Welcome to My Island! A Photo Tour of the 1 Mile Radius Around My House.

Recently, I've been staying pretty close to home. In fact, based on my high-tech Fitbit, I can guarantee that I've spent 99.5% of my time within a one-mile radius of my house. Having spent so much time here the past few months, I thought it would be fitting to give you a tour of my special little island filled with highlights from my town.

The first stop on our tour is the public elementary school! Nothing cheers you up like remembering the days of nap time and eating glue, things you rarely have time for now. Think back to when recess was required, and your mom packed your lunch and let yourself feel that head-rush.

Next on the tour is the abandoned park. In 20 years of living in my house, I have never seen children on this playground. Is it haunted?  Probably. Really? Well, it has a rotating tulip chair thing, so it can't be that bad, but still, what went wrong with this park? The abandoned park is one of the great unsolved town mysteries and makes my suburban streets something of a ghost town.

This trash can is the very trash can that I used to throw dog poop into each time I walked my friend's dog with her. Despite the low top, making the can somewhat inaccessible (see the blue bag of dog poop peaking out of the top), this trash can was there when I needed it unlike so many others in this cruel world.

The Masonic Temple is one of the historic sites of my home town. Named after George Washington and looking vaguely pencil-shaped, this bad boy confuses all the tourists. If you love hearing people ask, "Is that the Washington Monument?," this is the place for you. It happens all the time! While unfortunately, the life-sized George Washington animatronic has recently been removed because it was "too creepy," this site still has a lot to offer.

Ready for another nostalgia jolt? It's the public library! Despite years of storytimes and summer reading challenges, you are still rendered illiterate after every school break. With limited hours due to COVID, this stop is sure to be closed every time you try to go there. To top it all off, because they are quarantining returned materials, you'll be sure to see that the movie you returned on time 3 days ago is now marked "overdue" on your online account because it hasn't been checked in yet. 

The final stop on our tour is the spot where I broke my friend's arm. It was a bike accident and was NOT on purpose (I swear). This historic site is the reason I'm not allowed to ride bikes anymore and thus am forced to walk my neighborhood rather than ride.

It may not be big, but my little island has something for everyone: history, culture, tradition, and mystery. I hope you enjoyed the tour. Any questions?