Greensboro Daily Photo

FINS Car Wash of the Carolinas

FINS  is a car wash taking the Carolinas  by storm. The two  we  have seen are in the northern  end of Greensboro,  one on north Battleground  and another on New Garden  Road.  Fins was created by the American  Automobile Association  of the Carolinas. The one photographed is the FINS on  North  Battleground  near Earth  Fare.   FINS joins  a long line of car  washes that have wash clubs, allowing unlimited washing for top wash  club members. If you belong to  AAA,  you get a  membership discount at Fins.

Business  happens  in spurts  at these car washes.  You  can bet Saturday  afternoons are super busy;  Tuesday  mornings, not so much!  After a snow and people need to get the corrosive salt  off of  their cars,  car washes are packed.  Battleground Avenue  seems to have a  lot of car  washes with  service  options ranging  from all  automated to lots of hand detailing.  As with most things, there is something for everybody!  Have  a great weekend and, just maybe,  consider getting a car wash!

Tree Pruning

Now is the time when just about everything is dormant in Greensboro, except maybe those hellebores  that are chomping at the bit to  bloom.  The above photo show a  home at Katie Drive where some tree work is being done.  It is the perfect  time to check the health  of trees  and to  prune them  as  needed.  When no  leaves are  on  the trees, it is easy to  see  where trimming is needed. Most tree companies have arborists  who are trained to  help you maintain  the health  of the trees on your property. They can  determine whether the best choice is to preserve, trim, or remove,  so that you don't have  the dreadful  of clearing a tree that has done  damage. From canopy to  roots,  and everything  in  between, every  part of a tree plays a crucial part  in helping it stay healthy.

Do you  have trees in your yard? Is  there anywhere you could plant a tree or two. After all, trees go  a long way  to helping  birds and other animals thrive. Trees help  keep the green  in Greensboro. This thought evokes a Chinese proverb...  "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The  second best time is  now. "

Gate City Station

Today's photo  of the Gate City Station was taken from the J.Douglas Galyon Depot. The building houses the  downtown Experiential School. The building also  houses  the corporate offices of the Gate City Candy  Factory. It  is nice to  see this building preserved and attracting businesses and  non-profits. It  looks  especially  beautiful against  the  blue sky on  Sunday morning.  Other  than  the bare  small  trees to  the right, it is hard  to  tell  that  the photo was taken in January.

The  flags in front of the transportation  depot  reveal  that, while  sunny, the day was windy! Also, Sunday predictably is  a very  quiet day for the area. It is amazing what one can  figure out by  studying a photo.

By Train from the J. Douglas Galyon Depot

Greensboro is known as Gate City because we were the hub of so much rail transporting of commerce throughout the state and south. Above is the train depot downtown, the J. Douglas Galyon Depot. This past weekend, a carbon footprint-conscious family member of ours opted to take Amtrak to Raleigh as opposed to driving. She reported that the ride was fabulous, the train was not very busy (unfortunately) and that the round trip cost was about $30. When you consider purchasing gas, the stress of driving to Raleigh on I-40, fighting traffic once there, and paying to park, $30 sounds pretty good. Shared transportation is increasingly a viable option these days, especially with ride services like Uber and Lyft upon arrival at your final destination. Also, you can take your bike on the Amtrak train if you want to bike upon arrival.

Imagine planning a day trip to a nearby city, going with friends by train, maybe even traveling with your bookclub, scout troop, biking or running group. The more we start using public transportation, the more it will be available to us. That sounds like a good New Year's resolution. Happy Tuesday! Happy Point A to Point B. Look how clean and pretty the depot is. Grab your softest blanket and let's ride!

Greensboro Skyline

Today's photo features a downtown Greensboro skyline, anchored by the iconic Jefferson Standard/Pilot/Lincoln Financial Group building on the left. The photo was taken yesterday from the entrance to the J, Douglas Galyon Depot on East Washington Street. How nice to see that Vera Weinfield's mural, Tough Love, is still on display. The building hosting the mural was slated to be torn down two years ago.* Together, the sunny blue sky in the background and the colorful mural in the foreground really help frame Greensboro's skyline.

Stop back tomorrow and we'll take you inside the train depot. In the meantime, enjoy our great city. If you celebrate The Feast of the Epiphany, Three Kings' Day, you likely know that for Christians, today is the 12th day of Christmas. Happy 6th of January!

*read more, here.

Shalom Community Christian Church

Shalom Community Christian Church is located behind Four Seasons Mall at 2227 Pinecroft Road. It is one of those churches that is a lot bigger than it appears from the front. With the red brick and white steeple, the architecture is very typical of southern churches. 

Shalom is very community oriented and in the summer, they offer a summer academic and enrichment program for children from 4years of age to 8th graders. At only $65 a week, it is very affordable. Churches that reach out to help families with not only their spiritual needs, but also their social, emotional, and academic, are so important to a community. Happy Sunday!

Let's Bowl!

If you are looking for some exercise centered around family fun, consider bowling. It is especially fun in the winter when weather affects outdoor sports. Bowling is a great family activity and can be played by people at all ages.

The above photo was taken at Triad Lanes on Oak Branch, off Wendover, across the street from Carmax. Bowling hours are open day and night. Triad Lanes has an early bird special for those who like to bowl Sunday mornings. If you bowl a lot, you may want to invest in a ball. You can get fitted for the perfect finger holes and weight. Also, shoe rental is $4.00, so, if you bowl a lot, you may want to purchase shoes. Bowling is an NCAA sport for women and scholarships are available. In Greensboro, NC A&T has a very competitive women's bowling team. If you ever want to watch them practice, they practice at AMF All Star Lanes on Holden Road.

Happy New Year! Consider heading to the bowling alley!

Breaking Up Christmas

The twelve days of Christmas will officially come to a close on January 6th. North Carolina is known for having "Breaking up Christmas" music and dance parties.*  The above event was last-night's, first-Thursday, old-time jam at Horigan's House of Taps at the corner of South Elm and Lewis Street. The jam, organized by the Piedmont Old-Time Society, is open to acoustic, string-band style instrument players at all levels of expertise.

Often, friends and partners who don't play music sit on the sidelines socializing or participating in some kind of craft. Greensboro is lucky that the old-time society has these events and that Horigan's is welcoming to people passionate about a style of music that has been in North Carolina since the Scots-Irish immigrated here in the 1700s.

You still have a few days to plan your own Breaking Up Christmas party for next Monday!

* Read here if you want to know more about the history of the event.

Greensboro Daily Photo: On to Year 12

Today starts Year 12 on Greensboro Daily Photo. We've completed 11 years of posting a photo a day without missing a single day! Eleven years amounts to 4,015 photos and paragraphs floating around the internet, sharing the beauty of our great city. It is such a joy to stay connected to the people, places, and events of Greensboro through this volunteer, labor of love. If you ever have ideas for photos or things to post, please contact us through our gmail account (greensborodailyphoto with the @gmail.com).

We love hearing from you and getting your ideas about what to photograph in the community. Please share the website with family and friends, anyone who is interested in keeping up with our great city (greensborodailyphoto.com). Happy New Year! We look forward to another year of exploring our community and sharing it with you. Thank you for being a loyal reader.

Love, Janis and David

The Best of 2019: Picture Perfect Night in Downtown Greensboro

 

Happy New Year! January 1st is the day the City Daily Photo community encourages participants to select their best photo from 2019. For Greensboro, we've selected this scene from LeBauer Park. The photo says so much about our city. The art overhead really helps define the space. Below, you see people from all neighborhoods coming together to watch a move on the big screen. This move was made possible through collaboration with UNCG. Greensboro has so many free events available to the community; events and public spaces contribute to the strength of a city.

As we look back over the year on Greensboro Daily Photo, we are reminded of all of the beautiful houses, the natural beauty of the city, the buildings and businesses, the educational institutions, the art, the weather and so much more. Even with 365 photos and paragraphs, we only begin to scratch the surface of all that is good in our city. In the end, it is the people who make Greensboro such a great place to live. Below, we've linked to twelve photos that are especially memorable. If you have time, please click through and have a visit. Thank you for reading and following GDP. Happy New Year. Here's to a great year to you, personally and to Greensboro as well!

January: The Ice Storm Cometh

February: The NC A&T Four

March: Firefighters from Station 21 

April: World Irish Dance Championship

May: Evening in LeBauer Park 

June: Summer Solstice Festival

July: Preservation Greensboro Tour of Lindley Park

August: MUSEP Free Concerts in the Parks

September: North Carolina Folk Festival

October: Reconsidered Goods Event Space

November: Kathy Clark and the Really, Really Free Market

December: The Running of the Balls