Just Another Sunday Stroll: Biking Around Patterson Park

I finally got to go biking on Tuesday! In case you weren't aware, my original intention for this project was to bike EVERYWHERE and take pictures of murals that way. Unfortunately, many of the neighborhoods were a little dangerous for biking (either because they were, well, dangerous or the streets were too busy). The day got off to a rough start because we were missing a small bolt that attached the bike rack to the car and my parents had to make two separate trips to two different stores to find it-- thanks mom and dad!
Here is a photo of me at the first mural. We parked across the street from it and biked through to the other side of Patterson Park. Note the fire decal on the bike. This is NOT my bike. My bike got stolen when I was taking a class at Georgetown next summer, but I WILL be getting a new bike before I go to college (as a late birthday present).

And we're off...
This first photo is for my mom.

I on the other hand was fascinated by the port-a-potties. In this park they had fences (albeit with a star and moon) around them or were simply tethered to a tree.

It's funny how many familiar sights I saw. First there was Matthew's Pizza which my family's first cleaning lady took us to (maybe because her friend owned it or she waitressed there) years and years ago. And then my mom pointed out the Patters Theatre where my parents went to see my "on-site supervisor" preform at a cabaret night.

And then there was Koko Market. My Arabic teacher showed my class an article featuring the store (http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=17820), but marketed it to us as a music store. He suggested we check it out so one Saturday morning I headed downtown... In actuality Koko Market is, well, a market (as its name implies) which just happens to sell some Arabic music and DVDs. Don't get me wrong, there was Arabic food and religious merchandise available for purchase but there are many typical products as well. So when my dad said he was thirsty when we were looking at a mural in Greek town, I remembered Koko Market. My mom insisted that I go in and speak Arabic with the shop owner, but I stayed outside and watched the bikes instead. The last time I went I was extremely embarrassed because the owner and I could hardly understand each other (in my defense he was Egyptian, thus speaking in dialect while I study Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)) and I consciously hid my arm so that I wouldn't have to explain my tattoo Allahu-Akbar to him-- after all spandex yoga pants don't exactly fall under the guidelines of hijab.

As we were bike riding in Patterson Park we came across the park's swimming pool which I immediately recognized. A few summers ago I had gone there when I volunteered at the kids' summer camp at Paul's Place.

But let's get to the murals. RPCS was represented at one of the murals, if only on a car parked in front of it.

The artist's style on this mural reminded me of a book I used to read when I was little. The book was Strega Nona by the artist Tomie dePaola. In fact the resemblance between the figures is uncanny.

This mural was still in progress! Since the mural was on the side of a busy underpass, the artist used orange cones to block on the outer lane. I wonder if he asked for permission from the city...

I was disappointed that this mural in Greek town had been desecrated.

On our way back to the car we found this run down shop covered in artwork. It always amazes me that there can be so much vacant space in Baltimore. In India there were squatters everywhere. People lived on the sidewalk not because they were to poor to find shelter, but because there was no room in any shelter.

I liked how this mural blended into its surroundings, but I can't help but wonder: yes, the mural makes the area more beautiful, but wouldn't a real house with a real family been even better? I can't help but think that art can only go so far in restoring a community.