Downtown Scenes in Black & White

Thought I'd do a little black & white work......

Veterans Day Run Along the Potomac

Runners prepare for the Veterans Day 10K.

We spent this morning running along the Tidal Basin and Potomac River in Washington, D.C.  It was a great chance to spend time with our nations soldiers in one of my favorite cities.

A solitary runner along the Tidal Basin.

No matter when you visit, the Tidal Basin always makes for a great photographic opportunity.

This was my view during the race!

Space Shuttle Discovery, Up Close & Personal

Back in April, I was fortunate enough to see the Space Shuttle Discovery take it's last flight over DC before it reached it's final home, the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center; part of the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.   Since that day, I've been dying to go see the shuttle up close.  I finally made it the other day and I was not disappointed!!!!

Just a couple photos from my initial series of photos on the shuttle.

Below is a link to that blog:

http://tinyurl.com/axrho8n

Heat tiles still scarred from the shuttle's last flight.

I was amazed to learn the white portion of the shuttle is actually quilted material!

Underneath the engines looking forward.

The Canada  Arm.

You can actually see that the inside remains as it was after the last flight.

What you DON'T know about Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

I recently spent a couple days in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.  I had never been there and didn't really know what to expect.  The area I was in (Cudahy, which is South of downtown) didn't seem much different from other places I had been around the country and  once I got away from the airport, had a nice, small-town feel. I thought I would put some shots from the area showing the non-Harley part of the city, Lake Michigan and the presence of California gangs in the area!  

I walked down Layton from my hotel to Lake Michigan.  Didn't know how far it was going to be.  Incidentally, it ended up being an 8 mile round trip!!!!

Yep, THAT'S the name.........

I passed several small bars and pubs.

Don't see this everyday, beer just hanging out on the sidewalk with nobody around!

This is indicative of most of the architecture in the area.

This was a long 4 miles to Lake Michigan!

Couch anyone?

Path down to the lake.

Lake Michigan (click on this shot to maximize it for the full effect.)

The biggest surprise of my trip was finding this graffiti on the concrete piers on the lake.  "NS X4" indicates the presence of Northern California gang members in the area.  Depending on the gang member, it likely means "Norteno/North Side 14" or "Northern Structure 14."   The next day, I found out the local police didn't know about this graffiti or the presence of these gang members in the area. 

More Norteno Graffiti.

"SUR BK" = Sureno Blood Killer.  

All in all, a nice couple hours walking around in the Milwaukee area.