This trip is whizzing by. We’ve gone from city to city, campground to motel to campground, and I can’t believe it’s already been a week. Of course, I also can’t believe it’s ONLY been a week. If I could express this feeling to you, it would look like this picture taken from the sun roof of Mary’s car (with Kodak film, of course. Kodak Portra 800 to be exact). I’m dizzy with it.
Yesterday we woke up from a shitty motel, after spending the night developing our B&W film and scanning some of our color rolls. Exhausted is an understatement. But it was made up for by meeting Shannon and all of her fabulous kids, and her lovely back yard. She whipped up a perfect lunch for us (I fucking love Caesar Salad) and we ate by her creek and talked about, well, garlic and tampons and all the most inappropriate things that your mom wouldn’t let you say over dinner when you’re growing up. We aren’t appropriate ladies, it would seem. Then her kids came home from school and we were inundated with magic tricks and papers with 100 written at the top and origami masterpieces and smiles peaking around corners and stories about rocks. It was AWESOME. I can’t say enough, but maybe I’ll say some more when I get the negatives developed.
This morning we woke up from a deserted park full of deer, raccoons and owls, only a few RVs held other humans. It was nice. We’ve been taking it easy today. We ate in Bellville, TX at the most amazing bakery that’s named after a CASTLE in TX. Mary’s best donut of her life (I’m sure she has more to say). We couldn’t see the castle today, but it’s on the list for our next trip.
Currently we are in Austin, TX at Thunderbird Coffee enjoying a glass of wine/beer with iced coffee and I had a cranberry/walnut/goat cheese salad, which I’ve been craving for about 4 days. YUM. In a few short minutes we are going to see….
wait for it….
get ready…
OH MY GOD….
…the FIRST PHOTO EVER IN THE WORLD!!!!!! It’s at the University of Texas at Austin, and we are going there and we are going to look at it with our own eyeballs. You have permission to be very jealous right now. Since you can’t be here, and you can’t see this marvel; you can be satisfied with this picture of Mary sitting under a FUCKING RAINBOW in Biloxi, MI. It was taken with Kodak Ektar 100, because it’s good like that. I haven’t had a chance to really fix my images, so forgive/embrace the dust. This is film. It gets dirty, and we kinda love that. -V
Haha, I’m not sure I can top that post. And I’m not going to try. I’ll just agree with everything Val said, and then some.
After waking up in a beyond shitty motel, we explored the little known town of Opalousa, LA. I never heard of it, but its the third oldest city in Louisiana, and the birthplace Zydeco. Who knew? Who knew what a Zydeco was? I sure didn’t, but Val was quick to educate me.
We took photo after photo after photo, and decided that if we wanted to meet Shannon before dark, we’d better be on our way to Texas. I was sad to leave Louisiana, it was nothing what I expected and I quickly fell in love. I’ll be back.
But we had to leave to meet Shannon of Dirt N Kids. She was everything we were expecting and more. I mean, we came in, sat down, and she made us lunch. Lunch! For someone who has been traveling on the road, a free lunch is always welcome, but hers was fucking delicious. Her backyard is amazing, it really is her saving grace. Her kids are lovely and couldn’t wait to show us their rooms and inform us about zombies. (I’ve learned from her two sons how to first identify a zombie, and then properly decapitate it to make sure its really dead)
I was super impressed with her son John’s magic trick. No, seriously. He made a ball disappear from my hand. Watch out Criss Angel.
She was lovely and I just want to say thanks again for letting us into your home. (Plus now now that I know she lives next to one of my favorite bands, I will be back visiting!)
After Shannon’s house, we wandered up the road a ways til we came to our first Texas state park. We were the only ones there, which was nice because we were exhausted and not really in a mood to chat with other travelers. We set up camp and passed out shortly afterwards.
Now I find myself sitting in a cafe in Austin, ready to see the first photograph ever, wondering how I got here. Its only been a week, and already this has been completely worth shitty motels and minor tiffs with each other. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the county brings us.
“I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.”
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
-M
P.S Texas has the best donuts. Period. I visited Newmans’s Bakery in Bellville, Texas. My palate will never be the same.
kodakkerouacs 