When I mention that I went to Baltimore on vacation, the majority of people dismiss the city as having nothing to do. I found plenty to do and have been there three times with still more sites that I want to see. It's most famous historical site is Fort McHenry, but that isn't the city's only site of interest. Mount Vernon Place, site of a towering marble monument to the country's first president commands a splendid view of the city and harbor from its observation deck. Directly below it is a statute honoring General Layfayette. The Walters Art Museum has excellent examples covering the many periods of art history. Across the street is the famed Peabody Conservatory of Music with a full scale statute of George Peabody seated in the adjacent park. There are several historic houses open for touring including Homewood, Evergreen, Hackerman House, Mount Clare and Carroll mansions and the Edgar Allen Poe house. The Maryland Center for History has an incredible collection of home furnishing made by skilled Maryland artisans. The B & O Train Museum in a large restored roundhouse, offers much insight into the history of the railroad and even offers a short train ride. The Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens is not a sprawling site, but its few rooms do contain a wide variety of plants, trees and flowers from Earth's differing weather environments. Nearby is the Baltimore Zoo. A place of tranquility filled with outdoor statutes and monuments is the 68 acres of Green Mount Cemetery. Fine bronzes created by Maryland Sculptures, along with marble and granite statues dot the grounds and mark the burial sites of Baltimore's famous and as well as ordinary citizens. Visitors can wander aimlessly for hours on the well manicured grounds and spy a variety of birds and wild life that call Green Mount home. Carrie Murray Nature Center has numerous trails radiating from the visitor's center where guests can hike in natural beauty away from the hustle of the city. Then there is Baltimore's famed Inner Harbor with its large Science Center, National Aquarium and Ripley's Believe or Not museum, paddle boats, board the last wooden sail ship USS. Constellation, the Coast Guard Cutter 37, the lightship Chesapeake and the submarine USS Torske, steel beams from the World Trade Center are on display. Many hotel chains and restaurants fill in the rest of the site. Why go to Baltimore? There are plenty of things to see and do. You will be surprised.