the places I have been and the places I will go

i have been converted...

2006-11-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

sorry to dissapoint any devout Bloggers, but i have seen the light of Wordpress...so from this point forward please visit me here: http://theplacesiwillgo.wordpress.com/ Currently its a bit of a disaster, not quite as straightforward as Blogger, but setting it upnow and things will be rolling soon! ciao!

Cadillacs, guns (or lack of) and good food

2006-11-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

The directions were this: In a cow pasture along eastbound I-40 between exits 60 and 62. exit onto the frontage road, then enter the pasture through an unlocked gate. Hmm I remarked to myself. Seriously? There's got to be something more concrete than that! But no, to reach the Cadillac Ranch this is what you need to know. So i took these directions, and headed out; I didn't get lost, but missed the frontage road sign so had to pull a u-turn through the ditch, but a relatively shallow ditch nonetheless. This adventure within an adventure a few days ago was to go meet Ryan, a fellow VRX newbie, as his trip was to Oklahoma and we were each about 90minutes outisde of Amarillo,TX so this is where he chose for us to meet. We added our own tags to the cars (yes, VRX Studios is now branded on the second to last Cadillac in the fourth image here, kinda hard to read there was so much other writing to paint over), got covered in spraypaint (nothing like scrubbing paint off your hands with Evian and a t-shirt) and overall had a good time. Then we had a sudden urge to shoot guns, being in Texas and all. There were two shooting ranges - one outisde and one gun club, but after driving around for nearly two hours we discovered that one was closed and the other seemed to exist only as a field inbetween a child's park and a water plant. So, unimpresse, we decided to eat downtown Amarillo at Zen, a fabulous seafood/asian fusion restaurant where we had beef cooked on a stone at our table, beef with crab, and chicken yakisoba for me, the sickie (I had some bad food at a Route 66 diner two days earlier and wasn't feeling so hot...STILL not feeling so hot). All in all a great road trip within a road trip!

Tucumcari on historic Route 66

2006-11-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

These original 1950's motels are all along Route 66 in Tucumcari, and this isn't the half of them. Some of them are actually still open for business...not sure I'd really want to stay at any of them?? But after taking these pictures, then returning to my hotel for a while, I just went back out for dinner and was totally shocked (and a bit wow'ed) to see that the ones that are still open also still have their original, fully functioning neon signage, as do the two main diners, a TeePee tourist trinket shop (a grocery store in the '50's), even the original gas station. So I kindof take back my earlier thoughts about this town royally sucking...at night it's pretty cool looking, even now, 50+ years later.

so violently ripped...

2006-11-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

Clayton, NM was a very harsh and shocking reminder that not everywhere we get to visit is...well, populated. or fun. or entertaining. or linked to the real world. or having food other than DairyQueen and Pop's Drive-In. I was there for two days and nearly drove myself mad. I'm not kidding when I say the length of time I sat at Pop's and ate a burger and fries, read three chapters of my book, and downloaded that day's work, only three things passed me by: one car blasting heavy metal, a train, and a tumbleweed. The only thing that saved me was super nice hotel contacts, cable TV and Firefly on DVD. I am very thankful to have spent the first 9 days in parts of NM that were the exact opposite. I wonder where I'll be going next...??

ode to Ema

2006-11-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

she knows who she is, and she's got me hooked on staring at the clouds!

solo friday night in taos

2006-11-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

It was my last night in Taos, a friday night, and after walking around downtown and the plaza, I hunted for what looked to be a fun place to have dinner. After stumbling on the Taos Inn, I found what really was the perfect little table beside the real wood burning fireplace, and settled for another chapter of my new book (Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay) accompanied by what proved to be excellent nachos and a delicious glass of sangria. As I tried to concentrate on my book, I was continually interrupted by the laughter and increasingly loud conversations of the diners around me, and as I looked, I was the only person in the Inn's lounge who was dining alone. One would assume that by now, after 6 months of travelling week after week, away from home, away from friends and family, I would be just fine with eating alone, day after day after day. But alas, I am not. As my fourth and last trip of this year is coming closer to the end (17 more sleeps!!) I can't wait to have dinners with family, drinks with friends, and time in my apartment with my man. I feel extremely lucky to being seeing other parts of the world in this way, but I feel even more lucky to have the friends and family that I do, and that they are all continually supportive and incredibly patient. I look forward to toasting with you all just as soon as I get home! Love Jacks

downtown Santa Fe

2006-10-30T21:24:00.000-08:00

So I have been told that Santa Fe was the favourite town of some others that have been, and I can see why. Not much interesting to write about, but the town itelf is gorgeous - and here are some pics to prove it...as well as what many of the shops sell, tons and tons o' religious parafanalia (sorry for the slightly out of focus photo, I was trying to take the picture without the shop keeper noticing, but he did, and he scorned me).

Salsa, tacos and margaritas!

2006-10-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

So to continue on my amazement of how nice the people here in New Mexico are, my hotel contact invited me to a fabulous little cozy mexican restaurant tonight, and I had a blast! It's called Los Mayas, in downtown Santa Fe, and apparently is very popular with the both the tourists and the locals, as she in addition to the great food they have live entertainment every night. We had margaritas and tacos, to the (very upbeat) ambiance of salsa dancers, and as much of a show that it was, i was just happy to see something a little more authentic and to actually have a dinner companion!

there are hippies in New Mexico?

2006-10-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

The Ancient Ruins of Kuau'a

2006-10-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

These ruins are New Mexico's state monument, and pretty interesting to read about how their were built by women (yes that's right, by WOMEN) molding together earth and water to make layers upon layers of hardened earth stand up to form walls. Lets see if I can get this right...the entire settlement is called a pueblo, and each house is called a kiva; within each kiva there are certain rooms used for certain things, some of which only meant for men or for women.

There are a couple of other pictures of interesting things seen while walking through the ruins, and the Sandia Mountains again.

Hola amigos!

2006-10-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Okay so not quite Mexico, but just a tad north...NEW MEXICO!! I landed here three days ago, and so far it is topping my list of places in this amazing world I have been as having the nicest, most accomodating people. All of my hotel contacts have had locations ready and organized when I arrive, pointed me in the right directions for sights to see, restaurants, galleries, and all with a smile on their face ~ in this job who could ask for anything more?!

I have been in the greater Albuquerque area since I arrived, and its great. The largest city in NM, but not the capital (that title belongs to Santa Fe), its full of culture, colour and history. Chili's are everywhere: fresh, fried, dried, powdered, in chocolate, peanut brittle, ice cream, pretty much whatever you want to eat it has an option to add chilis. All too much for my sensitive stomach to deal with, and I've already been scorned for not trying pizza with chilis on it, it looked like enough to kill a small horse, there was no way I was eating that. I'd have to pretend I was on Fear Factor just to get it down. No thankyou!

These pics are from "Old Town", Albuquerque, NM, the historic part of the downtown core (and I use the term downtown very loosely). If you've ever been to Mexico, especially Cabo, the jewlery and tourist trinkets being sold are just like that, but the vendors are better dressed. Prices are insane, obviously meant to grab the tourists wanting souvenirs, but its fun just to walk around and enjoy the culture....and the sun! Its gorgeous weather here, just a few days from November and I'm still just wearing jeans and a t-shirt, can't complain about that!

Tomorrow I'm heading to Santa Fe, and from what I've heard its bursting with spanish history even more than here, with great photo ops, so I'll be posting something from there for sure. Love you all, miss you all...hi Mom!! Hope you get to read this tonight while at "The Motley Mansion"...Happy B-Day Snaggle!

Not even out of the city...and so begins another road trip!

2006-10-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

To begin, look at the first picture. Look really close, pay close attention to the road signs. They look familiar, right? Just incase some of you may not be wearing your glasses, they read "Oak Street" and "King Edward"...in VANCOUVER!

Now, look at the second picture. That is my fellow VRX'er Ryan changing the flat tire we got at Oak and King Ed! Not even out of the city and we already were in trouble! But, Ryan having already experienced a flat in the dark, lost, in the middle of nowhere on his last trip, was feeling destined to experience flats on every VRX trip. Oddly, we were laughing about the whole thing. So I pulled the chick card, Ryan removed the flat and replaced it with the teeny tiny spare tire, and we were off once again (trying not to go above 55mph...glad we gave ourselves so much extra time! phew!)

what did I do for my 7 days off work?

2006-10-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Went to Tofino!!!

I'm sure (or at least, I hope) that all of you Vancouverites have been to Tofino, especially if you are a surfer! I spent three of my seven days off work at this fabulous house, with some fabulous friends, whom I hadn't seen in nearly 6 weeks (including my man!) so that was awesome! There was surfing and hottubbing (unfortunately because of my healing tattoo I couldn't participate in either...though I don't think I would have set foot in the hot tub anyways, since Adele and Chris calling it "human soup", I don't think I'll ever be able to go in a hot tub again), eating and drinking (both way too much) and just enjoying eachothers company. I only wish I wasn't so bloody tired I could have enjoyed it more. Viola!

yay it's christmas!

2006-10-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Snow always makes me feel like a little girl at christmas (even though I am borderline Grinch when it comes to the holidays)...and yes, it snowed here in the Chicago area yesterday. But it gave me my first photography experience in the snow, so that was interesting...glad I bought boots and a coat while I was here, having no idea the snow was coming. Obviously it didn't stick, and now its just plain cold. And windy. Can't forget about the wind, it nearly side swipes me every time I step outside...all more the reason I can't wait to get back to Vancouver, I hear people were enjoying the warm sun yesterday, how nice for them (sense my sarcasm). So yes, travel day back to Van is on monday, my flight is not unti the evening so I plan to check out of my last hotel early and head back downtown chicago again, soaking up the last few sights before making my way to the airport. Can't wait to see you all soon, though it will only be for a short time, before off to...oh ya...not going to California anymore! As most people know by now things change with this job at the last minute with no warning whatsoever, and I have been switched to New Mexico instead. Not sure what that's going to do for my girls trip to Vegas immediatley following that work trip, was suposed to drive the mere 4 hours from LA to Vegas, but now that drive has grown into a 8.5 hour drive, or a $200 plane ticket, so gonna wait it out for a while and see how things turn out in the coming weeks, may just head home after New Mexico. So, hope all is well with everyone, stay safe out there, and chat soon! Much love, Jacks.

from rolling hillsides to the windy city...so long Virginia hello Illinois!

2006-10-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Chicago very early this morning, about 8:45am, once I got onto the plane things improved from my ridiculous drive to the airport. I am defintely no longer in the scenic, rolling hillside state of Virginia, but that's ok, being in the city will be a nice tack-on to the end of my trip. I have nine shooting days ahead of me in the Chicago area, and I have already been told to go see Millenium Park (Ema's favourite place here - thanks babe!), and I can't wait to head downtown and see the sights...and if anyone else has cool things in the area, I'd love to hear it! I picked up my rental car, a 4door Ford Taurus, which kindof made me cringe (I always seem to get the "grandma car"), until I saw that it had a sunroof and GPS - sweet! I've never had a GPS before, I'll never have to transcribe directions off of expedia's website for the next ten days!! yippee!! I am looking forward to my whirlwind 7days off: when I get home on the 16th I am getting my tattoo finished (ouch!) before heading over to the island to see my mom and little bro's for two nights, then its off to Tofino to spend 3 nights in a cabin with a bunch of friends, with another friends' wedding tucked in there too - phew! Can't wait to see you all...one more trip and I'll be home for nearly two months, so i promise I'll be more available! Hope you all are well, love Jackie!

favourite town so far...Lexington!

2006-10-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Just a little insight for you into my favourite town so far in Virginia. This is historic Lexington, in the south west part of the state, and what a great ending to this part of my trip. All of the buildings were heritage, with cobblestone sidewalks, and very nice people! The weather was absolutely gorgeous most days, highs of 85, and the evenings had typical rain and clouds. I left just at the right time, my 2 1/2 hour drive to the airport was at 4am in the dark, terrential downpouring rain, without a doubt the most unpleasant drive to date. I know that I was gripping the steering wheel until my knuckels were white the entire time, and was squinting just to see where the hell the road was. There were several accidents, cars severly flipped in ditches due to the poor driving conditions, holding up traffic and forcing me to forget my sunglasses in my rental, and RUN through the airport, arriving at my gate with moments to spare and feeling like it was the end of the day, not just the beginning. But, I got myself some sweet boots and a fabulous winter coat, perfect for the second part of this trip...Chicago!

Thunderstorm!!

2006-09-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is what Amanda and I were in today...she in Wytheville and myself in Roanoke, VA! Thunderstorm, lightning, 40mph winds and hail - yuk!

Today I met Jessie

2006-09-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone who really knows me knows knows that I don't ever want to have kids. Yes I am just 28, and yes, both my mother and my grandmother had 4 and 3 children respectively, and yes I grew up babysitting my two younger brothers (eleven and thirteen years my junior) and though probably contributing to my decision of not wanting kids, I'm sure they don't have any complaints about me. Well today, at the Days Inn in Roanoke, VA I met a two year old little girl by the name of Jessie as I understood it, who for whatever reason (that she came up with all on her own) didn't like me in the least and decided to show me. The family is East Indian, so Jessie didn't speak English except for a few phrases. The only thing I did understand that she kept saying was "My Days Inn... MY DAYS INN!", and it was assumed that she thought I was there to take away the hotel...hmm. What made me laugh (and eventually quite irritated) at this, was how she decided to show me that she didn't like me. First, she continually and purposfully stepped on my foot during my entire initial conversation with my hotel contact. Of course this didn't hurt as she probably only weighed a whopping 35 pounds, but she did it with such conviction that I really began to wonder. Then, after her mother sat her on the counter top of the front desk so she would stop stepping on me, she must have understood that the shot list was an integral part of this hotel removal process, so she kept grabbing it out of my hands; both her mother and I had to physically move down the counter to continue our conversation. Finally, at one last attempt to disrupt me, while shooting the lobby she kept grabbing the tripod legs and shaking as hard as her little body would allow, forcing me to start over almost every round of every composition. And people ask why I don't want children...silly, silly people.

Ahhh...the art of patience

2006-09-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Patience is the biggest thing I remember from training for this job, Adele always said she learned to just sit back, relax, and be patient, as seemingly set dates, trip locations and schedules will change at a moments notice, and you have to be ready and willing to roll with the punches. I am over half way through my Virginia trip, and it looks like it may be extended by 10-14 days, but in what state I have no idea. And this is not for sure yet, so really, I don't know where I'm going after October 7th and I don't know when I'll be home. But, this is also the part of the job that is exciting; finding out when and where I am going is like being a spy agent for some under cover, super-covert operation, details undisclosed until absolutely necessary, other people scheduling my flights, my car rental, my hotels - my tentative itinerary I get the day before I fly out even states "insertion" and "extraction" dates on it...it's all very Mission Impossible. So, will write again on this topic when I know more...but for now, just be patient. Love you all!

tiny towns=no internet, no restaurants, no gyms

2006-09-25T11:20:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we as photographers just end up in tiny towns, sometimes day after day, which often make for scenic drives, and pretty sunsets, but in return provide no internet, no restaurants and no gyms - the three main things I do with my day: surf the net, eat, and work-out. So...for the past few days I have caught up on my reading, and my movies: almost finished House of Sand and Fog which is quite good, and I bought The Dahlia Files because I saw the movie out about it starring Hilary Swank and Josh Hartnett, but it was just too long, almost two and a half hours, but the subject matter was interesting. I also watched North Country with Charlize Theron who was great, but overall the movie was just ho hum. Will be looking for another new book soon, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Overall not much to report here, just happy to be back in touch with civilization.Write soon, ciao!

New River Valley

2006-09-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

These pics are from the area I am in now, and will be in for the next week or so. Called the New River Valley in the Blue Ridge Highlands, it includes Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Pulaski, Dublin and Wytheville, then just above it is the Shenandoah Valley which includes the cities Roanoke (the largest city in the valley) and everything else northwards, up the west side of the state, along the Appalacian Mountains. I stand corrected, I have now seen what everyone is talking about - this area is beautiful. The valley is centered around the New River, which you can see in the first picture of this entry. Please note this picture is from a bridge, a very very high bridge, one that slightly bounces with the weight of cars, and one that I walked out on to in order to take this picture, so appreciate it! I'm sure many drivers passing me by at 70mph thought I was nuts, but the river and surrounding trees and mountains are just gorgeous. I have been finding great hiking trails, though not really enough time to do a full day hike, I have been keeping to the 2-3 mile lenghts. Will be adding more pictures for sure!

Why is the service here so bad?

2006-09-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

Bad is too nice a word. More appropriate a word, I think, is horrific. I am referring to overall service here is the good ol' US of A, whether you are dining out, stopping to ask for directions, filling up with gas or even dropping into a gym for a bit of excersice, I have encountered rude people beyond anything ever before. Enter my dissatisfaction with american service industry. Last night was a perfect example: I had finished the days shooting, and decided to go the the fabulour gym in Roanoke, VA then to the nearby Olive Garden (another photographer had recommended I try their great salads) followed by a movie - a lovely sounding evening. I get to the gym and ask the girl of about 17 behind the desk, in between her telephone conversations, that I am a visitor to the area and could I please pay a drop-in fee to use the gym just for today? She looked at me with total confusion, and replied "Drop-in? Well what's that?" I thought maybe I was speaking some foreign language to her, so I repeated "A visitors pass? A one-time use?" "Oh, she says. That'll be $5." Great, so I hand her a $10 bill, and proceed to wait for my change as she continues her phone conversation, and I wait, and I wait, after about 5 minutes she clues in what I am waiting for and counts me out five $1 bills...gee, thanks. I orient myself around the facilities, as having to rely on her for anything else would just be too much to ask, and too painful. My Olive Garden dinner was met with equal annoyance. After being forced to sit in the "cafe" area (this is what they call their bar area, with the potential for smokers to light up before, during or after their meals) I was deciding on an entree when I noticed two other tables sat down after me. With no sign of my waitress, I decided on dinner, shut my menu, and opened my new book. Finally she arrived, but not before serving those other two tables first. "Something to drink?" she asks me without so much as a hello, "May I please have a glass of water and a dry white wine?" The look of puzzlement on her face alarms me. "Dry white? Uhh, I don't know what that is." I take a deep breath, and open the wine list, choose one for myself, and she makes a note of it and walks away, but not before turning back on her heels, looks right at me, and says "I.D.". There was no inflection in her voice to imply a question, nothing to make me understand what the hell she was talking about. "I beg your pardon?" "Your I.D." she repeats - this is what I am talking about! Is there some law against manners and politeness here? I like nice Canadians even more.

Bugs and Frogs

2006-09-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

On the outdoor pool shots of both my hotels in Lynchburg and Bedford I have had friends who decided it would be fun to join me. Their pictures are here, and I was a little startled to see them both. The extra-large grasshopper-like bug was hiding behind a pool chair and I almost crushed him when I tried to move it. The frog was enjoying a relaxing swim in the pool, I had to wait for him to swim to the edge before I could scoop him up, releasing him into the woods nearby. cute little guys!

should be called Fat Food instead of Fast Food

2006-09-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well I hate to say it, but I think having seen 3 of the 50 states makes me by no means an expert on americana, but does allow me to form an opinion...and my opinion is: the food sucks! If its not McDonalds or Burger King, then its Pizza Hut or Dairy Queen. And even Applebee's and Chili's are fast food, you just get it brought to your table. Even asking the hotel staff for a "good breakfast restaurant" I follow their directions and pull into the parking lot of a drive through french-toast with-syrup-on-the-inside kina joint. gross! And I actually had a waiter ask if I wanted any fried cheescake for dessert the other night...like what, deep fried? flash fried? Why do you people have to fry everything??!! No wonder you're all 100, 200, 300 pounds overweight!
Phew, well now that my rant is over (thankyou for listening), I will calm down. Seriously though, I have never in my life so looked forward to a homecooked meal. Simon, get ready! I want your cooking! Tomorrow I am leaving Lynchburg where I've been for 4 days, which is good because I'm ready to see another town. I'll let you know how Bedford is, then Roanoke and the southwestern part of the state, which better be as pretty as everyone keeps telling me it is, cuz Lynchburg ain't that pretty.

I hope you all are doing well, I miss you and love you all very much!
xoxo JQ

Lynchburg

2006-09-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Driving into Lynchburg, population of 65,000, it was quite apparent they once had beautiful architecture and a thriving industrial profit but in recent years has literally started falling apart. Outside of the several hotels on the outskirts of town and at their small airport, the homes all have layers of paint upon paint peeling off, foundations that have sunk into the ground, and roofs that look like they will fall in at any moment. Most of the buildings are brick, clearly built many, many years ago, and only very faintly legible are the sun-faded logos and signage painted directly onto their exteriors. There is however, an artist studio building (pic above) that looked to be slightly better taken care of over the years. Artists live and work here, and quite a variety, from graphic designers to painters. The community is widely african american, seeing few other caucasian people, and seems to be quite religious, but I think that is most of the state, if not most of the country.

I google'd Lynchburg & attractions, and this is the page that came up as one of the top results...http://www.retroweb.com/lynchburg/attractions/main.html. Mostly odd historical things about the area (first house with indoor plumbing, a spooky haunted park) but my favourites are The Fletcher Farm Rhino (the photo looks suspiciously Photoshoped), the obsessive -compulsive cemetary owner and Mags the Headless Cat...all equally strange, very strange.

Ciao!

Virginia

2006-09-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well I have arrived in Virginia just two days ago, and I am totally bagged! I really feel like I have been hit by a bus...was it havinga 16 hour travel day that began at 5am two days ago, or the two long shooting days that followed? I'm not sure, but its almost 2am and I'm still up. My first two hotels were in a little town about 2 hours west of Richmond, VA, called Farmville. Now if that doesn't tell you what they do here, I don't know what does. And there are horses everywhere, its kinda cool to see so many of them. Overall Virginia is a polite state (so far) and very lush, lots of trees, with rainy but still hot weather. I am heading to Appomattox tomorrow, then Lynchburg for the following 4 days, where I hope to find some cool pics! I hope you are all well, look forward to hearing what you all get up to in the upcoming weeks. Love Jack!

my Roadkill Trip

2006-08-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have decided that after a late-night run to the corner store for some munchies, my trip should be known as the "Roadkill Trip". It began with my total amazement for the amount of dead animals that are left in this state of decay over Michigans freeways, not only on the I-94 but the M60, the M21 and pretty much every other strip of pavement that slices through these little guys inhabitants. And yes, there were the usual victims: rabbit, possum, and my most hated (the smell lasts for excrutiating minutes inside of ones 100 degree car, miles after one has passed the carcas): the skunk. And this is not to mention the undeterminable animals; the ones that while flying by at 70 mph appear only as a smere of pinkish, chunky, goob. Also beneficial to this tale are the carcases with only a clearly determinable head, mouth rigored in screaming terror, and two front paws, while the rest of the body is, well, detached, soon to be power washed off of some American's Dodge Ram front grill. Surprisingly, only on one occaision did I see a deer, all appendages still intact.

Then, one evening in Adrian, on my way home from dinner it was nearing sunset and the line of cars I was trailing each, one after the other, began to swerve onto the shoulder for a few meters, then back onto the road. Not knowing what they were swerving around, I followed their path. Only when I was immeditely mid-swerve, did I see what we were all avoiding: a tiny, fluffy, white kitten. This normally would have been an animal people were attracted to, but in this instance, it was not. It had been hit by a car, whose driver obviously was either not aware or did not care to stop after, but I could tell just from the out-of-sorts way its head was bobbing and tail was flapping, that it had mere moments to live. Unclear if I would or could help it at all, I felt like to keep driving would only further engrain the image I just saw into my brain...forever. So, I turned aroundl that's right, I pulled a U-ball across 3 lanes of traffic and found myself back at the scene of the crime, staring face to face with this little kitten. Unfortunatley, someone in the trail of cars behind me failed to keep in the path of the swervers, and the kitten was finally put out of its misery by one, last set of tires.

So what made me write this entry? What I saw to conclude this Roadkill Trip, was on a much lighter note, almost roadkill, but thankfully, not quite. Pulling into the Shell, what looked like a discarded crumple of light brown cardboard, not one second too soon turned out to have long, floppy ears, a button nose, and oversized thudding back paws. It was a tiny brown bunny, so small he probably could have fit into one of my hands, that just as quickly as my headlights shone upon it, hopped away into the nearby shrubs. How easily he could have solidified my RoadKill Trip, but alas, goes on to greener pastures, as do I as my Michigan trip comes to an end.

coming home COMING HOME!!!

2006-08-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that I am coming home on wednesday (August 23) - which is fabulous news! The not so fabulous part is that yes, that is a touch early as was originally planned (5 days early) which is not great for the bank account, but GREAT for seeing my friends and family.
The last places on my list are Jackson, Belleville and Brooklyn. Jackson is a larger city, though I am only shooting the hotel there then heading right to Belleville the same day, I hope to spend a bit of time poking around. As for Belleville and Brooklyn, Belleville is just a few minutes north of Battle Creek, where I am now, and Brooklyn is about half way to the airport. I may have to spend one afternoon and go downtown Detroit, as I didn't have to shoot any hotels there, but have heard interesting things about the architecture in the downtown core. This is, of course, by avoiding the not-so-nice parts of town.hmmm.
Well, I miss you all terribly and very much am looking forward to being home.
Love JQ

Paw Paw, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek: Round and round in circles

2006-08-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

So for the last few days I have been going to towns that I have already been to earlier in my trip, and this seems to be continuing at least until the weekend. The only good thing about this is that today in Adrian I got some wicked new photos, and possibly the basis for my next art project, so I guess it was meant to be that I came back here.

That's right, the past two days I spent in the wierdest named cities I've ever been to: Paw Paw and Kalamazoo. And still, I don't know how Paw Paw is actually pronounced; is it 'paw' like a dogs paw, or what some call their fathers and granfathers (Pah); or more like 'pow' - I have no idea, because all the Americans with their crazy accents I could never quite tell. Anyhow, Chris said that when he was in Kalamazoo he was bored, and now I see why. The downtown is boring, a couple of alright restaurants and a cool piano bar, but on a friday night it was pretty hoppin' and not what I was looking for, plus the doorman had never seen a B.C. drivers license before and questioned its validity and my age...Americans. I did find a cut little railroad station-turned-coffee shop and they actually had soy milk as an option, I was floored! Overall, not as exciting as it sounds.
This weekend I have two days off and two work days in Battle Creek (not far from Gun Lake and Shotgun River) and Adrain (I was actually already there on day 3 of this trip, back to do the other hotel there I guess!). Battle Creek is alright, a quiet little town on the weekend anyways, except for an old car show downtown and some kids only event at the Kellogg Center (Battle Creek is apparently also known as Cereal City, as it is the Kellogg World Headquarters...and again, Americans.)
So I'm off to find something to do in Battle Creek on this hot sunny day, I hope all you other VRX'ers are finding cool and interesting things along your trips, and can't wait to see my friends and family when I get home.

Wyoming, Holland and South Haven

2006-08-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

So the weather here has beyond just cleared up, its back to over 100 degrees and beautiful!During my two days off, friday and saturday while staying in Wyoming, and another one coming up tuesday while in South Haven, I have been exploring the beaches of Lake Michigan, and working on my tan!!! I drove north about an hour to Muskegon, where the downtown is cute and the beach was just like English Bay - except for all the people (there were hardly any) and the gross water (it wasn't). Like swimming in a warm bathtub, and crystal clear, I fulfilled my nagging craving for frolicking in a lake.
Today I'm heading into Grand Rapids, its only just a few minutes east of Wyoming, to check out the downtown area, the actually have a couple of art galleries...amazing! Then I'm planning to head to a different beach, probably in Holland, as I'm told that is a good place to check out.
I must say this trip is going faster than Texas did, maybe because that was my very first trip? I remember feeling like the first 2 weeks felt more like 3 years to go by! But now, its almost half way through this trip, and I'm sure they only go by faster as I get more of them under my belt.And though I'm having fun exploring in my time off, I miss all you guys terribly, I can't wait to be home. Hopefully we can catch the tail end of summer on some patios.
Love JQ

Adrian, Three Rivers and Coldwater

2006-08-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today I'm in Coldwater (yesterday was Three Rivers, and Adrian the day before that), all are the across the very south of the state, not too far from Ohio. These have all been small towns, not sure of the exact populations, but all have small downtown areas, but are really cute. Their architecture is very old, mostly brick, and the main streets are lined up store fronts like you would see in a movie, will get some good pics to post soon. Most of the stores are Antiques, that seems to be big in Michigan, and some really cute local coffee shops and diner-style restaurants. I'm trying to stay away from the mainstream restaurants this trip, I got SO tired of Applebee's and Chili's when I was in Texas I think I lost my appetite for a while. And it's more fun to find out of the way, mom-and-pop eateries anyways...as long as I don't get lost, which I have to admit has happened a couple of times (Mapquest sucks!).
I did get the jacuzzi suite at the Super8 in Three Rivers last night, so I planned to enjoy the tub and watch my new favourite tv show Entourage (definitely not for virgin ears) as Simon bought the second season on DVD and naturally, I took it with me on the road. So, I filled the tub, set up my laptop on the edge, pressed play and got ready to enjoy a couple hours of humour. I decided to turn on the jets, only to miss the one jet that was pointing OUT of the tub, unbeknownst to me, directly at my laptop...and as you can imagine, water (and a lot of it) went everywhere, clear to the other side of the room, soaking my laptop. Jumping out of the tub, and pulling something in my back in the process, for the next 20 minutes I sat under the hairdryer desperatly trying to dry out the insides of the computer. Finally all dry, and seemingly no worse for wear, I repeated the set-up process, got back in the tub, and decided against the jets this time around. One foot in, one foot out, I slipped, my knee breaking my fall face first into the tub. Somebody did not want me to enjoy a relaxing evening, but finally I managed to watch 2 episodes before calling it a night. Phew, and I was exhausted.
I'll signoff for now, I know that wasn't a very interesting entry, but not much to say about the small towns for now.
Love JQ

Safe in Michigan!

2006-08-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Safe in Michigan!
So I thought this might be a good way to share with everybody where I've been, what I've been doing, and the fun and weird things I've seen. Plus, I was tired of sending emails and pics to all of you, and only the reliable ones responding (everyone else: you know who you are!)...just kidding...ok, only kindof kidding :)
Arrived in Michigan via Seattle from Vancouver 3 days ago, which made for a really long gross travel day...11 hours I think. yuckie.
Things that make the driving better: XM satellite radio (birthday present from Simon~thanks baby!); yummy smelling 'Clean, fast and out of control' air-freshener (birthday gift from Toby and Wesley); sunroof (advice: don't open it after a night of rain and accelerate quickly unless you want a shower while driving, not good).
My first day was in a little town just south of Detroit called Taylor, then today I south of that, in Luna Pier on the west coast of Lake Erie. Over the weekend I'm heading west to Adrian, Three Hills and Cold Water - can't wait!
More entries to follow...night night!