Randyland in Pittsburgh

We have started on our annual trip to Australia and are visiting our friends Larry and Mary in Pittsburgh. They used to live in our community until moving to Pittsburgh almost 20 years ago and we meet them every few years. When we visit they take us to some interesting places that they have found in the rather quirky city of Pittsburgh. This year, it is Randyland.

It's worth reading the link about him.

He bought this for $10,000 in 1995 using a credit card.

Immediately I was reminded of the Magic Gardens we visited in Philadelphia a few years.

Map of the North Side.

One of the entrances.

Rand himself talking enthusiastically to visitors. He was concerned that people were stealing his paintings and they would be valuable one day.

As you will discover, he must go through a lot of paint.

Randy

The official meow bag.

At the main entrance. The exterior of the house next door has also been decorated.

The back yard of the main building is filled with 'stuff', mostly very colourful.

A play area for children.

It is a jumble, but somehow it works.

There is so much stuff that your brain gets overloaded, but notice the double bass.

Yes, it is all rather cool and it was fun to look at.

I didn't have anything to worry about so I did not put a note in the box.

The corkscrew topiary was interesting.

It was a lovely day and this tree really looked good.

Notice the bugs on the telephone pole.

House across the street.

What appears to be a former Fire Station on the opposite corner.

Even the newspaper holder got the treatment.

Now this is interesting. Pittsburgh has installed monitors that listen for gun shots. When a gun is fired the monitors can triangulate and determine where the gun was fired. Police can be dispatched even before somebody calls 911.

This area used to be part of what was known as Allegheny City which was situated across the river from Pittsburgh. It was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907. The locals opposed the annexation but a decision was made by the US Supreme Court that allowed the annexation to go ahead.

We really enjoyed our visit to Randy's place. He is obviously a free spirit and I admire somebody who follows his dreams.

Egyptian lemon mint drink for a hot day

Some of you might recall that back in February I went to Alexandria in Egypt for the day. The day was quite hot, even in February and at lunch time I had a specialty of Egypt, the lemon mint drink. It was so good that I had another just to make sure.

I finally got around to buying some lemons and a mint plant so that I could make my version. Here I have two smallish lemons. A large lemon would probably be enough. In between is the yellow doo-dad that makes peeling a lemon or orange easy.

10 mint leaves from the plant. Chop the lemon into quarters.

Chuck into the blender. Add a bit over 1/2 cup of sugar depending on how sweet or sour you want the drink to be. Some recipes talk about adding sugar syrup, but this is much simpler.

Dump in a tray of ice cubes (American style tray).

Add cold water.

Blend.

Froth on top.

Two glasses of refreshing frothy cold drink. The pith from the lemon gives it a bit of body. I am usually not overly keen on mint, but in this drink it goes very well. Try it.

Here is the photo of my drink in Egypt. I reckon mine looks better and the taste is similar as far as I can remember.

Chestertown

My sister and brother-in-law are visiting for a few days so we decided to take them for an outing to the new Lidl supermarket in nearby Middletown, Delaware. We decided to do a side trip to Chestertown.

It's a pleasant drive down to Chestertown through what is known locally as the 'Eastern Shore'.

The local courthouse.

We managed to get a park near the center of the old town. Yes, that is our new Honda Fit which we are pleased with. It is not as sporty as the Mini, but we are getting 38.5 mpg so far. The insides are quite spacious with plenty of leg room in the back seat. It is quite easy to spot in a parking lot.

There was a market taking place in the town square.

Wool for sale.

Apparently there is a study taking place to decide the location of a new bridge over the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the locals are worried that the peace and quiet of the county will be destroyed.

Pre-selection contests are taking place soon for the November elections later this year. This was the Republican tent and there was a similar tent for the Democrats.

The central square is very pleasant with lots of trees and shade.

Main crossroads in the town.

The Hoon family would never be able to move to Australia. Ima Hoon would definitely produce a giggle or two.

We have lived in our house for over thirty years but have never been in the Chestertown downtown area. I was a very pleasant surprise and it is a lovely town.

Most of the shops were occupied. 

Clare can be quite patient when it comes to ice-cream. Or impatient.

It was a lovely day to walk around with dark shadows and bright blue sky.

We wandered down to the nearby Chester River where a boat was playing Johnny Dodds. His sound on the clarinet is unmistakable.

Five months after the Boston Tea Party in 1774, the citizens of Chestertown held their own version. There is a re-enactment each year on Memorial day, presumably here at the river.

A very grand looking house overlooking the river.

One house had opened its garden to visitors so we wandered in to take a look. It was cooling and restful.

It was a beautiful garden but presumably a lot of work. 

We really enjoyed our visit to the town and it's a pity we had not explored it before. By the way, the town is home to Washington College, the 10th oldest University in the USA.