Covert Operations

So I've been planning a blog post since last week that is just about complete.  It just requires a photo to illustrate my point.
Problem is, I need to photograph something that isn't mine; but it's something that you see in public all the time.  I want to accomplish this in a covert fashion since I don't want to offend anyone or make strangers question why I am taking a photo of their.......
I can't seem to find the right time or place, there are always people around.  When I tried to do this yesterday, everywhere I looked....people.  
My son said that if I wanted to take a sneaky photo I really should turn off the loud camera shutter sound on my phone. But, it seems I cannot take silent photos with my phone.
I'll just keep trying, and if you see a middle-aged woman lurking suspiciously around a parking lot with a noisy camera phone, that's me.