This was right outside our hotel this morning.  Let me write that again, this was right outside our hotel this morning. I wanted to make it clear when I go over the conversation with my husband that that this was right outside the hotel. I saw it the night before and knew we would be leaving the next morning after sunrise and that the light would be nice. I mentioned to my husband that I wanted to shoot it before we left, how could I not? Talk about iconic, right?  He agreed. The next morning, when we were leaving even earlier than planned I reminded him that I wanted to photograph the sign that it would take five minutes, maybe less. You know what he said? He said we needed to get on the road, I reminded him that it would be five minutes and he answered, “five minutes could put us back an hour when we are driving 11 hours.” Wha? Really? In what time zone is this guy traveling in?  Seriously?  I took my shot anyway, I don’t know if this opportunity would ever come up again and I have never heard of this weird time factoring he had going on. I think we might kill each other on this trip. It’s stressful enough moving cross country, but add in a filled to the brim truck, two naughty dogs and the world’s most neurotic man and I am a little on edge. We did make it through the rest of Arizona and through New Mexico today, I am sitting here typing this in lovely Amarillo, Texas. I will add more pics tomorrow, tonight I am so tired that my eye lids need toothpicks to stay open for a second longer.  We’re off to Memphis tomorrow!

We left California today at a little after 12 p.m., I tried to not get too melancholy, but saying good bye to my home was a wee bit tearful.  We left a day early because the timing worked out better for everyone. We drove for six hours straight to our first stop Kingman, Arizona. My husband and I were both beyond tired and hungry when we arrived which made for great company. There wasn’t much of a selection of places to eat, but I saw there was a Chili’s and I knew it was a chain so how bad could it be?  Let me segue here, I read once about some pioneers called the Donner party that were on their way to California and got lost, they were so hungry that they boiled their leather shoes and ate them, when they had no more shoes they proceeded to eat eachother. If there are only Chili’s restaurants the rest of the way to the East Coast my husband better watch out, I am so not going to eat my shoes…

One of our homework assignments this week for our Souvenir Foto School was to shoot color.  I went out and looked for something striking and was about to give up when I ran into all this pink.  Who knew there were so many pink buildings in such a small radius in the City of Angels?  I didn’t.  It was such a nice find I felt like I located missing treasure.  If you are practicing your photography I suggest you go out and find some color, it’s a lot of fun, a great way to get yourself shooting and it’s pretty much everywhere.  The best part is you can shoot at pretty much any time of day/night.  I shot this when the sun was super high and bright.  I wouldn’t shoot a portrait or pretty much anything else in that kind of light, but for these color stories it was just right.

This is one of my favorite photographs by one of my all time favorite photographers. I am so excited that on one of my last days here in the City of Angels I will be able to indulge in a Herb Ritts exhibit and an indulgence it will be. I will have to leave my zipcode and *gasp* my car to get to the exhibit. I am spending a last outing with my Bestie, leaving is such sweet sorrow indeed.  I have been in Los Angeles for so long it’s a part of me, like an eccentric relative.  I can complain ad naseum about ‘her’, but if you did I would get all 21 kinds of defensive. My friend Nina said, ‘you”ll be back’, but I don’t know. The way I look at it is everyone here seems to be on their great adventure (since they are from somewhere else), it is my turn to be on my adventure, granted it is a little late in life, but better late than never, right? At least I won’t be sitting in my rocker asking, ‘what if…’. I am a bit terrified about the mosquitoes eating me alive, but other than that all I am looking forward to is a new phase in my existence. I wish we could spend more time enjoying the drive cross country but my husband (gosh, it’s weird saying that) has meetings the following Monday so we are on a tight schedule. Two more days and we are headed out for the unknown. I have never felt so thrilled and terrified at the same time.

Miss B.:   Oh look at that pretty light!  Bella, do you want Mommy to take your picture?

Bella:      Sheesh lady, can you not see that I am totally comfortable?  Don’t you have enough photos of me already? It’s nap time.

Miss B.:  Pretty please?

Bella: Seriously? Sigh…You aren’t going away are you?

Miss B.:  Was that necessary?

Bells:     Completely.

Miss B.: Come on, if you cooperate this will go by so much faster.

Bells: Don’t you have some packing to do? Okay, okay, I’ll pose for one shot, but then you have to leave me alone.

Miss B.: Pinky promise.

Bells:  I’ve been working on this pose for awhile, it’s a little introspective. What do you think?

Miss B.: Not too shabby. Nope, not too shabby at all.