As if high gas prices aren't enough to put a crimp in your holiday travel plans, officials this week closed one eastbound lane of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for 10 weeks as repairs are done to the concrete barriers that make up the bridge's walls. If you're planning to spend the last weekend of summer in Ocean City, MD, this is definitely bad timing.

But really, it's bad timing whatever you planned this weekend. Officials declared the bridge safe one day after the August 10 fatal tractor-trailer accident in which a truck crashed through a barrier and into the Chesapeake Bay.

But this recent bridge closing comes two weeks later, after inspections related to the accident found that the steel bars that attach the barriers to the bridge are corroded. Yikes! The accident didn't cause the problem with the bridge's barriers, but it caused the discovery of problem.

So had that poor truck driver not plunged to his death, the rest of us would still be driving on a potentially unsound bridge and have no idea. According to a Baltimore Sun article, "corrosion found in the most recent inspection is not visible and was identified only because ultrasound and radar were used this time."

The article went on to say that officials might rethink the policy of visual inspections only. Good thing.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge was built in 1952, 15 years before the Minneapolis I-35 Bridge that collapsed in May 2007. These structures were not meant to last forever.

And though Maryland authorities inspected the state's bridges after the Minnesota tragedy, the corrosion was not evident then. This op-ed piece in Popular Mechanics shortly after the Minnesota bridge collapse points to serious problems in America's infrastructure that cannot be addressed simply by a rash of inspections following a tragedy:

"Americans have been squandering the infrastructure legacy bequeathed to us by earlier generations. Like the spoiled offspring of well-off parents, we behave as though we have no idea what is required to sustain the quality of our daily lives. Our electricity comes to us via a decades-old system of power generators, transformers and transmission lines—a system that has utility executives holding their collective breath on every hot day in July and August."

If you do plan to brave the Bay Bridge traffic this weekend, call 1-877-BAYSPAN (1-877-229-7726) for information on the bridge's conditions.

And cross your fingers.

Stephen Munday/Getty

Baltimore doesn't have much going on in the way of special Labor Day events. For that kind of thing, you'll probably want to head south where festivals and concerts are among the Labor Day events in the DC area.

Here in Baltimore, though, you can use the long weekend to explore some of the the attractions you just haven't gotten to this summer. The Maryland Science Center (last weekend for BodyWorlds exhibit!), the Aquarium and Fort McHenry are among the attractions that are open on Labor Day.

Events on Labor Day weekend:

• Baltimore Summer Antiques Show – Aug. 28 – 31 – In the Convention Center, this annual event attracts more than 550 dealers with everything from books to jewelry.
• Maryland State Fair – Aug. 22 - Sept. 1 – So if the Dairy Goat Show isn't your scene, how about Travis Tritt in concert on Aug. 29. And, of course, there's the rides.
• Little Italy Film Festival – Aug. 29, 7 p.m. – Last chance to catch one of the free outdoor films screened in Little Italy this summer. This week is Cinema Paradiso.
• Maryland Renaissance Festival - Runs until Oct. 19, but Labor Day weekend is all about magic. Look for magical stage shows and performers throughout. On Labor Day, seniors (62+) are admitted free.

What's Open, What's Closed on Labor Day

For most of the Baltimore metro area, school starts today--marking the end of summer for all of us who still lives our lives in the cycle of a school calendar. Though once upon a time Labor Day was the unofficial end of summer, as school start dates get push earlier, back-to-school time comes in August now.

The older I get the more I enjoy summer. The heat bothers me less, and the dread of the cold weather to come weighs on me more. But I have to say fall is still my favorite season. So I look forward to all the fall fun to come in September and October. But what I look forward to most is some good Chesapeake Bay crabs.

Though often people think of summer as the season for picking crabs, those hot, sticky days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are just the warm up. September and October (and even a bit into November) are the best months to get local crabs at a Baltimore crab house.

I will admit when I hear the words butternut squash and school cafeteria together in the same news story I am skeptical....yet intrigued. So Baltimore City Schools chef Tony Geraci's plan to offer local specialties like Maryland crab soup and farm fresh foods in city schools, starting with a fresh peach for each child on the first day of school (Teachers, keep those wipes handy!), left me with mixed feelings. What a wonderful idea, but will kids eat it and will Baltimore stick with it?

In addition to that cautious optimism, I also experienced a bit of déjà vu this morning as I listened to WYPR's report about Baltimore City Schools' new healthy menu.

Didn't I hear a similiar story on NPR a few months ago about someplace else? Somewhere far more likely than Baltimore to place an emphasis on tasty, healthy foods? Though I couldn't remember the exact location--maybe California or New York--I distinctly remembered thinking that it would never happen here. So after a quick search this morning I found the similar NPR article. And actually it wasn't one of the United States' culinary capitals that Baltimore is emulating but perhaps the world's mecca for foodies: Provence, France.

More:

• Back to School Baltimore
• Baltimore City Schools Registration
• Baltimore County Schools Registration
• Magnet Schools in Baltimore County
• School Vaccinations in Maryland

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