Looking up the Red Line from the edge of Dupont Circle station. You can’t see them in the gloomy B/W noir effect, but there’s two track inspectors just beyond the lit area.
(Metro Tunnel uploaded by brownpau.)
Potomac High Tide
Flood warnings on the Potomac River today due to swelling brought about by heavy rains. Here’s a quick clip from the Harbour, with a close up of the measuring stick on the dock, about a half hour before tide hits its highest mark. Lots of debris on the river, and the water is almost six feet deep. (I rarely see it go over five.)
Dark Metro
The last two cars of this Blue Line train were dark. Train was running, air conditioning worked, there were people inside, but it was dark up till McPherson Square. Then the lights came on. Quite strange.
Later on, I got on a Red Line train and was buzzed by a threatening-looking bee. I killed it, much to the appreciation of others in the vicinity who were also being swooped upon.
Clouds over Rosslyn
Clouds, buildings, river, flags. Stormy weather passing over us.
(Clouds over Rosslyn uploaded by brownpau.)
Harbour Fountain renovated
Nice, they’re done renovating the fountain at Washington Harbour. The planter islands are nice.
(Harbour Fountain renovated uploaded by brownpau.)
Departing, Arriving: Two Train Clips
Above left: view from the train as we leave Metropark, New Jersey. You can see my reflection in the window. Above right: Walking down the platform and recording from the hip after getting off the train at Union Station in Washington, DC.
NJ Weekend: Lots of Deer Edition
Amy and I were up in NJ for the weekend, visiting her grandma and hanging around the deep McMansion-infested wilds of the New Jersey suburban landscape. We also went to church (same church we were married in), and I ate a massive Reuben at Galloping Hill Grill, and a “Bife a Portuguesa,” (grilled steak topped with ham and fried egg) at Valença Restaurant in Elizabeth. Both were huge. My stomach no feel so good now.
Here are a few photos, including a flock (herd? pride? pod?) of deer we spotted right outside Grandma’s home:
You know what time our train pulled into DC after delays? Almost 4AM.
Morning Canal Video
Passing by the C&O on my way to work; clips of the Georgetowner boat and Locks 3 and 4. My shadow makes a brief appearance. Previous video entry from aboard the C&O Canal Boat.
Pope Passes Penn Ave
Birthday Boy Benedict XVI is in town, on the first papal visit to the United States Washington, DC since John Paul II came in 1979. Barricades lined Pennsylvania Ave in Foggy Bottom this morning, where the Popemobile would pass after a welcome at the White House:
Myself, I haven’t seen a Pope since the last time I was Roman Catholic: World Youth Day 1995. I considered taking lunch off to try and see Benedict, but busy meeting schedules intervened, so I decided to try the next best thing: fetching images from public DC traffic webcams on the internet and turning them into a Popemobile time lapse video!
Traffic camera images courtesy Trafficland, fetched every ten seconds with wget and assembled in Windows Movie Maker. I kept wget running for a bit longer after the Pope passed because I was away from the computer, so you can see a lot of the post-Papal scene as well — police personnel congregating, crowd dissipating, barricade segments being moved around, traffic flow starting up again, that kind of thing. I decided to keep it in for those who might be interested.
(If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy SuperPope!)
Sunday Jaunt: LOC, USBG, Liaison
Amy and I were planning to go visit the newly opened LOC Experience after church on Sunday, but found that LOC is only open Monday to Saturday, so we went over to the Botanic Gardens instead. Some photos from that jaunt:
Also of note, “Holiday Inn on the Hill” seems to have become “The Liaison,” now an Affinia property. I can’t help but think “Liaison” is a somewhat dubious hotel name more worthy of Eliot Spitzer’s Mayflower exploits than of a tourist-friendly DC lodging, but hey, it is right by the Capitol; maybe the name’s more appropriate than I would think.
