July 4th Weekend

I slept in late on Saturday and lay listening to the birds and relishing the fact that I could hear no traffic, no sirens, no shouting, no thundering on stairwells, no car doors, nothing except the melodious sounds of nature. I was truly relaxed. But eventually the master of the house insisted that I rise up and at least fill his bowl with breakfast and open the door so he could take his morning preamble around the garden. Undaunted I slowly sorted out Kota, made a cup of tea and then went back to bed to read and ready myself for the day.
I eventually made it out the door to go buy provisions for a BBQ. MJ and Martin came over for the first time and Rob came up also. MJ & Martin both loved the house and I think MJ will bring her camera on the next visit. We had a great feast which luckily we chose to eat inside as while we were still eating the heavens opened and a monster storm rolled around the area. It was wonderful to just sit and watch while we chatted and had dessert.
I took no photos during the whole day or the next but once Kota and I were on our own again we took a stroll back down to the pond, a routine we've got into most evenings, and the camera came along.

The fish in the pond have got used to their visitors so much that when people arrive they come close, knowing that there's a container of food in a nearby tree that will be opened when folk arrive. I couldn't believe this chap who for a moment I thought was going to climb out on to the bank and get the container himself.

 

A stink bug. When I moved in to Meadow House, I had been warned that these bugs would be prolific but I haven't been as repelled as I thought I would. I've had a few in the house, vacuumed one up by mistake but have not experienced 'the stink'. i know in some areas they cause a lot of distress. I'm lucky not to have that problem.

Kota once again insisted on being carried some of he way home, especially up the hilly part. He's got it made, he really has, but I'm very relieved that he's settled in so well and seems to love his new terrain. We both do.

Critical Mass 2nd Ride

Emily, Jason and I met once again at Dupont Circle for another CM ride. I thoroughly enjoyed the last time and was excited to do it again. Feeling like a pro this time, I waited for people to arrive and as soon as the circling began around the fountain, I leaped up to join in.

We recognized a few people including the guy above who seemed to be extremely well equipped for such a short ride. I did find out later from his videos that he was delivering the wheel and not hauling it about in case of an emergency. We circled the fountain a few times and then were off again.

Cycling downtown and shadows of Emily and I.

Appreciating the art along the way and heading towards the Capitol. We circled the roundabout a few times as we did on the last ride and I wondered if we were taking the same route, but no, we went in another direction.

We passed The Nationals baseball stadium and then rode towards The Waterfront, bells and horns announcing our arrival. I really need to get something noisy for the next ride, my vocal chords were wearing out. There is a trapeze school down here with a superb motto on the building, '
A little later we found ourselves on Pennsylvania Ave and the three of us decided that we needed lubricating so we stopped at Wisdom, a bar which is one of our C urbexing group's favorite haunts. The rest of the group continued on their way. A couple of beers later we trundled through the city again, this time passing Emily's workplace, so a visit seemed a good idea.

 It was great seeing where she worked and there was a wonderful cityscape view from her floor. I was also impressed with the coat hooks hanging on the wall. Jason's pulling one of the pegs down to show how it works.
We eventually got back to Dupont after having visited all 4 quadrants of the city and estimated that we'd covered about 16 or 17 miles. It didn't feel like it, DC is so easy to cycle through as long as you don't get intimidated by cars passing or don't mind cutting across lanes. I've become used to cycling here now and don't get fazed but it must be said that DC drivers are very cycle conscious and don't seem to mind cyclists zipping back and forth. We've never been honked at.
Jason sent a link showing some videos of the evenings ride taken by Jerry, the guy at the top with all the equipment. I come into the frame on the 11th second wearing a black t-shirt on a green road bike. Thanks Jerry for making these videos public.
So it ended up being another late but fun night and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

A Busy Day in Baltimore

So it was up again early on Sunday but no dancing around the house this morning. It was grab the camera bag and go, as quickly as possible, because Emily and I were exploring! Yee Ha! It's been ages since we've been out and we were both raring to go.

 Emily had been checking out a few photos on Flickr and had a couple of idea so our first stop was a small suburb on the west side of Baltimore where we found these row houses right next to a railway line and a few old buildings.

Then it was off for more scouting and we ended up driving through derelict streets but noticing white tent tops and loud music. 

 Stopping to investigate, we walked into the Roots Fest, which was a 'celebration of community, creativity, culture and connection'. It seemed a little surreal to find all this activity when most of it's surroundings were buildings bereft of life or care. But it was a welcome lunch stop and we took great interest in an exhibition portraying the proposed new Red Line railway which would run east to west in Baltimore. 

Our interest turned to delight when we spotted a map showing some of the abandonments we'd previously visited along with some more that we hadn't. A free pointer, how kind! We continued to wander around but soon decided to go back to the car and continue scouting around the city.

This lady was sitting outside her house, one of the very few that was still inhabited, and seeing our cameras, asked us to take her photo. What a cute little girl! 
We carried on driving and entered areas that even Emily was unfamiliar with. Then at the end of a dead end street we hit gold. An abandoned church and surrounding buildings. We walked in noting how all the windows were boarded up but we found one at the back that had been opened. Climbing in, we crept through rooms with flashlights loving the beautiful mirrors, fireplaces and fittings that hadn't yet been ripped out. But then I noticed a red light flashing in a corner. A motion sensor. Walking to the entrance hall, I saw the main panel was flashing red also so it was time to leave, quickly. We got to the car and waited a bit and realized that the alarm was probably not hooked to the local police station any more. But common sense prevailed and we left, to research further and definitely return. Photos will be posted after that visit.
Our next stop was Madeira St. Emily had seen some photos of an art project there showing photos pasted onto derelict buildings of the people who used to live there. 

We also walked around the backs of the buildings where later I realized I had been bitten to pieces.Damn mosquitoes. 

I used my glass ball, found a porn book, found an awesome Oolie Owl who now resides on my patio and this suspended bathroom deserved a photo. These buildings are slated for demolition this summer so we were pleased to capture the area before it disappears forever. It was getting late and we had covered a lot of ground so inevitably we finished with beer. It had been great to get out exploring again and we'd achieved a lot in one day. I love this activity!

Puddy Tats & Penelope

On Saturday morning I got up early as I was going to DC to see Emily's new house and then go with her and Jason to our friend Penelope's birthday party. The sun was shining as I jumped out of bed and it felt like a skirt day. I put on Cathedrals by Jump Little Children and with the sun beams shining down through a high circular window I waltzed barefoot around the bedroom. After dancing through Lazurus by Porcupine Tree, I was raring to go and grabbing my camera and Penelope's present, I sped to DC.

 This was the first time I'd seen Emily's house as she'd moved at the same time as me. It was gorgeous inside and she was pretty much upside down still with her belongings, like me. We sat and chatted for a while and then Jason came up with the idea of visiting a local structural salvage warehouse nearby.

The warehouse is closing down and moving to another location in Maryland so we were hoping for some good deals. I rather fancied the idea of a couple of columns in my bathroom.

But after strolling around, the only thing I wanted to buy was a slate key stone. These though were not for sale as they were being saved for a dealer. But the place was still of major interest to Emily and I as it housed 3 beautiful cats. They were the grubbiest cats I had ever seen yet seemed very happy. The owner was even taking them to Maryland with him where he had an apartment ready for them to move into.

Then off we went to Fort Washington to see our dear friend Penelope for her birthday party. She has a wonderful welcoming family who we started up conversations with immediately and a particularly awesome spicy guacamole dip which we polished off rapidly.

Penelope with Doc in the background who she is successfully converting into a gadget geek.

Lily talking with Jason. Lily and I were sent out for more dip and beers. We launched into a conversation and chattered the whole trip. Great lady.

One of our urbexing buddies, Tyson, who we haven't seen in ages.

This is Grandma who lives in the basement and is about to celebrate her 94th birthday. Fabulous lady and fully fit, she tucked into her pina colada and birthday cake as enthusiastically as the rest of us.

Penelope looking a little threatening with that knife. She had 2 birthday cakes. Yum!

We all crowded round the table waiting for the cakes to be cut which were made by Desserts by Gerard .  These were wonderful cakes, heavy and loaded with strawberries, one was Red Velvet and the other was Strawberry Shortcake which was the one I plumped for. No vegetable oil in this icing, this was made with top notch ingredients. Lots of groans and moans of enjoyment were heard around the table as we all tucked in. Happy Birthday Penelope, wonderful party!