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The iconic streetcar is a relic of the past in most American cities, having given way to the automobile in the latter half of the 20th century. The fanciful era of the streetcar lives on, however, at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. This unique museum, just ten minutes from the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, features an impressive collection of authentic antique streetcars on display, ranging from an open-sided nine-bench car that the Brownell company created in 1896 to a 1944 Pullman Standard car, which was one of the last streetcars ordered for Baltimore until the city began introducing the kind of new light rail cars that are beginning to emerge in some of the country's more environmentally-conscious cities. While it's interesting to walk around and look at vintage streetcars, it's much more fun to ride in one, which is why the museum has a short section of track so you can take a streetcar ride like they did in old Baltimore of a century ago. Ride the rails as much as you like, and enjoy an era that might be coming back into fashion after all. All aboard!

Last May, while orange plumes puffed from her smoke stack, a crew of twelve men and women steered The Patapsico Queen over land, across water, through mud, and over the finish line. The 24-foot all-terrain steamboat adorned in the bright yellow and red hues of the Maryland state flag, sailed to victory at the Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race, spurred on by the whoops and hollers of excited spectators.

Sound like a hoot? This year's event takes place May 3, kicking off at the American Visionary Art Museum, just down the street from the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, at 9:30 am. Follow the wild array of human powered locomotives as they wind their way through the city, before finishing up back at the museum. Or pack a picnic, find a comfortable piece of lawn, and settle in, as the whimsical parade of racers pass by. Whatever you do, don't forget to wear something outrageous! Spectators are encouraged to dress the part, and past events have seen everything from chickens to prom queens cheering on their favorite sculpture from the sidelines.

Kinetic sculpture races started in 1969 when Hobart Brown, a sculptor from California, turned his son's tricycle into a five wheeled "pentacycle." Since then, ingenious artists and engineers have been convening at races nationwide, to see if their crazy kinetic invention has what it takes to make it over the finish line.

The American Visionary Art Museum is one of Baltimore's best kept secrets. While not as popular as the city's high-profile attractions like the National Aquarium and Fort McHenry, it's a fascinating destination that will have you thinking about what you've seen for weeks after you've gone home. This quirky museum located in at the base of Federal Hill in Baltimore's Inner Harbor is the country's only museum devoted exclusively to the works of self-taught artists. The 35,000-square-foot main building has six galleries that explore one central exhibition theme at a time. The current theme, All Faiths Beautiful, features over 500 works that focus on the meaning of faith and belief, including the beliefs of others. A "Tall Sculpture Barn" (formerly the Four Roses whisky warehouse) accommodates just that: extra large sculptures and other plus-sized works of art such as a life-sized, interactive chess set of sculpted metal angels and aliens. In the adjacent Wildflower Sculpture Garden, wildflowers, aromatics, and climbing vines surround a wooden meditation chapel, marriage altar, and other eclectic works of art. It's unlike any art museum you've ever been to, and worth a visit to see the work of artists who might otherwise escape the notice of more traditional museums and galleries. The American Visionary Art Museum is a short walk from the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.

[image via American Visionary Art Museum]