All good things must come to an end, a phrase that dates back to 1374, and one that I am pretty sure applies to us and our quest to find the Mermaids on Parade. I have to admit, it’s been a good run. We’ve found 29 mermaids, not including the three that were missing, and the nine that we couldn’t reach due to their perch on the side of buildings. Altogether that makes 41 mermaids.

And then, I spotted one more today. I was conflicted for a brief second about whether or not to point it out to the girls because we were on a tight schedule today already. The mermaid was on the opposite side of the street from us and traffic was already slowing down, and clogging up due to some road work. Still, I said, “There’s a mermaid! Look out Co’s window!” and the girls squealed and giggled. Yet, neither one of them asked to stop. I guess the promise of the cool embrace of Target was far greater than any chipped, sun-faded mermaid in the blistering heat. Of course, I may in fact swing by them by there at another time because knowing me and my anal retentive personality, that mermaid will be my own personal great white whale. I can just see it now. . .me, handing the girls their own copies of our mermaid adventure book and having that niggling itch in the back of my mind about the one I just didn’t get.

Jealous Mistress in the Monticello Arcade
Go Diva (look at her tail) in the MacArthur Center

DH came home early this day and the family went on some errands. I have been looking for this particular mermaid on two other occasions as she used to be housed on the median of Granby Street across from the medical center. Anyway, we’re driving down Granby, headed downtown and something tells me to just scan the sidewalks as we approach. Nothing, nothing, nothing and then right as we pull up to the intersection, BAM! I see it. And I yell, “There it is! Pull over! Pull over!” and DH is like, “Huh? What?” We almost clip a Norfolk City Bus, and we definitely tangled up the lanes behind us, but hey! I promised my girls mermaids, as many as we can find. Guess that means we’ll be going back to VA Beach Boulevard after all. . .

Would you believe that we’ve found about 25 mermaids since starting this project just a few weeks ago. They seem to be multiplying as we go along. Either that or I just never knew how many were truly sprinkled around the city. Just when I think we’ve found as many as we have been able to, one more pops up. There are three more that I can snap photos of with the girls.

In addition to the ones I’ve posted, there are at least a dozen more that we’ve seen that we have been unable to photograph due to their precarious positions affixed to the sides of and roofs of buildings. When we were driving today, we passed by one mermaid that is situated on top of the rolling marquee of the Scope. Both Mo and Co shouted, “Mommy! There’s a mermaid!” and I was tempted to fish my camera out of my bag and snap a shot while we idled at the red light, but safety and better judgement won out. When Mo asked why we couldn’t see that one, I told her that there are some mermaids that are just out of reach and there wouldn’t be any place for her or Co to stand in order to see it. Not five minutes later, as we drove through town, Co called our attention to a mermaid sitting atop a consignment shop on 21st Street. “Mermaid, Mommy!” she called. Mo promptly replied, “We can’t see it Co, there’s no place for us to stand!” It’s like having my own little voice recorder. Hey, at least she’s paying attention.

Well, the girls are enjoying some quality time with the grands in Maryland this week, but before I packed them up and shipped them out, we had a banner day on our search for mermaids. We found seven of those sculptures!! Seven! I know, right?

I knew that there were at least four within a six block radius from our old apartment downtown. Now, I’m extremely competitive and I really wanted to see how many mermaids we could find and photograph before we were in the express lane for MeltDown City. Plus, we were planning to eat lunch — for the second time — at Costco with my mom, while we stocked up on Duggar Family sized bags of chicken nuggets, snacks and assorted sundries.

So, we’ve got about an hour to seek out these mermaids during what was arguably the hottest day of the week at the hottest time of day. My stomach is touching my back I’m so hungry and yet, I’m hot-footing it through downtown Norfolk pushing two stroller bound toddler that are cramming Goldfish into their mouths. Sadly, no one got a picture of that. But, here’s what we did see. . .

Flower Garden on Tazewell Street
(notice her broken hand)

Whew! It’s fitting that the last one we saw was the Flower Garden because it’s located in front of the apartment building we lived in when we first moved to Norfolk. And, the girls had just about had it when we reached this one, hence the somber faces. I really thought they were going to crash out in the car, but they stayed with me as we cruised on over to Costco. Once inside, they proceeded to inhale, imbibe, and ingest every free sample those little white-hair netted ladies pushed in their direction. And then, on the way out, they had the nerve to ask me for some snacks! Mo and Co, not the white haired ladies.

Anyway, while this is a record number for us, there are at least half a dozen more I know we can go paparazzi on. Plus, there are that are affixed to buildings that we can at least point out as we drive by. So, until our next foray, this should tide us over (see what I did there? mermaids, ocean, tide).

Yeah, I’ll sign off now.

I know I shouldn’t be, but I am really surprised at how quickly the girls have taken to this mermaid project. Whenever we get in the car now, the question from the backseat is no longer, “Can we have a snack?” but “Are we going to see some mermaids?”. Don’t get me wrong, the snack requests still persist, but their attention has been diverted at least for a split second.

Trying to get both Mo and Co to look in the same general direction with at least a slight modicum of happiness on their faces has proven difficult. Really, it’s like herding cats. I try to take at least three snaps before their attention is taken by a bird flying by, a dog taking a leak across the street, or the overwhelming interest in their own inhalation and exhalation. They know that when you see a camera, you’re supposed to say “Cheese”, but I’m trying to get them to say other things because their “cheese” elicits these stretched out grimaces. And of course, the volume of “Cheese” is so high, people several blocks away think some dairy goodness is being offered up to the masses. They come rushing out bearing crackers and toasted bread only to be sorely disappointed.

Anyway, we have had much success spotting mermaids in our outings around town. We’re going to try for a record of 7 tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s what we’ve found:

Sea Shimmer on West 21st Street

We were able to snag two mermaids today on our way to swimming lessons, and we were on time!

Summer brings with it a host of must-do activities for families. There are trips to the zoo, to Busch Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, Water Country, the beach and everywhere in between. Still, some really good activities happen right where you live, hence my ambition for this summer.

Chicago has Cows on Parade, and Norfolk, the fair city in which we live, has many, many mermaids. And as for me. . .well, I have to two lovely little ladies who are desperate to join the ranks of the sirens of the sea. So, I thought, well, let’s see how we can blend some summer activities with the toddler fixation du jour. Armed with a copy of There Goes a Mermaid, I jumped on the ‘net and began plotting out where the mermaids are around town and how many mermaids we could find in a given radius. Before I even opened the book, though, I rattled off as many mermaids as I could think of given our drives all around town to the YMCA, school, and the various grocers. I think there are close to 80 mermaids in rotation altogether, but would you believe I came up with about 20?

Anyway, Friday, I took the girls to the zoo to meet some friends. Out in front of the main gate is a mermaid, one from the There Goes a Mermaid book, no less. I had really wanted to flesh out this mermaid project a little more before I told the girls and we began documenting our finds, but hey, no time like the present, right? So I took a photo of the mermaid by itself and one of the girls with it. What I’d like to do is amass a collection of the girls with the mermaids and make a little Shutterfly coffee table book, maybe frame the Norfolk mermaids poster and hang it up with a picture of Mo and Co and their favorite mermaid. All this whilst I clean the house, run my errands, work-out, host several playdates, finish Co’s scrapbook, and do my summer reading for my fall classes. In other words, do this in all my copious free time.

After the zoo, I knew there were two more mermaids that we would pass on the way home. Then I remembered that a friend of DH’s has a mermaid in her backyard and she graciously invited us to come on by anytime to check it out. Four mermaids in one day? Madness you say, but why not, says I! So, even though the girls were hot and tired from the zoo, the prospect of seeing more mermaids up close and personal revved them up. We were perilously close to nap time and I feared that Co would crash hard in the back seat, but I rolled down the windows, tossed some Cheez-its into the back, and turned up the all-day-all-request-Michael-Jackson-tribute-station. I was committed (committable?) to making our first foray a good one.

I think we succeeded.

Catch of the Day at Larchmont Elementary