A Weekend trip to Annapolis

Our son who had been a student at Syracuse University, was scheduled to row in Annapolis for the GOES Trophy & the Stagg points trophy against the U.S. Naval Academy and Cornell University rowing teams. This is an annual event that Syracuse University had not won since 2011.

The planning for such a trip was relatively simple - we used to live in the Northern Virginia area (near Washington D.C.) and we had been to Annapolis many times in the past. Good seafood is widely available, and the town is very walkable.

We decided that we would fly into Richmond, VA such that we could visit our cabin in Lake Anna, VA and then drive up to Annapolis on Friday morning. This would allow us to avoid the D.C. "rush hour" and to arrive at our hotel close to check-in time.

Rental car selection was made via Hertz, a hotel selected and with those logistical decisions in place, we were ready to go.

A few interesting facts about Annapolis

• It was the First Capital of the United States.
• It is the Sailing Capital of the United States.
• The City is home to the United State’s Naval Academy.
• Annapolis is one of least populated State Capitals in the United States.
• Founded in 1649, Annapolis was originally called "Providence" when settled by the Puritans. It was renamed Annapolis to honor Princess Anne, future queen of England.
• George Washington officially resigned here as commander in chief of the Continental Army after the Revolutionary War. The Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War, also was ratified in Annapolis in 1784.
• If you ever saw the TV series "Roots: The Saga of an American Family" (based upon Alex Haley's book), you may recall that Kunta Kinte was brought to Annapolis and sold as a slave there. Today, a monument to both Haley and his ancestor can be seen on the Annapolis harbor, at the spot where Kunta Kinte first set foot in America.

Allegiant Airlines (a very low-cost airline) had recently started flights to Richmond from the Sarasota Airport (SRQ). We have been utilizing Allegiant Airlines for several years now, but in the past we had to drive to the St. Petersburg Airport. Allegiant does not fly this route every day, but often enough for a weekend trip. Their air fares are considerably less expensive than other airlines, so even though they use the least comfortable passenger seats we have ever sat in, the low cost and short flight to Richmond (one hour forty minutes) is too good to pass up!

We selected the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Annapolis during our trip planning because of it's good downtown location. As the hotel is located on West Street two blocks from the St. Anne's Parish Church, the City Dock area was only a few blocks away. It also meant that Route 50 was perhaps two miles away, providing us with easy access to either the east or west-bound Interstate.

This was a very comfortable hotel, good sized room with a king bed, large flat panel TV and a large bathroom. Really there was no view, but then we did not require one as our plans called for us to be out & about most of the time.

The hotel provides valet parking only, a wee bit pricey but this meant that the rental car was in a safe location whenever we were not using it.

NOTE: Images are the property of Hilton Hotels