stuff down the stairs and then couldn’t find the subway station for another few minutes.
DC subway stations are better than a lot of other cities. They are kind of cool, and overall, newer. I took the subway somewhere closer to my hostel ($2.00), as I didn’t want to drag my everything all the way on foo. My wrist and forearm were sore from rolling my luggage on uneven sidewalks yesterday for too long.
The moment I arrived at HI Washington DC, I knew it was one of the better hostels. Currently, I believe it is worse than HI Boston, but better than the other HI hostels I have stayed at. I am more than relieved as I will be staying for the longest duration of my trip: 6 nights.
City Night
It was getting dark but I still went out. I felt that DC is safer than most city. At 7 pm, I got some dinner at OKI Bowl DC. I ordered a Tom Yum Ramen ($15.00 excluding tax & tips), and it wasn’t quite what I had expected. But the service was wonderful. They apologetically told me that the fried prawn that came with my ramen was tiny today, so they gave me two. The interior of the restaurant was really dope, and the restroom was definitely one of a kind.
Interior of the restroom. 
Tom Yum Ramen with one of the prawns.
Though I walked there, I took the bus back to the hostel ($1.00) as the sky was dark and I didn’t want to walk for another 30 minutes.
Summary
Due to government shutdown, Smithsonian museums are going to close on January 2nd, so I have to try and see as much as I can for the next two days. I cannot believe for all the time I dreamt of visiting the museums (since I was a kid), they close when I am here.
Tomorrow is the last day of the year, and I had so much research work to catch up with. I hope my professor won’t get too mad at me disappearing for 10 days now. Maybe I’ll have the whole day for work after all the museums close.
