Road Trip!

I randomly decided that I wanted to go on a mini road-trip this weekend...so I grabbed Tara and headed out to West Texas where there is nothing but dirt, antiques, and stars.

We started for Glen Rose which is about an hour southwest of Fort Worth. Letting Tara drive was a little nerve wrecking, but I wanted to enjoy the scenery....or lack thereof. It was nothingness for miles and miles. Such a difference from my everyday view of the city, which I love and don't ever want to give up, but it was a nice breath of fresh air. Literally.

After some antiquing and walking around, we almost checked into the haunted Glen Hotel but decided we didn't want to wake up early to get back to church Sunday morning. We left at about seven o'clock and started driving to Mineral Wells which was only supposed to be another hour away buuuut two city girls driving in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black = slow driving. In the town of (I can't even remember the name) with a population of 458 I pulled over to the side of the gravel road and turned off the car.

I honestly can't put into words how amazing the stars were.

Alone and cold, I looked up and saw the same exact stars I saw at the family reunion ten years ago. The same ones that made me feel like I could jump into space. The same ones that made me fall in love with the night sky. But not the same ones I saw in Pennsylvania...

As Tara sat in the car complaining, I stood outside in awe. Five minutes. That small time frame was all I had to soak up their light. I love the city with all my heart, but I honestly think I could give up every mall, fast food joint, and movie theatre just to see those stars every single night for the rest of my life.

We had to press onward so we could get to Mineral Wells and try to break into the condemned and haunted Baker Hotel....and of course we didn't even get in because Tara was too scared and my camera died after only a few shots :(

Heading home, tired but refreshed, I still looked out the window every ten seconds until I started to swerve off the road. Forty minutes outside of Fort Worth, the stars started to fade along with my smile.

Road trip!!! I so excited!!

And so is Tara!!


The amazing nothingness of Texas

The reception desk at the haunted Glen Hotel

Every good Texan has a picture with the Fossil Rim Dinosaurs. I have one from when I was 8 and now I have one as an adult. Yayy

There are fossils in those rocks!

I vividly remember floating down this river with my younger brother at my side...and my wonderful father thirty feet ahead of us -_-

I told Tara to feed the deer an empty Jack In The Box taco wrapper...he didn't fall for it...

I found a crazy looking abandoned house on the side of the road

I'm assuming the house was hit by a tornado since it's missing part of the roof

Good ol' Texas sunset

The creepiest/coolest place in West Texas: The Baker Hotel

When this first happened I knew I didn't have anything in front of the lens....so I took another...

...and a freaking hand appeared........

I promptly ran back to the car where Tara was hiding.

A candle I bought from the lady that owns the Glen Hotel

Granny's Backyard Glory

The other night, I decided to sleep with my window open because my room smelled like acrylic paints and super glue. When ten o'clock rolled around, my eyes fluttered open to a breeze on my cheek and the sound of birds chirping happily at the unusual warm weather...it was heaven. As I lay there, soaking in the warmth, the inspiration hit me to go out for my first shoot in Texas with my own camera. It's the strangest feeling trying to find beauty in what was once the most mesmerizing place of your childhood. My Granny's backyard was where pirate ships were sailed, fortresses were established, and the game of chase was never tiring. Here I was, twenty years old, looking at the yard from an entirely new perspective. Memories rushing in my head representing the past, signs of change and decay in front of my eyes representing the present, and new pictures on my camera representing the future. What a great way to start the day.

Fred the frog.

My cousins and I used to sit on him.

Me in my window.

Grandad's leeks that will not die even though Granny has mowed over them dozens of times...

Stealing My Own Camera

I FINALLY GOT MY OWN CAMERA............
Bought it from Dan, went to Philadelphia to pick it up, and had the best time of my life using it to take pictures of such an unfamiliar place. The city and the river (in which I fell...) both had such amazing sights, it wasn't hard to capture them on camera.

The dome ceiling in the Ben Franklin Institute

(Taken by Dan)

These apartments look like a beehive...metaphorical, no?

A shattered glass door

Me and the random mosaic murals that are all over Philly (taken by Dan)

Dan after putting on Burt's Bees hehehe...

A telephone pole with staples from hundreds of lost puppy signs

A staircase leading to the basement of the record store on South Street

Dan and The Strokes

Our shoes

The river was half ice and half running water

C'est moi (taken by Dan)

Dan's feetsees

The random bamboo growing in the middle of Pennsylvania....the scratches look like kanji writings.

The ceiling of Senorita Burrita in Lancaster

Kitty cats!!