A Crashing Weekend

On Saturday I met up with the crew to go scouting for abandonments in the DC area. Huggy & Lewis hopped into my car while four others went with Andrew. We started off at a Maryland school that seemed abandoned on the map but after walking the whole of the perimeter fence passing cameras and finally pressing our faces against a window we realized that the school was very much active when we spotted work on a desk with the date 3/27 at the top. Oops. We slunk away through the woods to another destination nearby that looked very promising on the satellite map. We crested a hill and found a huge construction site, our destination had been razed to the ground leaving only a couple of small houses.

These images were taken with my new iPhone lenses. The macro is incredible, far better than my Canon.

We sauntered around trying to make the best of a bad thing and find subjects to photograph. Each other seemed the best option! Then it was off to lunch. People were muttering 'hungry' and 'beer' under their breath so it was time to refuel. We found a place nearby and ordered a stack of pizzas. Our next port of call was in DC. I had no idea where we were going so followed Andrew. We approached an intersection and the light went amber. He was going through so I was going to follow but at the last minute he thought better of it and slammed on his brakes. I slammed into the back of him. We got both cars off the road and checked the damage. Fortunately nobody was hurt but Andrew's car was a bit of a mess.

 

In comparison Stuart had held up really well. The bumper was bent up at the bottom and had some dents and the hood also had a dent but apart from that, nothing. Andrew's Honda was well mashed up but again, very fortunately, none of the camera equipment in the back was damaged. We called the police just to make it official  and an officer turned up who once he discovered that we were friends didn't even bother to ask for our documentation. He simply gave us a business card with a case number. We hung around waiting for the tow truck while our new recruit Jason went off to get his vehicle. As long as Andrew and I were willing everyone else wanted to continue so who was I to spoil their day? I'd been pretty shaken by the incident and was scared about having to follow another car but said nothing and just got on with it.

Liz wearing Andrew's very sad sunglasses. He really wears these and calls them his Tron glasses!
We turned up in DC somewhere and to be quite honest I don't really remember getting there and have no idea of what we were exploring. I think it was an old laundry place. My creativity had completely disappeared so I just went though the motions of taking photos.

Jason took the photo above with my iPhone and the fish eye lens. It's the same pipes as in the photo this that with Lewis. He was completely taken with the lenses and is getting his own set.
Once we were done there we went to DC General, an old hospital building and walked around the old structures. There were no visible entries and I was secretly pleased. I wasn't really in the mood for this.

You'd hardly believe Andrew and I had been in a car crash a couple of hours earlier from this photo.

I saw this doorway covered with hazard signs and yet as we turned round the corner of the building, there was someone inside dressed in sweats and ambling along a corridor. We assumed he was probably a homeless guy and we decided to leave. We said our goodbyes at the car park then Huggy and I went to Richard's house where we would also be meeting Emily and Jason.

Richard had made some potatoes earlier using herbs from a sachet so we staged this photo. They were delicious. Huggy and I tucked in as Richard brought out Brie, crackers and fruit and before long the topic of conversation turned to a subject which we'd all been earnestly discussing amongst ourselves for some time now, cat spanking. I had nearly died laughing when it first came up in the conversation and Richard had shown me a lengthy list of movies on YouTube. And so we watched eagerly as Richard got Leo up on the counter and demonstrated. Click here for video.

Leo seemed to really enjoy it and I of course wondered if Kota would up up for some spanking too. Emily and Jason turned up later and we all sat around the table in the dining room chatting and fussing over Leo, who after his spanking episode was wanting attention from everyone.

Jason doesn't look too impressed.

But Leo would not be moved and insisted on staying close to our group for the remainder of the evening.
I was glad to finally get home that night and slept fitfully, waking up to bright sunlight. I headed out to Sterling a little later but on 66 I started hearing noises that I hadn't been aware of on the previous day from Stuart. I got nervous and turned back for home. I was supposed to be seeing Aston & Max for their birthdays but it would have to wait for another day. I was also missing a roast lamb dinner which was equally distressing. But after a couple of hours at home I was glad. I'd needed to relax and actually did very little for the rest of the day. I went outside briefly to take a few photos, mainly with my fish eye lens.

I often think of Dad at springtime now. When we were small he used to recite a very stupid poem to us which would make us laugh and of course it stuck in my head and I think of it now every year:

The Spring is sprung, the grass is grizz.

I wonders where the birdies iz.

The birds, they are upon the wing.

But that's absurd, the wing is on the bird.