Circumstances being what they are, we are spending a lot of time on I5. Good lord, it is dull and the traffic from Friday – Sunday has become a trial. The plus side is, I suppose, that Harley the Dog has become quite the road warrior. From shaking in my lap on the first trip to sleeping at my feet on the latest, in 2000 miles of road time. Estimated.
I can do the drive to Eugene with two stops, maybe three, with Harley, there’s at least three, maybe four. Everyone needs to get out of the car and stretch and pee and have a snack and sniff some things. Well, maybe everyone doesn’t need to do that last thing, unless there’s a bakery or a diner, that is. Traveling with a dog, or rather, this particular nervous dog, has given me a renewed appreciation for city parks, accommodation in quiet neighborhoods, and a sandwich so stuffed with turkey that pieces fall out on your plate making you think “I should wrap that little bite in a napkin and give it to the pupper when we’re done with lunch.”
Here’s hoping your week gave you leftovers to share.
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“The travel photographer is thereby caught in a bind. Either he is no better than the desultory tourist, or he is responsible for the fact that our experiences rarely resemble the advertisements or postcards.” —What We See When We Look at Travel Photography
This rather navel gaze-y and lengthy read on travel photography is just the kind of thing I’m a sucker for. Idiocy of the tourist/traveler binary? Check. Discussion of the impact of social media on travel? Check. Obscure art history references that appeal to the academic artist in me? Check. All the good things, if you’re me, and I am.
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We stay in Airbnb units when we travel with Harley. I’m wildly ambivalent about the politics of Airbnb — there’s no denying that they’re having an impact on cities with housing shortages, replacing much needed longer term rentals from the market for more lucrative short term rentals. I’ve come to my own weird, not entirely bulletproof logic to deal with this by renting mother-in-law units where the owner lives in the main house. Please don’t ask me to explain: I know it’s flawed.
In spite of Harley’s neuroses, he’s turned out to be a good guest. If Harley’s been walked and fed, he doesn’t chew, bark, cry, poop, or in any other way leave his mark on the places we’ve stayed. Well, he does shed, but so do I. I always check in with the owner before booking even if it says their place is pet-friendly. At our last stay, our hostess left treats for us and for Harley the Dog, that was rather sweet. And there was a very good walking park nearby.
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We ar
e loyal customers at the Antique Deli in Kalama, Washington, not merely because they once gave us a little package of house roasted turkey when they saw a certain pup propped in the passenger’s seat of our car. They make a damn fine sandwich and are geographically located lunching distance from our door in Seattle. They bake their own bread — this is serious home cookin’, without the ‘g’ on the end.
But on this recent return trip from Eugene, we detoured a few miles off the highway into Aurora. Aurora Mills, Oregon, was founded as a commune in the 1850s; now it’s one of those cute little towns where many of the original buildings are antique stores. You know the drill. They’re twee and you might end up buying something you really didn’t need. Aurora is also home to the White Rabbit Bakery, a lofty little warehouse style space where they also make a damn fine sandwich. At some point, I should probably publish The Damn Fine Sandwiches of Interstate 5, but for now, this will have to do. The coffee is good here too. There are loads of gluten free options for your annoying friends, but don’t be put off, gluten lovers, because, like I said, they make a damn fine sandwich. Also, the husband ordered the gluten free cupcake by mistake and snarfed it right down.
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It feels like I’m not getting much creative work done of late, but I am shooting a lot of photos, mostly with my phone. I still really enjoy Instagram (follow me here). I’ve been having a good time with Prisma (get the app here, it’s free). My technique has been to apply a Prisma filter at lower than 100%, then open the image with Instagram to do the usual shenanigans. It’s fall so the light is good for much longer than it is in the summer. I’m also shooting at night and finding it weird and grainy and moody and that suits me just fine.
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