Trying to catch up…

Soooo busy, finally home, work is killing me. UGH.  I thought I’d start going through images, and post, backtracking since I last left off.

This will be quick/dirty. When we received the evacuation notice, we headed to a KOA in San Antonio.  My oldest boy was there visiting (he lives in Victoria), so he was sort of stuck going with us (neither of us complained! LOL)

We share many of the same interests, so exploring off the beaten path is soemthing we both enjoy.  I love graffiti, and he’s got a serious interest in it as well.  Not jsut ANY graffiti, but that special work you see that makes you do a double-take, to say “OMGOSH, why is this person NOT working!?!?!”   There is some serious talent out there.

One club in San Antonio, the WHITE RABBIT, is an awesome place!  Not just anyone gets to paint their building, as you will see in the show below.  Ya gotta be pretty uptown with paint to make those walls….Many thanks to the owner/managers for letting us in to prowl around in the morning during the closed hours, and take photographs.  See, Texas is special because of many things, but the people just put the cherry on top of the sundae!

Also included are some funny oddities we discovered prowling around at 0200 in the morning (hey, when you work all day, just ’cause you’re at a KOA doesn’t mean you’re on VACATION…. get what ya can, when ya can!)  Puffin’ Paul’s, the beer drive thru, etc… The image of the smokey stairwell was taken as Brian (my oldest) and I wandered around, and passing a club I noticed a door with a mail slot.  I asked him “Wonder what is in here…” While he said “Ma, don’t do that!” I had to peek, and voila!  There it was, a stairwell filling with creeping cigarette smoke that breathed through the club walls, traveling upward to a destination unknown.  Handheld, Canon, your 24-70 f/2.8 L is my true street friend.  My second best friend on the pavement would be the TOKINA 12-24mm f/4 aspherical  – an AMAZING value for the buck!

Tonight, I’m working on bird shows from the trip… boring for some, but ecstasy for someone like me.. :O)

(Oh, also, tucked away in here are some places with delish eats (SAMS!!!!!)

The murals were all shot in multiple shots, as many of them were in tight confines – alleys, or just areas not condusive to photographing.  No wide angle would do any of these justice, so a lot of images had to be stitched.  The actual size of all the panoramic murals in this show are anywhere from 58-64 inches long – BIG files.

Hope you enjoy San Antonio’s art!

nina

done

A bittersweet return…

It’s no secret that were my husband, middle boy, and dog to show up in Texas, I’d have happily turned my back on everything inside, and including my house in Washington, and stayed here in Texas.  Alas, that’s not the way the story’s supposed to go, so like the Beverly Hillbillies, the Jeep is packed, and we’re on our way home.  It’s a sad departure, but I am anxious to get home.

Last night, we made record time driving from San Antonio to Van Horn, Texas.  In spite of Sarah being on her last pair of contacts, tearing one, and me scrambling trying to find a place to get an eye appt and contacts on a Sunday.  Traveler tip:  When you hit the road, and you’re all happy because you have your insurance cards, car insurance, etc.. Make sure you have a copy of your vision prescription. Life will be easier, and about 150.00 cheaper.  Yeah, I could have waited until today and had Sears fax the script somewhere – but… I could not imagine spending the entirety of a day, not being able to see.  The woman at the Sears vision center in San Antonio did her best to talk me out of it!!!  Finally, I asked her – how would YOU feel, not being able to see much of anything for a couple of days, eh?  Money well spent, I’d do it again.  Thank goodness for flexible spending accounts – I can get reimbursed, but even if I couldn’t, I’d spend teh bucks all over again. :O)

So we arrive in Van Horn about 10:30.  I will not put in writing, how much time I cut off the trip. ahem.  I love a state with 80mph speed limits! <sigh>  But doggone it, that 80mph is only during the day, which allowed me to meet a very nice Texas Highway Patrolman last night…so polite, uh, luckily I was given a warning, and now I’m in “da man’s” system here, so until I’m out of the state, my foot must be on a strict diet…  90 in a 65 isn’t too awful bad, is it?

Last night, we did travel through the MOST intense electrical storm I’ve experienced in man years.  The rain fell so hard, it sounded like rocks hitting the car.  The winds were incredible, it was a “two hands on the wheel and muscle” drive for about 45 minutes.  I think top speed in that storm was about 45.  There was NO one on the road but the RV in front of us, which made it very eerie.  The lightning show was amazing, and the strike ahead of us on the road was enough to make us both squeal like girls.  It was a very serious piece of driving, looking back, it was also an incredible event to witness.  The type of thing that makes you feel small, very very small.

Today we’re  headed to Albuquerque by way of El Paso.  Man, i do NOT want to go through EP.  Nothing about that city intrigues me… however, I need an oil change, and the only other option is to go 125 miles in the OPPOSITE direction, so El Paso City, by the Rio Grandeeee-heee, he we come.

I’m lookin’ for birthday boots and an oil change.  I’ve been hitting boot stores for a new pair, and haven’t found “the ones” just yet.  Rats… Maybe El Paso will redeem herself by presenting me with the perfect boots.