an afternoon in wheaton

Nothing like a bright sunny weekday afternoon walking around Downtown Wheaton. The air's warm and the bright colors of all the stores pop out at you so much that when you get home and fix up your photos you turn the saturation ALL THE WAY UP. "Ethnic diversity!" Scream the bright store displays. "Small-town quirkiness!" Or, in a fit of desperation, "Please come in and buy something!" It makes the heart warm.

Ridiculous store hours seem like a necessity at any comic book shop worth its salt. I don't know why. It adds character. Unfortunately, Barbarian Comics' website lists slightly more regular operating times. They're still closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, though.

Friend of JUTP and awesomer photographer than I Chip Py told me about this place called Pho Comida Tipica. Tyler Cowen may say all the best Vietnamese food is in Northern Virginia, but I don't think it comes with salsa there.

While Video Movie Liquidators is closing up for good next week, Wheaton won't be without adult entertainment so long as Cadmus II is open. Newsstand, you say? Can I get the New York Times here, like a sexy, 21-and-over Times?

Gender roles are strictly enforced at Telvis Restaurant on Grandview Avenue. Or the painter didn't want to put a male dishwasher on the window. Hey, sex sells, or at least it would if they had any waitresses.

Click here to see the full photoset, or scroll down to check out a nifty slideshow.