Nice essay by Joseph Siano for the New York Times on fading tourist attractions. I didn't know that Cypress Gardens in Florida had folded.

So what about an attraction that reminds us of the Interstate our attention spans are speeding along on?

It would be similar to Greenfield Village, about 15 minutes west of Detroit, where Henry Ford relocated historic buildings that played a role in the lives of great inventors and everyday citizens. Collect all the phony little buildings from abandoned roadside attractions like Storyland in one place. Call it Land of the Easily Enchanted.

The web site of Roadside America is still going strong, though.

posted: 6:03:15 PM  

Driving through upper Northwest and Montgomery County last night: there are numerous pockets of blackness—say, half a mile in diameter—that you must traverse on your journey. It seems that every other traffic signal is out.

This morning, power at the intersection of Connecticut and Georgia Avenues had been restored. Piles of white ash from the many signal flares that had been burned remain between the lanes.

Back in Reston, the tree has been taken down and hacked into smaller pieces, but the pieces remain lying next to my house. A little wake for a maple tree.

posted: 3:12:44 PM