Coffee Cup Perspectives: Roadtrippin' Sabbath, Leg 1

The whole point of a roadtrip home was to relax. This was my first week off in a couple of months and I slipped it into October because I wanted some time to absorb the beauty, visit friends without rushing, and soak in some family time without ending it with a sprint to the airport. However, when driving alone, there are some restrictions if you plan to be a) alert and b) moderately comfortable for most of the trip. For me that means daylight travel and not too long in the car. I did want to make the first 9-10 hr drive between Peoria (IL) and Steubenville, Ohio in one day, so I couldn't dawdle too much. But I also wanted to capture some of the Midwestern farmland in autumn warmth: there's more to this route than endless cornrows....

So I compromised and did some literal application of the "point & shoot" approach to photography. The TLC (Trusty Little Camera) sat gunshot, sharing space with the maps, CDs and water, ready to go. When I saw something I thought looked particularly classic, unique or striking, I picked up and not really looking - because that would mean not looking at the road - took a snapshot. The term now has a whole new meaning in my mind! Naturally, the lighting, composition and even the angle of my hand were completely hit or miss! I did a lot of deleting when I got home. But I did capture some of what I saw, with no danger to life, limb or other drivers. (You will notice almost no cities appear in this series for obvious reasons.)

I had a lot of angle issues - apparently my sense of what we call proprioception, or where your body is in space, is relatively poor. I always THOUGHT my camera was reasonably straight, but the photos say differently.... So don't flip through too fast if you are prone to motion sickness. :)

Leaving Illinois.... you would think a tornado was rolling through, but no such drama developed. Just wind and clouds....

Heading towards Indianapolis....

Afternoon sun over soybeans....

(Clearly not a moving shot.)

Making progress!

Ohio farms in the early evening

Small town American pride...

Setting Autumn sun....

Getting on towards dusk, but still a few hours left....

Eventually I made it through the detours and construction and found welcome rest, warm dinner and (of course!) good conversation with my professor and friend, Justyna...

There is a delightfulness in Polish hospitality from which I come away thoroughly refreshed everytime I come to visit. A day or so without a schedule is a good, good thing once in a while.

The weather was perfect for walking, so there were several of those - with Justyna and with Sherine, Scot and their girls.