Friday, 09 January 2009

• The road less traveled...

  ...Will take you an extra five or so hours to drive, catch you lost once or twice, shower you with amazingly good road-sleuthing luck, require four or five bathroom trips (including one in the scrubs by the wayside) and an ice-cream-fried-pickles meal in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, include absolutely mind-boggling windy roads and hilly dips, screaming and windblown hair from windows rolled down and fantastic Texas winter weather, a great playlist, and a buddy for the ride.
  
  Michael very kindly offered to drive me home to Austin from Dallas, on the condition that we take "the scenic route" home instead of the boring highways. I readily consented, 'cuz 1) road trips are awesome, 2) companionship is [almost] always more enjoyable than solitude, and 3) it would be cheaper and less hassle than flying with humongoid suitcases with their post-holiday pounds. And so we set forth.
  

  
  
  Trip necessities... and other. Cigarettes are optional and strongly discouraged. *glares at Michael* Purple Post-Its are our 51-step directions. I complained about the lack of scenery for the first hour or so.
  

  
  This shot could be staged much more beautifully. I'm becoming much more of an artist and much less of a journalist. I'm not sure I like that.
  

  
  Old-fashioned sandwich shop/ice cream parlor in Granbury, TX
  (am kicking myself for forgetting a pic of the sign)
  

  
  Blue Bell Peaches 'N' Vanilla and Pecan Pralines in a sugar cone:
  Childhood nostalgia in a styrofoam cup. + Deliciousness.
  

  
  I fully realize that I am making Michael look like a dork here. ^_^ Sorry, bud.
  

  
  Mother
  

  
  Children. Delicious, delicious children. Hey, were you aware that ice cream TOTALLY needs fried pickles to chase it down?
  
  I backtrack through this post to reiterate the virtues of fried pickles.
  

  
  Random sign
  

  
  After we left Granbury, the scenery got much better.
  I liked this picture, not just for the dead contrast but also for the countryesque road leading past it. Very "Texas."
  

  
  We almost missed this turn because the sign was THIS BIG. But oh yeah, we had amazing "luck" all trip because we'd constantly get lost/miss a step in our directions, pick a direction anyway, and just wing it - and we never messed up too badly.
  

  
  12:02:22 AM Locit5: windswept mirror pics!
  12:02:51 AM Katherine: Windswept mirror whoring!
  12:03:39 AM Locit5: there are a number of them yes
  12:03:59 AM Locit5: are mirrors like photographer catnip?
  12:04:34 AM Katherine: A little bit
  12:04:41 AM Katherine: They are, at the very least, Katnip
  12:04:46 AM Katherine: I know just how awful that was ^_^
  12:04:57 AM Locit5: you mean awesome?
  

  
  Looks like ice, eh? This road was incredibly awesome. We actually really liked getting lost, because we invariably lost our way on amazing roads of twistiness. You wouldn't think Texas would have such bendy roads - or at least I wouldn't and didn't - but it DOES.
  
  My favorite was this one big dip which we hit going... Oh, I donno, 60-70? It had a fantastic roller coaster effect, esp 'cuz we had absolutely no idea how much it was going to dip down and then zoom back up.
  
  I think it's inevitable that I'm going to learn to like roller coasters at some point.
  

  
  Funny story. Like I said, we were lost for a bit. But we decided to zip around on the fun roads anyway before turning back. I ran out at this point to go use the bathroom (aka nature on nature), but ran back after 20 feet so I could grab paper towels and wipe down the car (it was super muddy) for a mini impromptu photo shoot.
  
  ... I like outdoors bathrooming. ;p
  

  
  Obligatory group picture. Consisting of... two. We should've hauled the luggage in as well. There was more of that than there was of us!
  

  
  Haha, this part was fun too.
  
  There was a sign for a small park, and we went in "to ask for directions from the person at the lodge." Well, despite the fact that they charge $3/day to visit it, there was nobody in the shack (which was kinda creepy). I instantly started talking about zombies, to the point where it was not difficult to freak outselves out when we clambered out of the car (Taylor Swift blaring, of course) to go explore the Bosque River. As I crawled down the banks, looking up at the buzzards who impassively awaited our death, I cheerfully asked, "What would you do if the car music suddenly shut off right now?" We also considered the likelihood of dead bodies rising silently from the brush. The utter silence was eerie, but surprisingly cathartic.
  
  I'm afraid I'm also going to like camping one day. Le sigh.
  

  
  Amazing Bosque river. We crossed it twice, I think.
  

  
  More wendy bindy road. ...I mean, windy bendy road.
  

  
  Roads.
  

  
  This one tunnelly bit of road was absolutely amazing. I kept squealing like a [delighted] stuck pig.
  

  
  The second time through, Michael drove a little bit more slowly and I took pics non-stop. I was pretty dizzy by the time we were done, but it was worth it.
  

  
  Juliet's shadow! (Yes, he named his car Juliet)
  

  
  More cam whoring
  

  
  This picture is awesome, neh? It's hard to shoot out the window of a [fast-]moving car.
  

  
  Sunset reflect
  

  
  Sunset through the rear window
  

  
  I also really like this picture. It has a very classic feel to it.
  

  
  174. Just another step in the journey.
  

  
  Right around here we hit another bridge, circled around it to see the lake again, then decided to just stop, clamber over massive piles of broken road bit, and admire it in person.
  

  
  And we were not disappointed.
  Thomas Kinkade much? (Sad, it should be the other way around, right?)
  

  
  Just wow.
  

  
  Sunset and evening star,
  And one clear call for me!
  And may there be no moaning of the bar,
  When I put out to sea,

  But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
  Too full for sound and foam,
  When that which drew from out the boundless deep
  Turns again home.

  Twilight and evening bell,
  And after that the dark!
  And may there be no sadness of farewell,
  When I embark;

  For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
  The flood may bear me far,
  I hope to see my Pilot face to face
  When I have crossed the bar.

  
  Crazy. I never thought Texas winters could be pretty, but those branches devoid of leaves really have character.
  

  
  And then here it just started to get creepy and extremely horror-film-esque. So I quit taking pics.
  

  
  That's a lie. Here's my last one. After this, we drove for about another hour before we connected to I-35 in Waco and followed it all the way home. I swapped in for driving at Waco and got a ticket 'cuz Michael's car is so much faster and smoother than mine. Darn. ;P
  
  SOOOOO... Cost-wise, I might as well have flown Southwest home and still have saved myself some money. Haha. Well, life is not lived through miserly hoarding. But my heart still aches to think of the ~$300+ unnecessary travel expenses already incurred this year. And it isn't even two weeks old yet! 2009 is crazy.
  

  Speaking of 2009, I still have Dallas pics to edit/upload/adventures to describe, and Macau to sort through. Blah! But I can't catch up on much of that yet because today was awful. I thought I had an apt ready to sublease at Le Montreaux - big, bright master bedroom - and I was SO excited. I worked really hard for a week, talking with the girl moving out, etc. Well, I was going to leave today to go take care of the paperwork and messaged her to ask when to meet up with her. Only then did I find out that she and the girl who is staying are having a disagreement and the other girl already leased "my" room to someone else. Boooooo. They still have one small room open, but I don't know if they'll consider me for it 'cuz they seem to have a grudge against me. Sigh. I'm so tempted to just... move on. But it's by far the cheapest place I've found yet.
  
  So I've spent the day in a flurry, looking for housing again. It's so annoying/discouraging/tiring/tedious. I've found a few fun options, though. Tiff Chung might live with me, which would be interesting/exciting.
  
  In addition, I have had car problems! Yes, beyond the speeding ticket. ;p (I've modified my theory to say that as long as a guy/passenger is in the car with me, I will not get out of tickets. Either that, or my 2008 cop luck is gone) My insurance is $$$ 'cuz State Farm upped their prices, I need to get my ticket notarized, and now my car won't start 'cuz it's been sitting there for so long or something. I also need new tires.
  
  I tried really hard to be cheerful all day in the face of everything, but when I got in my car and it wouldn't start, I got pretty discouraged for a while. Then Sam drove down to pick me up for dinner (a lovely Italian place in the Triangle complex), we watched the BCS championship game at Oliver/Andrew's and ate hot dogs, and hung out and had a good time. It was really nice to see everyone again. Then I came back to Century and found a lovely package from Katie Leung. This deserves its own post at some point, complete with pictures, because she drew me something like 6 pages of comics about my life and things, and sent me lovely small gifties of lip gloss/Anna Sui make-up and a small coin purse. She completely made my night. <3 Thanks, love.
  
  Anyways, so yeah, I shall catch up on my two main photo blogs soon. :P I'd also love to brain-dump at some point, but everything's just so busy right now. I got internships and job apps to work on!
  

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