Adventure, Extempore

Thursday, July 9th

 

The day was drawing to a close but I felt like getting out of the house for a bit. So, I grabbed my bike and instead of riding my normal route, decided to explore the old VA medical center. It's on the tip of a peninsula with views of both the Bay and Key Bridges and there are a lot of really cool old buildings. When it was open and I was much younger, my Mom and sister and I would go to their canteen for soft-serve ice cream. For old-time's sake, I rode over to the canteen (which is tucked away in an alcove) and a man popped out from around the corner. We both startled each other, because you really don't expect to see anyone down there. Anywhoo, we got to talking and he's been going through the buildings and clearing everything out because the hospital's been closed for a few years and the plan is to convert the property into a senior living facility. Everything he finds is otherwise going to be thrown away, so he can keep anything he'd like. He showed me a really awesome old old bike that still rides (really well, actually) and just a ton of other cool things. Then, he showed me a few flags that had flown over the VA years and years ago but were taken down and retired once they began to tatter. I really thought that was cool -- and he gave me a flag!! And it is HUGE! Huge and old and tattered. And I love it. With the flag under my arm as I biked away, I saw a gorgeous sunset over the steel mill and Key Bridge. Perfectly spontaneous evening.

Done