it's the end of June and pouring rain in the capital city...

...which is extremely unusual, so I am sitting in my office with the door open allowing the smell of the wet pavement to fill the room.  All I hear is the intermittent thunder, the drops of rain hitting the ground, and the occasional truck driving by the warehouse--it's very slow today.  The smell of the moist pavement mixed with my cup of steeping honey lemon tea has put me in a leisurely mood, and as a result has led me to discover this site in my distracted state:

eerie ghost towns with stories and photos

So far there are eighteen pages of former amusements parks, asylums, castles, farms, highways...

Abandonment can be so beautiful.  Strictly speaking of structural abandonment, of course. 

I have always been fascinated by deserted antique buildings that are now overgrown with vegetation, inhabited only by wildlife and insects.  Imagine walking through one of the old, grand hospitals or theaters featured on the site.  When scrolling through the photos and skimming their accompanying stories, I could picture how great the places were in their prime, bustling with activity.  Like Old Hollywood, many could be restored, but will unlikely ever return to their former glory.  Mmm, nutella and graham crackers...sorry, 'food Tourette's.'  Clearly this weather has temporarily made me forget that it is in fact bikini season.

{all photos via fuckyeahghosttowns.tumblr}