365 Project: Day 69

On the road...again. Its Christmas Eve and here I am at another gas station somewhere in the middle of Texas. Its dark, freezing, I'm tired, not in the best of moods and we still have hours to travel. There is a tree directly in front of me containing an incredibly loud bird that I have obviously pissed off by standing on this side of the building.

I love road trips, I love to travel, I love my family, but I am a little tired of making this same trip down this same road over and over again. I've made this 14 hour drive at least 3 times in less than 2 months. Round trip, that's about 84 hours in the car.

Are we there yet? Ugh.

365 Project: Day 37

We set off on our 14 hour journey at 4am-ish. My dad packed the car, we stopped for donuts, and off we went...again. I was distracted all day and almost forgot to even take my picture.

I try not to sleep too much on these trips. I read, listen to my iPod, write notes to myself about all the stuff that is not getting done while I'm away so I make sure to get to it when I return, and I like to look out the window at the passing scenery. I don't want to miss anything. I have seen more goats grazing on the roadside in these past two trips to Texas than I have ever seen in my entire life. But this time I saw two Llamas playing and running through an open field. I've never seen that before. I didn't even really think that Llamas ran at all. They always look so calm and composed. These are the things that amuse me after 14 hours in a car with my family.

I didn't know what to expect when we got to my grandmother's house. Almost the entire family was there waiting. Its was sort of a whirlwind of greetings and hugging and talking and it almost made me forget what I most dreaded about walking into that house. My grandfather's chair was empty.

365 Project: Day 22

I drug myself out of bed at 4am to begin the drive across Texas with my dad and sister. Its a long drive, 13+ hours depending on the route we choose and traffic. I have made this journey with my family countless times since we moved away from Texas 15 years ago. I'm used to the long drive now and I've even learned to love it. I think this is where my fondness for road trips began. You get to see parts of the country though car windows that you would never experience on a plane. Although I love flying equally as much, but for completely different reasons.

While it was still dark out we packed up the car, made a stop for coffee and donuts and headed east into the blindingly beautiful sunrise. My favorite part of these trips are the gas stations and roadside stops along the way. Each one has its own personality. They each provide their own selection of sunglasses, snacks, and locally themed merchandise: thimbles, license plates, postcards, etc. The people you see here are all on their way to or from somewhere. Whether it be local or long distance, they are living their lives and making their way to a destination.

This time we decided to go a different way than usual. Mix it up a little. We ate at different restaurants, stopped in different towns, and navigated our way through two-lane back roads instead of sticking to the interstate. We single handedly murdered hundreds of beautiful butterflies with the grill of our truck as we drove through miles and miles of farmland and cotton fields.

We pulled into our destination at about 8:30pm and even though we took a different route to get there, our arrival was the same as always. Night air, thick with humidity and the smell of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico. Refinery lights glowing orange on the horizon. Familiar road signs marking the turn off for the beach and the bayous we were driving past. Until we came to a stop in the driveway of a little pink house.

Slightly Askew

I have a new print available in my Etsy shop.  This is one of the images that I took on my New Year's road trip.

"Slightly Askew"

Everything in this image looks so normal.  Its a scene that you pass every day on the street without a second glance.  However, something is just slightly off.

Go Van Go!

I think it really takes a special kind of dedication to art to paint your car like this.  It is so great!  John and I saw this van parked in front of a row of art galleries on our road trip.  A photo had to be taken!

I wish I had the guts to drive a car this awesome.

Quote for the day:

"Art is art. Everything else is everything else."

--This Van

Welcome to 2009 baby!

The New Year has finally arrived in all of its balloon dropping, confetti tossing, champagne toasting, kissing at midnight glory!  I love when the new year arrives.  It brings a feeling of a new beginning, a fresh start to another year of your life.  For me its a time reflect on the last year and make the appropriate changes in my life. Its a time to make new resolutions and re-commit to the old ones.  I look at the upcoming year as a blank slate.  Anything can happen and the idea of that is very exciting to me!

This year I decided that the best way to kick off 2009 was with a road trip!  I had everything all planned out, then I found out that it was supposed to rain the WHOLE TIME!  I was bummed, but plans were adjusted and John and I set out on our journey anyway.

We finally arrived at the Sheraton in Petaluma, CA. Which, by the way, was FABULOUS! Its right on the river.  I would highly recommend staying there if you are ever in Petaluma.

After dinner we arrived at the Mystic Theater in downtown Petaluma to see the Tommy Castro Band.  They are an awesome blues band.  If you are in to the blues, you should check them out.

The Tommy Castro Band.

Tommy jammin'

We headed up Highway 101 and stopped in the most adorable historic towns. We took a break in this park next to a river along the way.  It had the most beautiful, fall-colored trees.

This was the bridge over the river.  Then we headed through the woods and to the coast.

The beginning of day 3. It was MUCH colder on the coast.

We went to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, CA.  The beach is covered in sea glass. It really is an amazing site to see.

We made a pit stop in Elk, CA.  This was the coolest toilet.  It even had skylights.  I was impressed.

We decided about 1/4 of the way down the hill just to take a look over the edge instead.

Luckily it didn't rain nearly as much as we thought it would and we had a great time!  I really want to post all of the pictures we took along the way, so maybe I'll throw some more in another post soon.  Of course I took TONS of pictures along the way!  Keep your eyes peeled, many of the new prints will be available in my Etsy shop soon.  I have a lot of new products in the works that will be for sale throughout 2009.

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that 2009 brings you all hope, happiness, and all of the great things that you want in your lives.

Quote for the day:

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

- Oprah Winfrey

Road Trip!

New Print Available!  

I came across this pink-striped building when John and I were on a mini-road trip up the California coast.  Isn't it the cutest? Whenever I finally buy a house, I want to paint it exactly like this!

Chew On This

Speaking of road trips, I am planning (and I use that term loosely) a little New Year's road trip around northern California next week. I want to see Redwoods, lighthouses, beautiful coastlines, the whole sha-bang!  If anyone has suggestions for interesting places to stop, please let me know.  I am open to any and all suggestions.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!