Harrisonburg, Virginia is “the Friendly City.” We were there this weekend mainly because Bob has a painting in a show there (see http://www.bobcantor.com/ for details). We drove in on Route 33 (where we’ve been told you can get HALF your kicks), and ended up stopped at the intersection that faces the courthouse square. They were having an event there that involved people in 1850’s costumes. Man, did they look hot. I saw one of the presenters from a distance, and said , “Bob, that’s Sandy!” And indeed it was her with her daughter Lucy, performing in a storytelling session. We found a parking space, walked to the square, and sat among the small but attentive audience, which included her husband, Steve.

It’s always great to know someone in town that can give you tips on what to do and where to go. Steve gave us two great ones which made the weekend so much more interesting for us. First, we asked where we could get some ice cream to eat on this hot and humid day. He recommended Kline’s Dairy Bar, which not only had fabulous home made soft-serve ice cream, but had some great neon for me to photograph. While we were there, the skies opened up, and we had some much needed relief from the heat.

The other tip Steve gave us came about because we were talking about music, and we mentioned that we were both playing ukulele a lot these days. He told us that the owner of the Guitar and Amp Center had an awesome collection of ukuleles on display, and when we got there, we knew Steve was not kidding. He even had two bass ukuleles made by Gibson. The owner also answered a question I had about my 1927 Martin ukulele, and gave me the good news that the instrument I have is indeed all original. He even had one on display, so I could see for myself. I took a lot of photos, the best of which can be found on my Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tackyjulie/).

I’ll post more about my weekend in Harrisonburg later. In the meantime, enjoy the photos!

My last post uncharacteristically serious, so I feel like I have to balance it with something upbeat and funny. My favorite wacky sculptor, Mark Cline, is at it again. According to the News-Virginian, he’s erected statues of Batman and Spiderman on the town courthouse of Lexington, Virginia. They will only be there for a week, and then he’ll take them down. Even better news is his plan to create a work called Hannibal in the Blue Ridge with life-sized elephants, to be up in time for October’s Fall Foliage Festival in Waynesboro.

My vacations usually involve searching out unusual folk environments, kitschy roadside attractions, and vestiges of twentieth-century popular culture. To do this, I research every trip I take at RoadsideAmerica.com. In addition to publishing their own reports on roadside attractions, the web site authors provide a place where people can post their own finds. Just for a hoot, I decided to find what there is near my home that others thought worthy of posting there.

In Glenmont, a part of Wheaton north of Randolph Road, I found this replica of an Easter Island monolithic head. I have dubbed this the Glenmont Tiki. It is reported to be leftover from a high school parade float. It needs a paint job, but it’s nice to see that it’s still there in front of a gas station on Randolph Road, looking like it doesn’t belong. That’s what I like about it. Oddly enough, I took this picture the day before Easter. I could have rented a bunny costume and posed next to it.

Wheaton, Maryland is also known for having the longest single span escalator in the Western hemisphere. Measuring 230 feet, the escalator is part of the Metrorail system. I’ve ridden it once in a while, and it certainly is long. You don’t want to climb the stairs on this baby unless you want sore thigh and calf muscles.

While I was in Glenmont, I took a picture of the Glenmont Arcade sign. As neon signs go, it’s not that interesting, but I know it’s been there a long time. I grew up in Glenmont, and I remember it from when I was a pre-teen, old enough to walk the mile from my house to the strip mall that it is in. Even though the Arcade always seemed seedy to me (populated by typically male hangouts like a bowling alley, sports bar, and barber shop), I was glad to see it was still there. It seems like every twenty years someone tries to wipe out the past in the name of “revitalization.”

I’m not the only person who loves looking at quirky folk environments. While searching the Flickr photo site, I found someone who has photos of attractions filed by state. Under Maryland, I found a picture of a house that is being shingled with aluminum cans. The description said it was in Silver Spring, Maryland, and had a link to an article about it in the Washington Post. With a little more research, I found that the house was two blocks from my own! While taking pictures of the work-in-progress, I noticed that the homeowner is also covering his mail box with the cans.

I hope there are still more quirky, kitschy, tacky things to discover. Every time I find something like a house covered with soda cans, it makes me happy. It’s okay to be different!