I went up to the Arlington/Washington, DC area for just shy of 24 hours this past weekend to visit friends and see the flowers. Here is a preview of a few images I took while there. A full post will be posted Wednesday morning.

In other news, I took a five-hour walkabout my hometown today. I told myself, today is the day I live without an agenda and worrying about my to do list. Charlottesville is a really interesting place when you take a good look. I did not take my cameras, because I wanted to really see the details of where I was walking. I walked to the downtown mall from my house, which is about a mile or so. The weather today was really lovely.  I stopped in O’Susannah’s for a look. I had a sandwich at Timberlakes and gelato at Splendora’s. It was good to see the same ladies working at the Timberlakes dining counter that have been working there since I was a kid. It makes me proud to know that the business is able to stay in the same hands all these years later. I also stopped by my bank before hopping a trolley to the UVA campus. The trolley was hot and stuffy with the AC off and the little windows open. All sorts of characters ride the trolley. I got off at McCormick Road and walked along the Lawn until I came to Para Coffee for a drink and reading. I usually avoid the campus during the school year because it is bit crazy with all the students. I passed some food trucks that I never knew existed (to be visited another day). The Rotunda is rather ugly at the moment as it hides under construction work. Para Coffee had their doors propped open to let the fresh air through. I enjoyed an iced tea and read several chapters in The Boy In Striped Pajamas.

After a bit of reading, I took a cup of coffee to my dad. He works for the hospital. Stayed and chatted a bit before taking the trolley to Market Street. I meandered through the neighborhood between Park Street and Locust Avenue. I discovered houses I had never noticed before, a cat statue peaking over a fence, the juxtaposition of the centuries old cemetery against the former hospital building that is currently under renovation, the different ways people keep their yards, a big rounded corrugated metal house hidden behind overgrown bushes…

Today, I was free. I was free to stop, look, and listen.

And this thought I have for you, “We see a lot, but notice little.”