Hi, Gang. So we got to see the Cicads. They're all over the place we're staying at. Subdued by the rain, but clearly present. Hope to get a few shots of them tomorrow, before we head west towards the Shenandoah Valley National park.
Today was spent travelling from Philly to Baltimore, and then performing some tourist behavour downtown Baltimore. The most fascinating of which (and least tourist-ish) was probably a visit to the "Barnes & Noble" bookshop in a former coal-fuelled powerplant. The building has four huge metal chimneys that reach right up there with the highest sky-scrapers. Inside the shop, those chimneys are made part of the interior. You can even walk through them. The amazement of the sight made me overlook another, surreal impression. But only for a while. Gradually, I became aware of a smell that certainly didn't belong in a bookshop. A sweet, dense kind of smell. I didn't manage to remember what that smell was until I got to the second floor, which has a caf� in one of the corners. Besides the obvious donuts and coffee, they also sold spun sugar. Imagine the mix of objects and scent! I thought it was weired. Back on the first floor, I found what I was looking for. Field guides. Bought one for birds, one for flowers and one for insects. Now I feel dressed. :-) So far, I have parasitised on the broadband connections of Adelheid's friends, but from tomorrow I will have to rely on my cellphone to maintain contact with the cyberworld. We'll se how it works out. Hopefully I'll be able to send something every now and then. Cheers Jostein
