detours

On any given weekend in Washington, DC particularly when the weather is warmer, one can get in their car, start out to wherever they are headed and discover that whatever route they normally take is barricaded due to a walk, a rally, an event, a construction, a something. And whatever that something is means that one must either follow the detour signs or figure out an alternate route to their ultimate destination. When faced with the latter, this Washingtonian has had to resort to creative mapping to get from SW to points NW; the one way streets that aren’t always predictable, two way streets that at some block turn into one way streets and not in the direction I am driving still throw me off, make me a tad bit frazzled. However, the more it happens, the more I have come to appreciate the value of a detour.

Going off route has surprised me with unusual homes and buildings with such architectural flair that I’ve circled the block to make sure I saw that, fascinating gardens and front porches that make a row house so distinctly quirky I have to wonder what the neighbors think, sculptures and murals that pop up so unexpectedly that that loud snapping sound would be my neck doing a 360 swivel. It’s creativity in passing motion being recorded in me. But beyond the detours of the road are other diversions that take us the long way around back to center. Being led away from my collage work by a camera and other personal distractions has brought me back to them, though my perspective has shifted greatly.

I find myself engaged for long periods with pictures in magazines, considering the minute changes in the same photograph printed at various sizes, pondering the connection between the two.

Confronted with something different by choice or not, forces the eyes open, challenges the mind, jostles the senses. We become more aware, rearrange the thought process and hopefully are pleasantly surprised, even when it’s just a little thing. Take the earrings in the picture. I am not at all attracted to crocheted jewelry. When I saw them, I knew immediately how they were made but was drawn to them anyway. Red lipstick glamour, brass beads and bracelets, mysterious beauty -- a sensual rush passed through me when I put them on. And as sure as I sit here adorned in them right this very second know that jockeying around the marathon to get to Boveda, an incredible oasis I frequent that makes even the stuffiest woman take a turn towards the bohemian goddess in her, was a detour that indeed rerouted me in more ways than one.
 
So as you head out each day, go another way and be sure to…

keep your peepers open!®

Boveda is located at 3165 Mount Pleasant Street, NW, Washington, DC…you will start on a journey from the instant you take the last step at the top of the stairs…