I said I wasn’t going to blog on this mini roadtrip.  But I’ve shot so many non-website worthy photos and it’s a dreary & dark morning here.  So what the heck.  This is just a five-day whirlwind tour of VA & NC.  An attempt to finish my list of stops that had to be ditched when I fell behind on the Southern trip in March/April.  Also, a chance to see that the van, camera, dogs, etc. are in good shape for the big Midwest trip coming up at the end of July.

I was going to post this one on Thursday night but I was literally falling asleep at the  computer.  The next day I realized I’d only gotten two hours sleep so it’s no wonder.  I left work at my normal time (2am) and hit the road at 3.  A two-hour nap at Clara Barton’s (a rest stop on the NJ Turnpike) and then straight on to the Baltimore area.  A glorious day of sun so I didn’t feel the pain til much later.  The dogs are along for the ride, of course.  In addition to some grassy patches, I stopped at the Congressional Cemetery for them.  But it was 90 plus degrees by then.  So I put an early stop to their crazed running before somebody passed out. 

OK – let’s get on with the photos since I have a double batch.

There’s a U-Haul truck perched on the roof in Tulsa:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/110475802/

like this one in Baltimore:

So I assume they must’ve done this above their locations in other cities.  And from the look of the platform, these trucks must have spun.

There’s an interesting new building going up east of downtown Baltimore.  It’s associated with the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  I like the Mondrian-esque glass.  The glass itself is sort of translucent.

And just down the road apiece, is the Enoch Pratt Free Library – another modern building with a somewhat similar pattern.  Even more Mondrian-y in color:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian

This hotel’s a car-stopper with it’s sign and detailed columns:

More Baltimore signs.  I don’t believe this place was still there:

Plastic signs are getting rarer and rarer.  That metal “hanger” probably supported a much heavier steel sign originally:

Apparently, always a supermarket — but I don’t know which one.

Just across the street is what’s left of the Ambassador Theatre:
http://www.kilduffs.com/AAA.html

This sign is just across the street from the Maryland Historical Society.  The clock’s not working.  I doubt that the neon still works. But I’m glad this one is still there!

I’ll  close this post with a mid-century modern building that I stumbled upon on my way to tracking down a giant pineapple.  This is the Seton Keough High School:

The sun is starting to peek through now.  I’ll try to get yesterday’s “sampler” up tonight with more stuff from today.