Thursday Ramble: Taking time to look around us

From Edinburgh to Glasgow was a very comfortable train ride, just over an hour across the lower part of Scotland.  Glasgow has a very-very different feel than Edinburgh.  It is an old industrial city, that is obviously trying to claw her way back from hard times.  It is sprinkled with Victorian and Georgian stone buildings with wondrous details, covered in decades - probably centuries - of grime. We have a couple of quiet days here. We will likely take a hop-on-hop-of bus tour to see what we don't know that we should see.  

 

This is a random photo taken on a walk last year. A scene I have passed by many times, and never really stopped to see. It is the location where Roaches Run, drains into the Potomac River just north of Washington National Airport. The outlet of the stream runs through a complex set of buried pipes and baffles that control the water level in a small lake across the George Washington Parkway. On the left is a boat launching ramp into the river.  When the Duck Boats were still offering tours in Washington DC, this was one of the places where the boat entered or exited the river.  Those tours have ended. The amphibious vehicles, trucks that floated and turned into boats, were converted World War II landing craft, and a tragic accident with one in Arkansas or Missouri made them nearly impossible to get insurance for. That boat ramp, and one around on the airport side were used in a couple of air disasters in this section of river. There is a boat ramp on the airport, a left over from seaplane operations before the jet age.  

Across the river is Maryland, and the southern tip of the District of Columbia.  I live just a couple of miles from Maryland and have spent very little time exploring that side of the River. Much of the riverfront along that side is military installations.  There is some very nice officers housing, and a private marina on that shore. There is also a massive sewage treatment plant.  

The point of land sticking out into the inlet, has landing lights and navigational aids, for the airport, the end of the main runway is just to to the right of this image.  

The walkway is several feet higher than the water level, with a precipitous drop off from the walkway to the water level. There is a tragic story to go with the location, but I will skip that.  Don't go down that embankment unless you are strong and agile. 

This photo is looking east. There are some pretty fluffy clouds and a very blue sky.  The haze to the east, is common. 

When I take time to look at what is around me, there is so much to see. So many stories to be told.  What stories are around you today?