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Granola + Pearls

Granola Sensibility + Pearls of Wisdom + Endless Wanderlust = ?

Travel

Posts and stories about my travels–or general notes on travel, as applicable.

After the Rain

Posted on May 5, 2014 2 Comments

 

 

Los Angeles as viewed from Mulholland Drive, February 2009.
Los Angeles as viewed from Mulholland Drive, February 2009.

Like “The Eerie Statue” this is something that I initially posted on Facebook and chose to share here, as well.  Below is the essay that accompanied this image:

From street level, Los Angeles often seems like an endless tangle of concrete; a horrific urban sprawl worthy of being the backdrop to a cyberpunk novel. Certainly, there are parts of it that are beautiful, but these places are for wealthy or long-established households. For most, the Westside’s postwar neighborhoods–with their sprawling ficus trees and lush gardens–are unaffordable. And the further east you drive, the more L.A. seems like a suffocating expanse of pink stucco, broken sidewalks, and polluted sky. It offends the Midwestern eye. It seems claustrophobic, labyrinthine, terrifying. Stuck in traffic on La Brea, you start to question your sanity, and consider moving to Alaska to live with wolves.

And then it rains, and everything changes. [Read more…]

Posted in: Creative Life, Musings, Photography, Travel, Writing | Tagged: Essays, Los Angeles, Mulholland Drive, Photos with Essays

Driving West: Day Three

Posted on September 28, 2013 Leave a Comment

 

Just a bit o' driving...
Just a bit o’ driving…

Holy Lead feet Batman!  I MADE IT TO SEATTLE!  (Well, okay, Monroe.)  I didn’t doubt that I would, honestly, except while I was going through Snoqualmie Pass today–but I’m getting ahead of myself. [Read more…]

Posted in: Epic Road Trip, Photography, Travel | Tagged: Bakery, Epic Road Trip, Game of Thrones, Idaho, Monroe WA, Montana, Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, Wheat Montana

Driving West: Day Two

Posted on September 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
Screen Shot 2014-01-09 at 11.38.40 AM
A list of interesting things in North Dakota:
1) uh…

My first year of college, I dreamed that I was back in 8th grade, just totally rocking a geography quiz game.  My friends and I were standing  in front of a giant map that was a the back of the room, and every country my teacher named, I pointed out with ease.  “How do you do that?” one of my friends asked me, eyes wide and tone reverent.

“I dunno,” I replied.  “I just do.  It’s like the information is just there in my head.  For example, I know that Mozambique–” I pointed to the map, “is right there.”  When I woke up, I was completely flummoxed.  Partly because I was having a dream about 8th grade as an 18-year-old, but mostly because I am pretty bad at geography. [Read more…]

Posted in: Epic Road Trip, Photography, Travel | Tagged: Epic Road Trip, Montana, North Dakota

Driving West: Day One

Posted on September 26, 2013 Leave a Comment
Map of my drive.  From Munising Michigan to Bemidji Minnesota

If this was distorted to show how much time I spent in each area, the UP would be taking up most of the image.

I almost called today “Michigan: Day Twenty-Seven”. But I didn’t finish the day in the state, so I decided to categorize this as the start of a new section of my trip. However, it was a close thing. I spent a good eight hours meandering in the Upper Peninsula before I finally buckled down for the drive west. [Read more…]

Posted in: Epic Road Trip, Travel | Tagged: Adventure, Epic Road Trip, Lake of the Clouds, Michigan, Nature, Upper Peninsula

Michigan: Day Twenty-Six (On the Road Again)

Posted on September 25, 2013 Leave a Comment
Michigan_drive
On the road again…

Goodbyes are really hard.  They make “hellos” sweeter, but that doesn’t take the acrid taste of a farewell from your mouth, when you’re saying it to someone you love. [Read more…]

Posted in: Epic Road Trip, Travel | Tagged: driving, Epic Road Trip, Kawkalin, Long Drives, Macinac Bridge, Michigan, Sherni's Candies, The Turkey Roost
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  • After the Rain
  • The Eerie Statue
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