California in Film

Jul 172009

The road! The ocean! The Pacific Coast Highway!

Somehow this roll of film survived my camping trip to Maine where I woke up with several inches of rain soaking my pillow, daypack, camera, etc. Here’s what was almost lost forever!

Also, to show how fragile film is, the other roll I took in to get developed (photos of last weekend’s trip to the beach) did somehow get screwed up. Sadness.

Strawberry Crush

ON THE ROAD, U.S.A.

Jun 242009

Roadside strawberries from a farm off the Pacific Coast Highway.

Chasing the Fog

ON THE ROAD, U.S.A.

May 062009

[singlepic id=16 w=600]

I don’t like hot weather. I don’t like cold weather. I don’t care much for warm weather either. I like cool weather. And I especially love cool, foggy, Members Only jacket weather. When I lived in LA, I hardly ever went to the beach during normal beach hours. I went in the evenings or at night. I went for a drive. I went to the pier and wore sandals and a hoodie. Continue reading »

Decadently, By the Sea...

ON THE ROAD, U.S.A.

Feb 172009

“I’m not afraid to walk hand in hand
I think we were made to lie in the sand
Decadently by the sea, under the sun”

-from “Lovers from the Moon” by Stephin Merrit.

I love car culture. After being without wheels for my first few years in New York City, I took matters into my own hands and bought a good friend’s used Volvo 850. It’s crappy enough that I can park it anywhere on the streets and not worry about it and at the same time as durable as any piece of machine I’ve ever owned. I love it more than any material thing I possess. (Well, except maybe for my Canon 5D).

Having a car in New York City allows me to bring back some of the most cherished elements of my Los Angeles childhood. Just the comfort of knowing there’s a beach 15 minutes away is a wonderful thing to wake up to every morning. And of course, the ability to jump behind the wheels (and in my mind’s eye, I never settle for anything less than jump) and get the fuck out of town at the whistle’s call.

The following are some photographs from last weekend’s escape to Cape Cod, Massachusetts — which, until then, was one of the few unexplored outings in my many New England jaunts.

Next: Cape Crusades >>

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Southern Road Trip Recap

ON THE ROAD, U.S.A.

Jan 112009

I’ve milked this road trip enough to get a few writing exercises out of it. Now it’s time to put it to bed with an index of one-sentence reviews (with a few exceptions), which is an idea I took my friend Alex‘s travel blog.

States Touched

New York. “Launching pad.”
New Jersey. “They have cheap gas here, and a former/current conman/mobster will pump it for you free of charge! (or maybe it’ll cost you your life?)”
Pennsylvania. “One hell of a bitch to drive across — endless, long, long! — but the parts of the farmland you’re awake for are New England-caliber beautiful.”
Virginia. “I’ve been to Shenandoah National Park and The Blue Ridge Parkway here a couple of times before, so this time we just drove straight through it on the interstate.”
West Virginia (barely). “I’ve never actually gotten out of my car in any of the numerous times I’ve driven through this state, but I always find myself humming John Denver tunes when I’m here.”
Tennessee. “It was bone-chilling cold in the Smoky Mountains so we played ‘Quick! Your turn to run outside, read the sign, snap a picture, and then get back inside the car and let’s never do anything like that ever again!’”
North Carolina. “The Native American town zoo of Cherokee (a.k.a. “land of unsold tchotchkes”) right outside of the Smoky Mountains is one of the saddest places I’ve ever been too — imagine Atlantic City with only one Ho Jo-quality casino, no ocean, and a million Burger Kings and Dairy Queens.” (Yes, we stopped for lunch at the BK.).
Kentucky. “Where the birthplace of bourbon and Tanveer meet. And fall in love! And get married…etc.”
Indiana. “An excellent location to play Guitar Hero on the Nintendo Wii.”
Ohio. “I didn’t even know I was driving through this state until I was beyond it.”
States intended to but not covered: Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia. “Ah, well, there’ll be more road trips.” Continue reading »