Cat Ears

Always alert...

Rita's House

My grandmother is one of the most nostalgic people I know. Her entire house is a time capsule; every wall is decorated with paintings, portraits, and photos, as well as a variety of Judaica. Ever since the passing of her most recent dog, Muffy, she is the sole inhabitant of the house. When in the absence of visitors, though, she has the company of her stories and her memories, all to the tune of classical music that pipes from her vintage stereo at all hours of the day.

Misty

Before the roadtrip, this was the first photo I took with the 5D...a photo of my cat, Misty. She's a good subject when she doesn't have something better to do...like eat grass or chase cicadas.

Epilogue

This road trip was my first time experiencing all of these places. For most of my life, all I have known is the East Coast, but having now taken this road trip, I've had the opportunity to experience the diversity and the incredible size of the United States. Obviously there is a lot of the country that I didn't get to see on this trip, but that's for the next one. Rest assured, after having seen all the things I saw, my camera is never going to leave my side again.

Hope you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for viewing.

-Seth

Chapter 12: Leaving Arizona, Entering California

On the last leg of our journey, we encountered some more breathtaking sites, including the Mojave Desert. Not a bad way to end our 10 day sojourn.

Chapter 11: Grand Canyon, AZ

It pretty much speaks for itself.

Chapter 10: I-40 and Route 66

Here's some more New Mexico scenery we encountered as we made our way towards the Grand Canyon.

Chapter 9: Scenic Overlook, NM

After a few too many hours of Texas, we finally made it to New Mexico. Not too far into the state, we stopped at a scenic overlook to grab some pics. The landscape was incredible.




While there, we also met these two kids whose parents were selling goods out of one of the wooden huts.

Chapter 8: Creepy, TX

Probably one of my favorite sites we encountered on the trip existed in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Like something out of an alien invasion, the farmlands and fields became overrun with energy windmills. There was something very creepy and almost threatening about them...their height, eerie simplicity, and enormous population. When our eyes weren't on the windmills, they were on the skies looking for UFO's.

Chapter 7: Austin, TX

Austin, for some reason, didn't inspire me to take a lot of pics. The city was AWESOME...don't get me wrong. I just felt more like experiencing the city than shooting it. I don't want to leave this post empty, though, so here's a pic that portrays one of the finer points of Austin's cuisine...


Food trucks!!

Chapter 6: New Orleans, LA

I have way too much to say about New Orleans, so for the purposes of this blog I'll just sum it up in a few sentiments:

Bourbon Street = hookers, cover bands, hand grenades
Esplanade = outdoor psychic readers, homeless, coke dealers
Frenchmen Street = hipsters, holes in the wall, cool bands

The winner was Frenchmen. Here are some pics of bands we checked out on the block. The first was St. Louis Slim and the Frenchmen Street Jug Band.





The next band we saw I unfortunately do not recall the name of. As you can probably tell from the pics, though, they were awesome and quirky. I DO, however, remember the name of the bar they played at. It was the Apple Barrel. Cool place.



For more information, ask me in person. I could talk about our experience in New Orleans for hours.

Chapter 5: Memphis, TN

As we continued to make our way south, we stopped in Memphis for a few hours. One of the characters we met while there was this strapping gentleman in the brown suit, none other than Clyde Hopkins, the "godfather of the blues." He was hanging out in the Memphis Music record store, selling autographed CD's.



Also important to mention...Superior Bar on Beale Street had the best barbecue we would have on the road trip.

Chapter 4: Nashville, TN

The first stop on the musical/barbecue portion of our trip was Nashville, TN. Our first impressions of the city were made by the live music coming out of every bar and the record stores with nothing but country and bluegrass sections.

As we scoured the entertainment district for a good looking barbecue place, we were drawn into a deserted bar by a live rendition of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene." The band was a rockabilly group called the Chris Casello Trio, lead by guitarist/vocalist Chris Casello. Though Chris's main weapon of choice was his Telecaster, every so often he would throw in some sound effects from the pedal steel at the edge of the stage. They were a cool band and were very recpetive to being photographed.




After checking the Chris Casello Trio for a few tunes, we made our way to Jack's Bar-B-Que for the first of many pulled pork and BBQ sausage dishes to be had on the trip.

Chapter 3: Louisville, KY

Our stop in Louisville was very brief, so this post will be brief. On our way to Nashville, we made a quick stop in Louisville to get gas and food. The street we parked on was eerily quiet for the middle of a weekday. However, according to a local gallery owner, that's the way it always is. Weird.

Probably the most notable sight we took in there was an outdoor chandelier. A classy touch to the urban landscape.

Chapter 2: Somewhere, OH

Our first official stop on the roadtrip was Sandusky, OH. The goal of this stop was to conquer Cedar Point, the world's reigning champion in the amusement park kingdom. For obvious reasons, I didn't bring my camera into the theme park, but needless to say, we achieved our goal...also, with minimal vomiting.

Most of the photos I took while in Ohio were either out the window of the car or at necessary roadside stops. Due to our fairly tight driving schedule, this became a trend. Thank god for high shutter speeds.