Thanks to a tipoff about the ultra-cool website
Atlas Obscura, we went exploring in College Park, Maryland. The website lists weird attractions that the chamber of commerce may not even be aware of.
The first spot we went to was actually in Hyattsville, Maryland. It's an art house called
Vanadu.
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| Vanadu, the house |
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| Identifier |
The name is based on Xanadu, the name for Kublai Khan's ancient, magnificient city referenced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem
Kubla Khan. The first line is famous: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure-dome decree". The yard is full of old, odd items and recycled metal bits.
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| The god Mercury? |
The "Van" in Vanadu is also a reference to the owner's small fleet of cars that are decorated in the same style.
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| Okay, so it's a bus and not a van |
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| My son gives a thumb's up |
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| Side view |
The cars are still road-worthy and the owner uses them to get places.
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| Duckhead detail |
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| There's the van |
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| Needs more stuff on it |
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| A station wagon |
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| Bumper with stickers |
Not too far away is the
Hand and Owl Tree Carving on the Anacostia Tributary Trail in College. It was crafted by a local chain-saw artist. The hand was supposed to have five fingers but that part of the ash tree (which had fallen down before the artist worked on it) was rotten. The owl perches on the thumb and the middle finger is a pine tree.
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| Hand and Owl Tree Carving |
Our final stop looks mundane from the outside--the
Mom's Organic Market in College Park.
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| Only slightly peculiar for a grocery store |
As customers enter, a seating lounge on the left looks like it's for the patrons who just bought something at the bakery/coffee counter right next to it.
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| Also not peculiar |
At the end of the lounge is a door to the left, leading into a
pinball parlor!
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| A row of awesome machines |
The parlor is serious business, with a set of rules on the wall.
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| Pinballaw |
The games run from classics to franchise/IP machines. The first one we tried was a Batman game based on the 1960s live-action TV show.
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| Great scott, Batman! |
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| The table |
I tried the Creature from the Black Lagoon game.
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| Gilman is coming! |
The kids enjoyed playing too.
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| One of many Marvel-themed machines |
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| Helping his uncle out |
The trip was a lot of fun and we will be using
Atlas Obscura some more.
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