| |
|
A headstone at Old Chapel Cemetery, Clarke County, Virginia, USA, a 30-minute drive from my house.
As a world traveler myself, I’ve made some big trips, but I think I have a few more in me before I make the last big one!
BTW, also buried at that cemetery is Edmund Jennings Randolph, one of George Washington’s four cabinet members (as Attorney General), US Secretary of State, and Governor of Virginia.
|
| |
|
 Could this be a bridal shop, as in for women who are getting ready to “tie the knot?” No, it’s from a (now out-of-business) wool and yarn shop, in Frederick, Maryland, USA.
I spent three great nights in that city even though it was wickedly cold and there had been an icestorm the day before I arrived. I walked around town dressed with numerous layers (including long underwear) taking photos of many houses’ front doors. (As you know, I’ve never been accused of being normal!)
|
| |
|
 I’ve had one really long walk; at age 52, I hiked with a full backpack the 187 miles (300 km) along England’s Thames Path. (See my essay from July 2011: A Walk along the River.) Prior to that, I had also walked small sections of America’s famous 2,200-mile-long (3,540 km) Appalachian Trail, but for no more than a few hours at a time. A few times, I actually considered hiking the whole thing. However, after a visit to Harpers Ferry, a 30-minute drive from my house and the approximate midpoint of that trail, and seeing this sign, I am quickly dissuaded. After all, there is a very fine line between bravery and stupidity. BTW, the through hike takes about three months.
All that said, I do have the distinction of climbing the Knife Edge route up Baxter Peak in Maine, USA, the mile-high mountain at the top of which the AT ends. So, once you have walked for three months, you still have one last challenge, to climb that mountain and go back down again!
|
| |
|
 I was in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, and walking in a large park where local cycling groups met, and presumably ended their rides. I have to say that in all my travels, I’d never seen a place to wash bikes before.
Another novel thing I saw there was a mobile bike-repair shop. When summoned by a rider via mobile phone, this large bike-hospital operator would drive out and fix a broken bike.
|
| |
|
 At a glance, exquisite and junk don’t seem to go together, but, of course, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Now, I have seen signs for “junque” where the seller is trying to suggest something old, as in “Ye old shoppe.”
|
| |
|
 Amen to that!
|
| |
|
 Of course, there are degrees of good!
When people talk about being naughty or nice, with respect to expectations of getting presents from Santa, I always claim that I was “nicely naughty” all year. Just because one has been nice all year doesn’t guarantee one a present. I’d just as soon be naughty and enjoy myself throughout the year and forego the possibility of a present.
|
| |
|
 A restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. According to their website, “The décor features biographical pictures of inventors, scientists, and social leaders while the walls display thought-provoking quotes used to set the tone for a positive and enjoyable dining experience. Discussion cards are placed upon the tables to help spur thought-charged conversation. Food For Thought’s menu is as diverse as the great thinkers themselves.”
|
| |
|
 Well, that’s one reason to allow the proliferation of handguns!
|
| |
|
 Wiktionary says, “According to the 2010 United States Census, Bogus is the 25332nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 977 individuals. Bogus is most common among White (79.02%) and Black/African American (16.99%) individuals.”
I wonder if that’s a fake name (as in bogus, with a lowercase “b”).
|
| |
|
 Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s Founding Fathers, had a very large library and was well read. He sold his library to the US Government to help reestablish the Library of Congress after British forces burnt it during the 1814 Burning of Washington.
|
| |
|
 OK; that’s clear enough!
|
| |
|
 While I’ve heard about kissing booths, usually in the context of raising money for charity, I have to say I’ve never actually seen one.
|
| |
|
 I’ve only ever heard of south as being “down.”
A women’s clothing store in Gloucester, Virginia, USA.
|
| |
|
 According to Wikipedia, “geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.”
I’ve only ever come across two such caches. The first was in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA, and consisted of a metal military ammunition case with various trinkets people had left along with a record of their names. The second was in a forest in rural Germany, and it was a small container set into the hollow of a small building’s wall where a brick had been removed.
|
| |
|
 Those foreigners have words for everything!
This photo was taken in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where they speak Arabic (which is written right-to-left).
As an English speaker, I was very surprised to be understood by my hotel maid, the server at the local burger joint, and by staff at a department store. Many (most?) workers in more menial jobs are guest workers from 50–60 countries, who speak almost that many different languages. However, they all can get by in English, so that is the lingua franca.
For drivers who drive in multiple countries, there is an international standard for the main road signs (Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals), such as this red-and-white octagonal stop sign.
|
| |