August 2014 Theme Day: Takeaway Store

Today is the first of the month, which means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers! This month's theme is takeaway store. I had to ask my English, Scottish and Australian friends for clarification, since it's not a term we use here in the U.S. It turns out that there's a lot of room for interpretation, but basically a takeaway store is an establishment that sells food or drinks that are not necessarily meant to be consumed on site. My first thought was to photograph a food truck owned by my friends Kevin and Aaron, but since I didn't have time for that I decided to go with a much larger corporation. Yes, we're all familiar with Starbucks! I know that many people enjoy whiling away an hour or two in their local Starbucks, but I'm willing to bet that a much higher percentage of customers, myself included, prefer to take their drinks "to go".  As for me, I occasionally drink Starbucks coffee but I'm not a huge fan. (True fact: all I ever order is a tall decaf!) However you may feel about the brand, there's no denying that the green siren logo is here to stay. (Another true fact: according to THIS, there are 34 Starbucks stores in Colorado Springs. That's a lot.)

For more takeaway store images from CDP bloggers all over the world (lots of great interpretations of the theme this month!), click HERE.

All of this and nothing

I caught this homeless couple and their dog crossing Hancock Avenue on Monday evening. What must it be like to be able to fit all of your worldly possessions into a single shopping cart?

Hank the Cowboy

Here's a street level view of Hank the Cowboy reading local newspaper the Gazette Telegraph (now known simply as the Gazette). I was a passenger in the back seat of a car when I snapped this photo at what is fondly known as Busy Corner,  Pikes Peak and Tejon. The character of Hank the Cowboy was first created in 1939 to promote the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, and this modern day incarnation was forged by Colorado artist Rusty Phelps and dedicated in August of 1997. I think he adds a lot of character to our downtown.

Dogs love trucks

This cute little pup looked so happy to be riding around with his humans, of course I had to ask for a picture :^) 

Peloton

Members of a local cycling club make their way southward on Tejon last Wednesday evening. I know exactly where they were headed: McCabe's Tavern, which is also where you can usually find me on Wednesday nights for pub quiz!

Mr. P

Who is this bloke, and why does he look so serious? I give you Zebulon Montgomery Pike, noted explorer and the namesake of Pikes Peak, the very large mountain that looms over our city. I cannot tell you why he looks so serious, but maybe it's because he (rather ironically) never made it to the summit of the 14,110 foot high mountain that bears his name. I don't really know very much about old Zeb, though it seems like practically everything here is named after him! (Those things that aren't are named after the Air Force Academy.) Here's something interesting: in googling him I stumbled across the fact that there is a Pikes Peak in Iowa! Who knew?!? I'm pretty sure it's not as tall as our Pikes Peak ;^)

Alas, there are no photographs of Mr. Pike, since he lived before photography was invented. By the way, Zeb died rather spectacularly, in Canada of all places -- you can find a brief account of his demise (and a nice portrait of him) HERE. And if you care to see this statue of him with your own two eyeballs, you can find it at 270 S. Tejon Street.

Untitled

The cupola of the Pioneers Museum captured in the early evening of Wednesday, July 23rd (precisely 6:40pm to be exact, if you have faith in the accuracy of the clock). I know I feature the Pioneers Museum here on the blog quite a lot, but I happen to like the old grande dame. Below, a wide view of her in all her summer glory.