Mermaids (still) on Parade

The girls are on spring break this week and somehow, I haven't been as pro-active as I need to be in keeping us occupied with activities.  The fact is, I'm tye-red. Not tired, tye-red. My groove has been off since daylight savings and we sprung forward.  Losing that hour has really knocked me off kilter. I'm out of orbit, out of sync, out of joint, and out to lunch.  It wasn't that I didn't know that spring break was coming. It just caught me off guard, like when you think you've got a few sheets left on the roll and really, you don't have a square to spare. 

Anyway, seeing as at the end of this summer, we are going to be pulling up stakes here in the Tidewater area, I figured it was time to wrap up this mermaid quest once and for all.  We haven't gone mermaid spotting since last July.  In that time, I've spotted two new ones.  

This one is by Mystic Mermaid, and the owner of the shop calls her "Annie", as in "Orphan Annie", since no one will buy her or decorate her.  Morgan was quick to offer up my wallet to shoulder the burden, but thankfully, I was able to cough up my rote "I left my wallet in the car" response to quell that foolishness.  Besides, we all know how I feel about arts and crafts.  Crafting up a mermaid? Hold on while I sell this ice cream cone to an Eskimo. 

This one is over by Sentara Leigh Hospital.  It's like her hand is in VA Beach and her tail is in Norfolk. 

I also decided to go for two that were affixed to the sides of buildings.  We've driven past them time and again, and there really wasn't a valid reason not to include them on our tour.  They're just up really high. True, there are two others that we missed (one on the Scope marquee and one precariously close to the Waterside Overpass).  I didn't think investing in ropes, anchors and carabiners for a few frames was worth it.

 

This one, Techno Maid, I had spied through an office window over the years as I drove through town.  I had never seen anyone go in or out of the building. I didn't know what was going on in there, but I thought, "The answer if no, if you don't ask." I'd go in, state my case, pushing the girls forward with their big pleading eyes and we'd get our shot.  I hadn't expected to need a swipe card to get in the building.  Luckily, someone had propped the door.  Still, it wasn't easy.  The elevator worked by swipe card.  The stairwells worked by swipe card (SN: isn't that a fire hazard? What if there's a fire and you can't use the elevator? What if the power goes out? You're stuck).  Anyway, a few employees were out smoking some butts and were kind enough to let us hitch up to the second floor.

  The whole office building smelled like something was burning, stale air, and lethargy.  When the elevators opened to the second floor, there was a herd of office chairs and several pyramids of overstuffed file boxes. The guy that let us up insisted on standing there, watching us while we took the photos, even though he assured us it was alright to do so. Judging by the closed postures of the girls, I wasn't the only one picking up on the weirdness.  We hustled out of there so fast, the meter I had fed hadn't even rolled over. 

No doubt, I'll happen across another mermaid before we leave.  Truthfully, I hope I do.  It's been a fun junket, taking the girls around and amassing this little collection.  I finally took the Norfolk Mermaid poster to get framed and plan to hang it up with the girls' favorite picture from our adventures.  What I enjoy most about flipping through the mini album we've created is seeing how the girls have changed over the course of the past few years (the outfit that Coever is wearing in these pictures, Morgan was wearing last summer).  

When we started, this whole thing was just a way to fill up our summer days and learn about the city in which we lived.  Now, it's a sweet reminder of the time we've had in Norfolk; a time when we didn't have anything to rush for, except be the first to shout, "There goes a mermaid!"