Hidden Beauty & Unnoticed Oddities

February 28, 2012, Washington, DC: We tend to see it when we travel, but not so much when we return back home. Hidden beauty just around the corner. Unnoticed oddities right under our noses. Rarities we tend to forget are not the norm as they gradually become a steady part of our everyday scene. We notice these things away from home. We're less observant back on familiar ground. Take Capitol Hill: It is full of images and people and scenes that fall far outside the bounds of normal...

...Like the pack of 30 marines who run by Monday morning as I step out my front door. And the bugle I hear coming from the barracks that night through an open window while cooking dinner. You wouldn't necessarily expect it here.

...Like the man in a bow tie who pedaled by this afternoon on his way home from the office. It's not every place professionals in suits commute by bike to work.

...Like the evening sun that bounces through the trees around the corner. We take for granted the green here; we forget other cities are marked by far more cement.

At night, we don't hear airplanes living here in restricted airspace. Instead we hear helicopters carrying VIPs. On Sunday mornings, we go for walks among landmarks, trying to take note of it all, as if we are traveling.

What are the rare elements, offbeat quirks or strikingly beautiful facets of your hometown that you tend to overlook?