Trip to the Luray Caverns in Virginia, July 30, 2021

For years I’ve wanted to check out Luray Caverns because I’ve long heard about this place. This year I finally decided to go because I felt that I should visit this place at least once in my life. I purchased my ticket online the day before even though I gasped at the $32 adult admission fee. I held my nose and paid it because I wanted to see this place while it was still summer. (Luray Caverns is open year round but the underground temperature is always between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, which I thought would be perfect in the usual Mid-Atlantic hot and humid summers.)

On the morning of my planned trip, I dawdled around my house a bit so I left my home around noon even though I chafed at the GPS saying that the trip would take at least two hours. (I had greatly underestimated travel time because, when I made my previous trip to the Shenandoah Valley area back in March, it had only taken me 90 minutes to arrive at White Post and Dinosaur Land while the return trip from the nearby Patsy Cline Museum and Old Town Winchester was also 90 minutes.) I arrived at Front Royal an hour and a half later, where I ate a late lunch at a local restaurant. I walked around the downtown area briefly. It has some really lovely murals.

The downtown area had all kinds of shops that I would’ve loved to have explored more if it weren’t for the fact that I was on my way to Luray Caverns.

The most prominent part of the downtown area is this public park that included a gazebo and the Love statue.

I noticed that most people weren’t wearing masks inside of the stores and restaurants. Even though I am fully vaccinated, I still wore my mask indoors because I’m trying to avoid catching the Delta variant of the Coronavirus. At least no one hassled me about it, unlike other parts of the country where I had heard that people who wore masks had strangers actually berating them for choosing to wear them. (Yes these anti-maskers are totally rude but that’s another story altogether.)

I still had an extra half-an-hour commute to Luray Caverns ahead of me. As I drove out of Fort Royal, I saw that there were caverns located closer to that town, Shenandoah Caverns. I was so tired of driving that I felt tempted to go to those caverns instead. I would have done it had I not purchased my Luray Caverns ticket online in advance. Besides, I had always wanted to go there at least once in my life so I trudge on for an extra half an hour.

I finally arrived at Luray Caverns, which is a huge complex with a large parking lot. I’ve heard that this place is very commercialized and the next photos prove it.

The complex is in the middle of a rural area that provides some pretty nice views of the area (including the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.)

After I submitted my ticket in one of the buildings, I was instructed to walk down this long ramp until I found the entrance to the caverns. At the time I was there, I saw that wearing masks was optional for the fully vaccinated. I decided to keep my mask on because I still wanted to avoid catching the Delta variant.

The caverns were just as gorgeous as I had long heard.

I ended up taking nearly 40 photos. In fact, I took so many photos that I decided to just post the ones I thought were the absolute best and make a video slideshow out of more of them. I uploaded this video on TikTok, Clapper, and YouTube.

The big highpoint was hearing the Great Stalacpipe Organ, which is so renown that it has its own Wikipedia page. I shot the video of this organ, which I uploaded on to TikTok, Clapper, and YouTube.

I loved the sound that the organ made so much that I actually purchased a CD featuring classic songs that were played on that organ (such as “Danny Boy” and “Greensleeves”) at the gift shop.

Here are my impressions of Luray Caverns. Overall I initially was amazed by the scenery, many of which reminded me of the covers of the science fiction paperback novels that my ex-husband used to collect when we were married (especially the ones where the storylines took place on distant planets). The caverns are a photographer’s paradise because there are so many opportunities to take amazing pictures without much effort.

But after a while there seemed to be a sameness to the underground landscape. After about a half-an-hour I was ready to go aboveground again but I had to trudge through another half-an-hour’s worth of trails. I began to feel tired and cranky as time went by and I just wanted to see blue skies again. I just became bored with seeing the same scenery over and over again and I was ready to leave so I could rest.

As for the frequent reviews mentioning how the caverns were so cold that they recommend people brining sweaters to wear while underground, I didn’t bring any sweaters or jackets to wear. I figured that, with the temperature being in the 90s and the high humidity, I would find the cool cavern air to be a relief. I was correct. The underground temperature was in the 50s or 60s but the humidity was also high so it moderated the coolness of the caverns. In fact, the caverns were so humid that I felt clammy at times and my hair began to flop down like a wet mop.

At the time I was there, the CDC guidelines said that vaccinated people didn’t have to wear masks if they didn’t want to but unvaccinated people should still wear masks. In fact those guidelines were placed at the entrance to the caverns. (Those guidelines were recently changed to everyone wearing masks in public buildings regardless of vaccination status due to the increase in the Delta variant of the Coronavirus.) I opted to wear my mask despite being vaccinated because I heard that vaccinated people can still catch the Delta variant. (The difference between the vaccinated and unvaccinated is that the former group didn’t get sick enough to require hospitalization while nearly all of the recent deaths came from the unvaccinated.) I had long placed first aid tape over the top of my mask because I wear glasses and I had a problem with them frequently fogging up if I didn’t use tape. I thought I had sealed the top edge of my mask before going underground but my glasses began to fog up. I tried adding more tape but it didn’t do anything to alleviate the fogging problem. It also didn’t help that the caverns were very humid.

I grew so exasperated at having foggy glasses that I ended up joining the majority of other visitors who didn’t wear masks and tore mine off. I knew it was a little bit on the risky side but I was fully vaccinated and the caverns weren’t crowded the day I was there (I went on a Friday afternoon) so I was able to remain as socially distant from others as possible. I ended up being okay since I didn’t catch any variant of COVID-19 from my little adventure in the caverns.

I was so relieved when the trail through the caverns finally ended and I could go aboveground once again. The only thing is that I had to go up that same ramp that I went down on going into the caverns and it was such a tiring experience going up that ramp.

My $32 ticket also included admission to other attractions that were located above the caverns. Unfortunately I had arrived late enough in the day that I didn’t have time to check them all out before the facility closed at 7 p.m. I decided not to bother with the Car & Carriage Caravan Museum since I’m not really into cars. I also decided to jettison visiting the Shenandoah Heritage Village as well since I’ve seen recreations of historic towns at other places (most notably Colonial Williamsburg). I decided to visit Toy Town Junction since it was a toy museum and I thought it would be interesting to check out.

It’s a small one-room toy museum that’s dominated by this train layout that’s in the middle of the room. Unfortunately none of the toy trains were running when I was there that day.

The train layout included a circus that had a button that you were supposed to press. I pressed it but there were no sounds or movement so I think the button was broken that day. The circus layout was okay to look at.

The toys on display were located on the side that surrounded the train layout. Seeing Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy brought back memories of when I owned both dolls as a young child.

Another doll from my youth (although I never owned that one because I was a teenager by the time it was released) was the controversial doll that was released around the time that All in the Family was one of the top-rated shows on television. This doll was released as a tie-in to the birth of Archie Bunker’s grandson, Joey Stivic, on the show. The boy doll was controversial because he was anatomically correct, which outraged parents at the time, and the dolls were soon withdrawn from the market. I remember seeing that doll on the store shelves when it was originally released and I was mildly intrigued by the fact that he was anatomically correct because none of the male dolls I played with as a young child (such as Barbie’s boyfriend Ken) ever had any kind of genitalia. But I never asked my mother to buy it for me because, like I wrote earlier, I was a teenager by that point and I had gone through this adolescent phase where I could have cared less about dolls or children’s toys in general, especially baby dolls. It was a hoot seeing that doll and the original box at Toy Town Junction for the first time in a few decades.

The museum also had this doll birthday party featuring life-sized dolls.

There were more pictures that I shot inside of that museum but I ended up making another video slideshow that I uploaded on to TikTok, Clapper, and YouTube.

Afterwards I was so tired that I stopped off at the cafe that adjoined Toy Town Junction. I ordered a small ice cream cup and a 12 ounce bottle of diet soda for $6. (You could tell that you were in a tourist trap with prices like those.) It was almost closing time for the entire Luray Caverns complex so I went to the gift shop (where I purchased that CD full of music that was played on the Great Stalacpipe Organ) and the restroom then I left.

I drove into the town of Luray itself but, compared to Front Royal, that town was a letdown. There were more empty storefronts and I found Luray to be a much smaller town than Front Royal. There were painted murals and some public art on display but they paled in comparison with what I saw in Front Royal. I didn’t even bother with getting out of the car and walking around the area.

By that time it was dinnertime but I was still full between the huge lunch I ate in Front Royal and the ice cream snack I ate at the cafe next to Toy Town Junction. I also wanted to leave the Shenandoah Valley area while it was still daylight outside so I began to head home. I had a bit of minor driving drama as I missed the exit to I-66 and Google Maps began directing me to an alternate route that would bring me back to the I-66 exit. Except it had diverted me to this nearby town where the houses were literally located up the side of a mountain. I’m not used to mountain driving so I began feel nervous as I drove slowly along streets that had names like Granny Smith Drive and McIntosh Lane. (It’s obvious that whoever was the developer of that town had a thing for apples.) I eventually exited that small town and I soon found the entrance to I-66 and went on it. I was so glad that I decided to leave while it was still daytime because it would’ve been way more harrowing doing that drive in the darkness, especially since I’m not familiar with that area.

By the time I hit the Capital Beltway it was nighttime but I was okay by then since I’ve driven on that road at night numerous times. When I arrived home I was only slightly hungry so I ended up eating a bowl of cereal for dinner, which was okay.

At least I finally saw Luray Caverns for myself in person. Am I glad I did it? Yes because at least I now know what the place is like. Would I do it again? I don’t know. The $32 admission is pretty steep. Given the very long drive to get there and the sameness of the entire trail through the caverns, I don’t see myself going there again in the near future unless I have someone visiting me who is such a big cave fanatic and I would go there with that person. While I can’t say that I’ll never go back to Luray Caverns again, I probably won’t return unless there is some kind of a big discount on the admission ticket to something like $20 or under.

But I would love to go back to Front Royal again because it is a really lovely town. I also would’t mind visiting the Shenandoah Caverns since it’s about a five or ten minute drive from Front Royal.

The Wall Murals on 14th & U Streets, N.W. in Washington, DC, July 23, 2021

A few weeks ago I went to a reception for a friend’s art show that was held at one of the locations of the Whitman-Walker Clinic known as The Corner. While I was there I took these photos of the wall murals that one can see in the area of 14th and U Streets, Northwest. Some of these murals included famous people like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Duke Ellington.

Washington, DC, February 24, 2021

I learned through an Instagram post that one of the local mutual aid groups that have sprung up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic was having a winter clothing drive where they were asking for donations of blankets, coats, and other things that low-income and homeless people can use to help deal with the winter cold. I’m currently in the process of decluttering my home and I found a parka that I think a relative had given to my then-husband as either a birthday or Christmas present. The parka still had the manufacturer’s tags attached so it was obvious that he never wore it. He left it behind when he abruptly left me late in 2011 and he never made any effort to get it. I could have taken it for myself (my husband and I are about the same height) but I already own a winter coat and this parka isn’t really my style. (I just wasn’t really crazy about the parka’s design.) I felt that some needy person could use that parka more than me. I also found a couple of extra blankets that I also thought would be useful for someone trying to stay warm.

This mutual aid group was picking up donations at Black Lives Matter Plaza, NW near the White House in DC. I managed to pack the blankets and parka into a large plastic garbage bag. I also decided to take my two new Disney Nuimos—Stitch and Angel—that I had purchased at the Disney Store the previous week for some picture-taking opportunity. I was seeing plenty of Disney Nuimos photos on Instagram but most people were shooting their Nuimos at Walt Disney World. I found myself thinking that surely people could find more places for photographing their Nuimos other than Disney World. Going to DC for that winter clothing drive was the perfect opportunity to take some DC pictures of Stitch and Angel. I packed the Nuimos in my purse, grabbed the garbage bag, and headed to the Metro station.

Schlepping a garbage bag full of two blankets and a parka wasn’t heavy. It was bulky so carrying it through the Metro system then on the streets of DC was pretty awkward. On top of it I was wearing my face mask since I have to do so every time I leave my home these days. There were times when I had to take pauses so I could catch my breath because hauling a light yet bulky bag while wearing a face mask was a major challenge.

The only silver lining is that the Metro is pretty empty these days. Most people are either unemployed or they have jobs but are telecommuting from home. On top of that, most museums and other tourist spots are also closed. So I didn’t have to deal with crowds (especially during rush hour) and I had no problem with finding a seat for myself and my large bag.

When I arrived at my destination I focused on finding the group so I could leave my bag with them first. I had no problem with finding the people and one of them told me that they would be collecting winter supplies every Wednesday and Friday from 4-6 p.m. for the next few weeks. (If you live in the DC area and you have extra stuff that you need to unload, just bring them to Black Lives Matter Plaza, NW over by Lafayette Square during those days and times for the next few weeks.)

Once I dropped the bag off, I was able to take a look at the area some more without having to deal with that bulky bag. The biggest change I saw is that much of the area is now fenced off. St. John’s Church is among the buildings that are currently fenced off. That’s the same church that went through a fire which happened during the protests that sprung up in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Just days after that fire, there was the infamous Donald Trump photo-op outside of that church that resulted in people being tear-gassed. The boarded-up windows now have lovely murals painted on them. I managed to put my smartphone lens through the chain-link fence to get these shots.

Afterwards I pulled out my two Disney Nuimos and posed them on the fence outside of the front of St. John’s Church. I had them flanking the giant Black Lives Matter sign that the church had erected.

Both Lafayette Square and the White House has been surrounded by that fence since that mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. With QAnon spreading rumors that Trump will be inaugurated again (they originally said it was going to be on March 4 but then changed the date to March 20 after March 4 came and went with no inauguration) and threats of more violence by Trump supporters, I’m afraid this fence will remain up for the foreseeable future.

I managed to get Stitch and Angel hanging on the chain link fence while flanking the White House in the distance. I took one photo of Stitch with and without his hat on because that hat has an annoying tendency to fall off his head.

Since there wasn’t much to see near the White House, I decided to walk along Black Lives Matter Plaza. Since my last visit someone had put up banners designating Black Lives Matter Plaza. One side has silhouettes of African American people.

The other side of those banners have the names of African Americans who have been killed across the United States either by police officers or vigilantes.

Here’s a wide shot of Black Lives Matter Plaza. It was very deserted the day I was there.

I took a few photos of Stitch and Angel in Black Lives Matter Plaza.

I originally intended to grab a bite to eat somewhere in the area. The nearest affordable place was Cosi. In the pre-pandemic days in DC I had no problem with finding Cosi or any other place that was open during the week at dinner time. This time when I got there, I found that this particular location now closes at 4 p.m. I briefly walked around looking for other places I could eat at and they were all closed. So I ended up taking the Metro back to the suburbs where I ate pizza at Three Brothers Pizza in Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt, Maryland. I took one last picture of Stitch and Angel next to the pizza and soda.

College Park, Maryland, March 8, 2020

I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon in College Park (where the parking is free on Sundays). I managed to shoot a couple of wall murals that have been painted in recent months.

I ate lunch at the Bagel Place. Afterwards I walked over to the nearby Dunkin’ (formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts) where I noticed something peculiar.

Sometimes I feel like I don’t quite belong in this era because there are some things that make me feel disoriented. This particular Dunkin’ location is an example. Instead of walking to the counter where you give your order to an employee, you go to a computer touchscreen where you make your order then pay with either a credit or debit card.

Afterwards you walk to the counter where Dunkin’s sole employee gets the order, which is the only time you deal with a human being.

I purchased this St. Patrick’s Day themed donut on impulse. (The holiday was coming soon so I figured why not?)

The donut looks lovely but I personally found it to be a bit too sweet for my tastes. I probably won’t order this one again next St. Patrick’s Day.

This particular Dunkin’ is located in the lobby of the Landmark apartments, which is one of the new complexes that have been erected in College Park in recent years. It’s located fairly close to the University of Maryland campus and I noticed mostly college students who were going upstairs to their apartments. This lobby does have a couple of funky ceiling lights.

Walking Around the Takoma Park-Silver Spring Area, January 31, 2020

One day my housemate (and sometime partner in crime—LOL!) Phil Shapiro hired me for a few hours to help him with a certain project while he was working his day job at the Takoma Park library. So we decided to carpool together. We stopped off a few places on the way to his job and I took a few photos while I was there.

There are parts of Takoma Park and Silver Spring that have been settled by immigrants from Central America and those areas have some very colorful wall murals and signs.

The one thing I love about going into Latino stores is that sometimes you’ll find one item on sale that mixes kitsch with religion in a bizarre way, such as this baby version of San Miguel (Saint Michael) dominating a baby version of Satan.

Phil recommended that I get a haircut at the Montgomery Beauty School and he even paid for it. As you can guess from the name, it’s a cosmetology school that provides all kinds of beauty services for a fraction of the price of a regular beauty salon. I liked the results so much that I took a selfie afterwards.

We eventually made it to Phil’s workplace where I did the work that he needed done but couldn’t do it during the library’s regular business hours. At one point he sent me out to a nearby Chinese place for lunch (located just a few blocks away from his library job) and I walked past this person updating the sign for Piney Branch Elementary School.

A Trip Through My Mother’s Old Neighborhood in Baltimore, January 14, 2020

Last fall I managed to visit the area where my mother and aunt grew up in Baltimore. I knew they lived on South Stricker Street because I used to hear my mother, aunt, and grandmother talk about their lives living there in the 1940s and 1950s when I was growing up. The only thing was that I didn’t know which house they lived in when I made my last trip to the area so I took a bunch of pictures in the hopes that I had inadvertently captured the house.

My grandfather died a few years before I was born (he was in his mid-50’s when he passed), my grandmother died in 1981 (she was in her 70’s), and my aunt died in 1987 (when she was only 48 years old). My mother was the only one left who actually lived in that family home on South Stricker Street but our phone conversations became less frequent due to her struggle with multiple sclerosis so I wasn’t able to ask her which house she lived in as a child.

I last saw my mother before her death on January 11 when the entire family decided to gather together to visit her. (There was talk about moving her to hospice because her health had really deteriorated. She died a few weeks later before the family was able to find a suitable hospice for her.) At one point the talk turned to her childhood on South Stricker Street and my mother gave the house number: 221 South Stricker Street.

Three days after that visit I decided to attend a networking event that was held in Baltimore. Since I was going to be in the area anyway, I decided to actually visit that house after the networking event.

The networking event was held in the Roland Park area. I arrived a bit early so I decided to take a brief walk around the area. As you can see in these pictures, it was very rainy that day. Here’s the sign that had the name of the place where the networking event took place—Roland Park Community Center.

Roland Park is the wealthiest area of Baltimore City. There are a lot of expensive looking homes.

I saw this memorial that’s dedicated to a man named Tom Palermo. Apparently he was into bike riding since a white bike was part of the memorial.

I took a few more random photos of Roland Park before it was time for my networking event.

After the networking event I decided to look for the house that my mother grew up in. I headed over to the Mount Clare area, which is a far cry from Roland Park in terms of housing and income. These days South Stricker Street seems to have more abandoned boarded-up homes than occupied home. I drove to 221 South Stricker Street and I saw that this house showed all signs of being one of the few occupied ones on this block.

As I looked at the rowhouse I thought about my mother, aunt, and grandparents who once lived there. From the outside it looks like the rowhouse’s current owner is doing a good job of keeping it nice looking. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go inside since I don’t know the current occupants. Given Baltimore’s current crime rate that’s so high that some people have called the city “Bodymore,” I doubted that the home’s current owner would even let me tour the inside of the house simply because he/she didn’t want to risk the possibility that I was really a criminal. I had to settle for just viewing the house from the outside.

I decided to take a walk around the Mount Clare neighborhood while taking pictures. It’s definitely a mix of abandoned houses, painted murals, and the occasional teddy bear that was attached to a tree or pole.

I also came upon the occasional condemned rowhouse.

I eventually walked along McHenry Street until I hit the Pigtown area.

I found one of those scooters that one can rent using a smartphone app.

I came across a shopping center. I didn’t go inside any of the stores. I wonder if that shopping center existed in my mom’s day or if it had been built after the family left the area. I remember my mother saying that she once worked at a Murphy’s five and dime store in Baltimore as a teenager after my grandfather died but I don’t know where that store was located. (Murphy’s was a chain five and dime discount store that had gone out of business in 2002. )

I didn’t stay too long in Pigtown mainly because the cold rainy weather was getting to me so I decided to walk back towards the car. I walked back through Mount Clare where I saw more of a mixed of abandoned boarded-up homes and funky wall murals.

I had originally intended to do a special video slideshow that I would show my mother once she was transferred to a hospice. I thought she would find it interesting to see what had happened to her old neighborhood. It’s possible that she might have a few added insights about some of the pictures I’ve taken (especially of that shopping center in Pigtown). Unfortunately she died before she went into hospice care so I never had the chance to show her those pictures.

I regret never taking my mother on a drive through the old neighborhood when she was still relatively healthy. It’s mainly because I didn’t think about it until after my mother became too sick to do much traveling (other than to the doctor). If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve made such a trip with her before 2008 (the year that she started to become sick at the same time that my hip had deteriorated so much that I needed a hip replacement).

I would advise anyone reading this to take your parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle to the places where he/she grew up if possible. (I know that it’s not a reality if the person in question was a military brat or grew up in a family who frequently moved every few years or so.) Take photos and write down or record what the person says about the old neighborhood. One day that person will be gone and his/her memories of the places where she/he had lived will be gone as well if no one manages to keep some kind of a record about the old neighborhood.

Walking Along H Street, Northeast in Washington, DC (August 15, 2019)

Back in August I spent a week in Takoma Park, Maryland as a live-in dogsitter while the dogs’ owner was out of town on a business trip. One day I gave the dogs their dinner a few hours early because I had wanted to attend this meetup in downtown Washington, DC. The nearest Metro station to the house (Takoma) was just a short 15-minute walk so I basically did everything on foot, which is novel for me since where I live I usually have to reach the Metro either by car or bus since the nearest station isn’t a convenient walk from my home.

The meetup took place on H Street, Northeast. I still have memories of the time back in the 1990s when I walked to Union Station to H Street but I didn’t stay too long. All of the buildings were boarded up and there were very few people aside from a couple of guys sitting on a front stoop, one of whom looked like he was nodding out on some kind of drug. (It was when crack cocaine flooded major cities like DC.) At that time H Street still bore the scars of the 1968 riots that took place soon after the assassination of Martin Luther King that trashed a lot of stores and other businesses on that street.

In recent years H Street has undergone a complete renovation. I first saw that renovation back in 2012 when I went to the DC chapter of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School that was then-held at the now-defunct Red Palace. That time I made the mistake of taking the Metro to Union Station then walking to the Red Palace. Walking to the Red Palace at an earlier time wasn’t so bad, it was walking back from the Red Palace to Union Station that was harrowing and I ended up taking the car for what ended up being the second and last Dr. Sketchy’s event before the Red Palace permanently closed.

I hadn’t been back to H Street until recently when I decided to go to that meetup. I found out that there is now a streetcar that takes people from Union Station to H Street and I decided to take it.

I really liked that streetcar. Not only was it free to ride but it stopped at several different locations. At one point I saw that there was a huge bookstore there that I would love to explore at a later date. (I didn’t have much time to visit that bookstore before the meetup.) In fact I would have loved to explore H Street more if it weren’t for the fact that it was raining that day plus it was very humid. I decided that I would spend a day exploring H Street once the hot, hazy, and humid weather goes away for the year.

Even though the weather was crappy, I saw all kinds of lovely wall murals and artsy signs on H Street. Here are just a few of the ones I managed to photograph.

I saw some “Fuck Trump” graffiti on the windows of some of the closed storefronts, which provides further proof of how much the people in DC really feel about the current President of the United States.

After the meetup ended the rain had stopped and I was treated to this lovely sunset as I walked back to the nearest streetcar stop.

The Lesser Known Public Art in Langley Park and Takoma Park, May 22, 2019

When I was working at a job earlier this year, I noticed some really interesting public art and other things while I was commuting to and from my job in Takoma Park. Last month I finally got a chance to return to the area where I could leisurely pull over and look at these lesser-known attractions that are located on Piney Branch Road in the border area between Langley Park and Takoma Park.

First up is this sign for Al’s Auto Center. The design of that sign looks like something that was created in the 1950s. The sign includes an arrow that supposedly points to a place where you can buy a car.

But when you look in the direction of where the arrow is pointing, all you can see is an empty lot along with a fence.

If you look to the right you see a food truck.

Next to the food truck is a small shopping center that has a Total Wireless store and a liquor store.

Here’s another shot of the Al’s Automotive Center sign pointing to nowhere.

The front of the shopping center parking lot has this fence that features brightly colored stick figures engaging in such sports as volleyball, basketball, and baseball.

There is some more art at the intersection of Piney Branch Road and Flower Avenue with two large murals that are directly located across the street from each other on Piney Branch Road.

Closer to the intersection of Piney Branch Road and Flower Avenue is this sculpture featuring flowers (of course).

Across the street from the floral sculpture is another colorful wall mural featuring more flowers and insects.

Takoma Park, May 1, 2018

I spent May Day doing a special freelance project for a friend at his workplace in Takoma Park, Maryland. (I’m not going to write too much about this project at this point because it’s still pretty much a work in progress.) During breaks I walked around outside enjoying the warm spring air.

The Takoma Park Public Library is part of a larger complex known as the Takoma Park Community Center. In addition to the library there is also a police station on the lower level, conference rooms, classrooms, a youth center, and an art gallery (featuring works by local artists). Outside of the building is a community garden area.

Located at the concrete stairwell leading to the entrances to the police station are these colorful wall murals.

Located adjacent to the Takoma Park Community Center complex is the Takoma-Piney Branch Park, which has flowers planted nearby in full bloom.

The entrance to this park has a metal sculpture that looks very flowery.

When I was there I saw this boy kicking a soccer ball around on the field.

And this little girl was taking advantage of the recent rainstorms to make some mud pies.

This sign definitely points out why people should not be smoking in the park.

Free Comic Book Day, May 5, 2018

I had a pretty busy day. In the morning I went to one of the trainings and town hall meeting for the Poor People’s Campaign in the morning. In the afternoon I decided to go to Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, since that day was also Free Comic Book Day nationwide. (If all that weren’t enough, it was also Cinco de Mayo. I ended up eating tacos at home that I made myself using ingredients that I purchased from Aldi. I learned a long time ago that it’s total folly to attempt to eat in any kind of Mexican/Hispanic/Latino restaurant on Cinco de Mayo.)

So after checking out the Poor People’s Campaign, I drove to Annapolis. I arrived at Third Eye Comics only to find that parking was harder to find than usual. I ended up parking a few blocks away in an office park, which had some nice wall murals.

The next photo shows how crowded that store was. The next photo shows the line to the checkout counter.

I saw these vintage Atari video game cartridges on sale. I remember when Atari originally came out but I never owned one mainly because I was in college at the time and money was a bit tight at the time. It never bothered me that I never owed an Atari because my college (the University of Maryland) had plenty of arcade games on campus and some of the local off-campus fast food places also had arcade games.

I saw a few other interesting things on sale at Third Eye Comics.

I came across a whole aisle full of the ever-popular Funko Pop! statues. I found one new trend: Funko Pops based on real dead rock stars like Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead and Joey Ramone of The Ramones.

There were plenty of Funko Pops based on comic book and video game characters such as Rocket Raccoon, Mega Man, Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent, Wonder Woman, Batman, Batwoman, and Batgirl.

I also found an actual WTF t-shirt and a special edition of the Monopoly game board based on the latest Jurassic Park movie called Jurassic World.