With my husband still in hiding (he refuses to tell me where he is currently living) and all contact with him has been sporadic, I’ve been thrusted into this weird limbo since he abruptly left me on December 28. I’ve been receiving counseling from my church and from a local support group who specializes in people who have recently become separated or divorced. Since my husband is currently out of touch with me and I have to wait until he’s ready to talk to me, the consensus among the people I’ve spoken to is that I need to start focusing on myself. I received advice that I should try to do at least one thing I personally find fun each week.
On Saturday, January 7 I went to a friend’s birthday party near Frederick. (My husband was also invited to this party but, in one of the few messages I received from him since he abruptly left, he said that I should go since he decided not to attend.) With the turmoil stemming from both the recent separation and my mother’s hosptialization, I didn’t get around to buying a gift and card for my friend ahead of time. So, a few hours before the party began, I went to Frederick’s historic area where I did some shopping in the locally-owned mom-and-pop stores until I found both a gift and a card. As I walked around, I realized that this area was full of art and history. I did as much siteseeing as possible until it was time for me to go to the party.
I was sort of let down in that I didn’t get a chance to see most of what Historic Frederick had to offer. So this past Saturday (January 14), I decided to make a return trip to Historic Frederick with my Canon Digital Rebel SLR. Since I didn’t have any other social events scheduled for that day, I had the luxury to walk around until it was close to sunset.
On the way to Frederick, there was a sign that designated a scenic view where cars can pull off. I saw this nice skyline with some very dramatic cloud formations.
Once I reached Historic Frederick, I started to walk around where I viewed the city’s rich history and architecture.
Here is the underside of the William O. Lee Unity Bridge.
Everywhere on the streets of Historic Frederick one can see art in a variety of places, such as this charming statue that’s located outside the local public library.
Many of the stores in Historic Frederick are local family-owned shops and many of them have very nice storefront windows.
Of course, Historic Frederick is rich in history complete with markers, such as the one that commemorated Sir Winston Churchill’s visit to a home that was once owned by Barbara Fritchie, a local elderly woman who was immortalized in a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier and one that commemorated Dred Scott (who was the plaintiff of a notorious Supreme Court decision that kept slavery legal and declared that slaves weren’t fully human beings) and his wife, Harriet. (The Scott marker was located outside City Hall next to a bust of Frederick native Roger B. Taney, who was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the time of the Dred Scott decision and he wrote the majority opinion.)
What was really cool about walking through Historic Frederick is that you can encounter art in the most unlikely places, such as this statue of a calf.
Some of the local residents put their own artistic touches on their property, such as this cute statue of a mouse next to a recently used Christmas tree.
The best part about Historic Frederick is the outdoor murals of local artist William Cochran, who specializes in a style of painting known as trompe l’oeil. The art is a series of optical illustions featuring paintings of things that look real but isn’t, such as this very realistic painting of a gate surrounded by ivy.
The fountain under a recessed alcove is really a 2-D painting.
See the windows on the side of this building. Can you guess which windows are real and which are paintings?
The top four windows are real. The bottom windows are realistic looking paintings.
Another off-beat thing I saw on my walk was this angry snowman who stood outside the offices of the Frederick Gazette newspaper. He looked like a statue but he would move from time to time and startle passers-by in the process. I shot a short video of this angry snowman in action.
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