52Frames Unexplored Weekly Photo Challenge

This week's photo challenge was “unexplored.” I needed to find a place where we have never been before and hope to find a decent image. The new Frederick Douglass bridge located next to the Nationals Stadium in SE Waterfront in DC opened last year. It is supposed to have walking and bike lanes to get you to the other side in to Anacostia where there is a park. When we got there however, the area was still under road construction that made it impossible to even get near the bridge. At least the old bridge had been removed so the new structure was in clear view. So we walked along the waterfront and tried to get a few options from afar. The images turned out okay, but I was hoping to get something from the middle of the bridge as we were crossing over. So we took another trip last week to Old Town Alexandria to visit the Wilkes Street Tunnel. It served as a train tunnel during the Civil War and has since been converted to a pedestrian path. What was interesting about this option was that a stranger did appear in the tunnel while we were there and that made for a more interesting atmosphere - especially since this week’s extra credit was to include a stranger in the photo. Even though there were technically better pictures I decided to submit the tunnel with the stranger - just because it looked to tell a story. That always seems to make the photos more memorable - but probably not enough to get noticed. After all, there are over 3000 participants in this photo challenge every week. I was lucky enough to get a BEST 52 one week last year. I don’t think that will happen again - especially since my camera is an iPhone 8 Plus! 

Wilkes Street Tunnel in Old Town Alexandria

We have been by it several times but never explored it. The Wilkes Street tunnel in Old Town Alexandria was always fascinating to look at from the car. We took a ride to Old Town this week for a morning walk and to be on the look out for a photo option for the 52Frames challenge. We usually start at the waterfront and head towards the south side of town. When we got to the park the tunnel was within a reasonable distance. So rather than take our usual route back, we decided to explore the area. It was very interesting. Apparently the train tunnel has been around since 1856 and was used during the Civil War and WWI to connect Washington DC to Richmond. The tracks were removed in the 1970’s and a walking path was created. Some say it is haunted - I’m glad I didn’t know that while visiting! What we heard was a lot of birds chirping and building nests inside the rocks. The tunnel is well lighted and is quite long. I’m glad we finally had the chance to see it. So we returned back to our car via Royal street wondering how life was like back in the day. Old Town is really a great place to observe history. What do you think went on in that tunnel all those years ago!