I thought Monday was going to be flat out awful, as it started with my milk going bad a week early and having to sit at the front desk taking phone calls. But surprise! Cave Inc. decided to give us a half day off! This may not be good for my poor wage-based paycheck, but it was most excellent for my sanity.

I meant to go to the downtown Regatta that afternoon, but when I got there, I discovered that they were charging admission. Being the genius that I am, I was not carrying cash, and was thusly denied access to the weird balloon animals and putt-putt golf. Time for plan two ... aimless wandering! I ambled along a riverside trail hoping to find some graffiti, but everything had been painted over in those weird neutral colors that New City prefers. This had been done so recently, in fact, nearby plants bore a coat of the bland hue. New City must be anticipating a lot of tourists for this sports week thing ... the people in charge are rightly concerned with the impression the city leaves upon people, but perhaps a little too much so, because hardly anybody walks that strip of a park!

I shot some things for the hell of it as I retraced my steps, crossed a river, walked down a very long street, went over another bridge, wandered around, and eventually went back home. I present to you pictures of nothing much. Well, all right, that may not be entirely fair. I found some stencil stuff and a fence that was so weatherbeaten, I was amazed it still stood. I like to call that fence "a study of priority in urban maintenance expenditure." While it was not very hard to get to, it was certainly not very safe for pedestrians, as it ran alongside a major pseudo-highway and crossed at least one onramp. The area seemed a little disjointed, for while the modern thoroughfare was quite busy, there was an inexplicable section of the old brick road serving no purpose.





I kind of like notmuch03.jpg and notmuch06.jpg, but both need additional editing, I think ... or perhaps I should go back and shoot them again when the lighting is better. Clouds threatened to rain for much of the evening ... they did not hold off long enough, in my opinion. Please stop raining before nine o'clock so I can get in my yearly dose of big pretty fireworks, okay?

Ziti got her hair done for the first time. The style is cute, but white is definitely not her color!