13 days, 14 states, and just over 5,000 miles later, i am steeped in the bittersweet reality of returning home from another adventure. it’s actually been three days since we returned from our cross-country tour. though, having left a small part of myself chasing fire flys back in the fields of Indiana, it’s fair to say i am still not entirely present in the present.
the sights on the road were many, the hours of sleep (unfortunately) too few. yet, short of having more time to spare, i cannot think of anything more i could have asked of this trip. as i cycle through the mental film reel of images, conversation clips, smells and sounds, a few details stand out from the rest:
* exploring ghost towns and abandoned homes in Arizona & Texas (1)
* dining on carne asada beef skewers and BenMarco malbec at Cafe Pasqual’s
* funk upstairs, old-time jazz in the basement at Evangelos in Santa Fe
* the sky over middle America (2)
* the intoxicating smell and roadside wildflowers of Oklahoma (3)
* sweet tea by the canal in Bricktown, Oklahoma City
* heat
* Memphis hospitality and barbeque
* absorbing rock’n’roll history at Sun Records (4)
* “Purple Rain” covers on Beale Street (5)
* the Tennessee landscape (6)
* Nashville’s enthusiasm for musicianship and dancing (7)
* getting lost in accessories heaven at Pangaea in Nashville’s Hillsboro Village
* every minute of the drive through Kentucky along Highway 431 (8)
* accents
* parking lot classic car rallies in Owensboro, KY (9)
* bare feet and a party dress in the Indiana countryside (10)
* humidity
* the monotonous beauty of Kansas (11)
* the quiet solidity of the Rockies (12)
* the absolute majesty of central Utah (13)
* the surprise of Virgin River Canyon, AZ
* the countless Ford Falcon-themed conversations we had with strangers along the way
once i’d finally uploaded all my photos, i realized that about 80% of the shots were taken through the window of a moving vehicle. you can check out the resulting road album here.
la roo blog 