I Comend your Spirit. Your conclusion was quite an inspiration.
as per the photography....oh the stories I could tell.
One notable tale is my being waved off from making a few photographs of collectable cars in a parking lot. The lot was visible from the street and sidewalk where I remained to make said images. The Management of the car dealer to which the lot belonged explained that If Id wanted to “take pictures” I should have ASKED first. Imagine.
The one thing the property owner can do is not allow you to use pictures of his property to make money especially if his property is a good part of the overall picture.
He has no right whatsoever to tell you that you can not take pictures of his building, cars, etc. as long as you are off his property.