Anne Arundel County Courthouse – downtown Annapolis

I’m a complete sucker for historic towns, harbor towns and towns with a central Main street.  Annapolis has all three which pretty much made it love at first sight.  I don’t know why I haven’t spent more time in Annapolis since it’s about 25 minutes from my house but I will definitely be spending a ton of time there this spring.

I kicked off my local road trip with few hours walking around downtown Annapolis.  The city is marked with plaques that give a synopsis of historical events that took place in the area.  What I found most interesting is that Annapolis has deep ties to slavery and a deep Civil War history.  One of the first plaques that I approached marked Lincoln’s only visits to Annapolis in 1865.  In the center of downtown, there is memorial called the Leonard A. Blackshear Walk – A Pathway to Reconciliation and Healing.  Blackshear was the founder and president of The Kunta Kinte – Alex Haley Foundation which was founded to promote African-American History.  Alex Haley was the author of Roots: The Saga of the American Family, the novel and television miniseries that cast the plight of African-Americans to the forefront of pop culture.  To this day, the finale of the series still holds a record for the third-highest rated television show in history.  Annapolis plays a small role in the series as the main character, Kunta Kinte, is brought into the City Dock of Annapolis from Gambia to be sold as a slave.

Kid’s playing at the Alex Haley memorial

Today, the City Dock has a pathway of stones with embedded plaques that feature quotes from Roots, and there is a statue of Alex Haley reading from a book to three small children.  The memorial urges viewers to take the time to share heritage stories with their children so they can pass on their proud heritage and learn to respect the heritage of others.  I had the pleasure of watching three small children enjoying the statue 🙂  They were having so much fun pretending to read from Mr. Haley’s book and talking to the other bronzed “children”.

Main Street

After learning a bit more about my own history, I enjoyed the Main Street of Annapolis.  It’s full of nautical-themed shops, seafood restaurants, and cute craft boutiques.  The shops and restaurants all seemed to be housed in historic buildings, providing an extra kick of charm.  I can’t wait to go back to spend a weekend in Annapolis; I walked by a few B&Bs that were calling my name! Have you been to Annapolis before? Perhaps after checking out the album below you might want to!