My mom, standing on the front porch of our friends’ farmhouse
Scottsville, Virginia
April, 2009
Last weekend, we reached our road trip destination of Virginia. My mom is the president of the Scottsville Museum, in a town outside Charlottesville, and they opened their latest exhibit on Sunday. After the exhibit opening, my family spent the evening at our friend Gwynne’s farm. I’ll post photos of the museum event later, but for now, here are some photos of the farm and our evening watching the sun set over the rolling Virginia hills. Again, most of these photos were taken with my Canon G10 pocket camera. I love that little camera!
Me and Ally at the UVA Rotunda
Charlottesville, VA
April, 2009
I took Mike and Ally to my college last weekend! I love this photo of Ally and me on the steps of the Rotunda. I went to the University of Virginia for a BA in psychology (1996) and an MEd in instructional technology (2001), and loved my time there. We stopped by UVA for a couple hours on Saturday afternoon and watched the students enjoying the 75-degree sunshine.
UVA is a gorgeous school with colonial architecture and gardens that are full of flowers this time of year. I just took a few photos with my point-and-shoot while we were there — after all, I’ve photographed all these spots many times over the years. At one point in the mid-90s, the guy at my photo lab joked that I was always photographing the same buildings!
The Duckmaster at the Peabody Hotel
Memphis, Tennessee
April, 2009
Last week we drove through Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee. This photo shows the hilarious Duckmaster at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. The hotel has a large fountain in the lobby, where five ducks spend each day lounging. Every evening, the Duckmaster leads them from the fountain and up an elevator to their bedroom. Hundreds of enthusiastic tourists snap photos as the ducks stroll down the red carpet. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of wacky Americana I was hoping to encounter on this road trip.
I’ve wanted to go to Dodge City, Kansas since the Grizwolds got shot at a saloon on their way to Wallyworld, but it turned out to be much less interesting than I’d hoped. I should have taken photos in Oklahoma and Arkansas, but I was too busy car-dancing. Downtown Little Rock was a particularly fun place to walk around.
We spent a couple hours exploring Memphis one afternoon. We walked around Beale Street and the neighboring areas before heading east toward Nashville. Nashville was one of the best parts of our trip; we loved the lively bars, attractive streets, and friendly atmosphere.
Rocky Ford, Colorado
March, 2009
Last week Mike, Ally, and I went on a road trip from Colorado to Virginia. Our first stop was Rocky Ford, Colorado, a small town in the plains, about two hours southeast of Colorado Springs. My dad’s grandfather grew up in Rocky Ford. My dad recalls his Granddaddy’s love of Colorado and stories of Rocky Ford, where his family had grown cantaloupes for a living. I never met my great-grandfather, but he’s important to me because he was such an big influence in my dad’s life.
Today Rocky Ford appears to be in decline, with more boarded-up windows than open storefronts. It was a pleasant town, but we had to imagine what it must have been like during its busier era at the turn of last century.
Mike, Ally, and I are on a road trip this week. We’re cruising around, navigating as we go, with no particular itinerary in mind. The funny thing is that we’re doing 100% of our planning by iPhone. We’ve used no paper map, GPS car gadget, or guide book. We just get in the car each day, ask the iPhone where we are, and figure out where to go next.
Right now we’re in Tennessee, about halfway between Memphis and Nashville. I’m not taking many photos, but I’ll post some on on blog next week. In the meanwhile, you can follow our progress on my Facebook or on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/charlottegeary
