Two Dogs, One Bone

Time really is slipping away now. There are just a mere eleven days left until that fateful morning when I'll be packing up the final articles, shifting into first, and slowly turning out of the driveway and onto the road toward oblivion. It's a magnificent feeling to know that in such a short time I'll be off on my own, ready to explore and survey a part of the country that, up until a month or so ago, I had never thought I would have the chance to see. It amazes me, it surprises me, it scares me. I don't mind being alone; in fact, I often enjoy it compared to the companionship I am surrounded with. It'll be like a vacation inside of a vacation, inside of an experience.

I have almost everything I need now, except perhaps a bike rack to put on the back of the car. I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of a bike, but I'm pretty positive it'll be helpful in some of the busier cities, especially San Francisco, where I hear the driving is absolutely crazy. I love my bike. I hope I have time to finish fixing it up before it's time to leave though; I guess the new paint will have to wait until after I come back. I'm still deciding on whether I want to do a solid color, stripes, or argyle. Argyle would be the best, but also the most difficult and time consuming. Definitely worth it though. Since I have two bikes, maybe I'll paint one solid with an added fade or some other touch of excellence, and do the other one argyle. That'll all have to wait until June though, so there's really no need to fuss over it right now.

I've decided to continue a project that I started for school. I have this hilarious Lego man sitting on a horse that I stenciled onto a large sheet of fabric; it looks great. I'm taking it with me on the trip and using it as an individual project, aside from the actual reasons for taking the trip and photographing the landscapes I want. It should turn out pretty great, as long as I can find a secure way to hang it on any surface and as long as I find some appropriate places to hang it. The photographs will be posted to my flickr as they are taken (http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherfecio/). I'm really excited to be integrating these two completely different projects into a single experience. I wonder how they'll mesh or clash..

This is an example of the first place that I installed the piece (Charles Street in Toronto, Canada).

Also, along with these two projects, I'll be dabbling a little into mail art. It's something I had to do for a Foundations class and that I studied in a poetry class, and it's something that I find absolutely incredible. I still have to decide if I'll just be sending everything back to my house or if I'll send it back to friends and then just collect it all later. I'm hoping that it'll find a place in my show next semester. It could be a very nice opposition to the other pieces I'll be creating, as it is very small, colorful, and dimensional. Perhaps I'm taking on too much with all of this, but I want to keep busy while I'm gone. Sure, it's a vacation I probably won't be taking again, but it's also an amazing opportunity to get so much accomplished.

In eleven days I should be out of New York by this time. Nothing but an open road ahead of me, and nothing but support left behind.

For once you will see,
see the magic inside me as I
drift towards the unknown
that sits ahead like a stone by the road.

There's a change in the Wind

It's getting closer and closer to that day with every hour that passes. Three weeks from this moment I should be at my first stop, somewhere halfway between the place I've always called home and an open Texan frontier. Twenty-one days. Five hundred and four hours. Thirty thousand, two hundred and forty minutes, give or take a few...

Every day I feel more distant from everything that surrounds me. In my mind I've all ready taken the first step on the road. I have very little interest in anything school related, and I can really feel it just slipping out of my fingers; I don't even care anymore. It's not like it's been easy, or difficult for that matter, but I just need it to be over. Unfortunately there is still another year to go.

The box arrived and it fits beautifully into the back of the Jeep. It even seems to be larger than I had thought that it was going to be. I ordered a new top for the Jeep because the old one is pretty crappy and messed up; it looks like the last owner failed to take very good care of it. I guess they just didn't understand what a great thing they had. It's been driving really well lately, though. Almost like a dream. I can't wait to get out onto the open road and just soar through the countryside.

I still have some work to do with my 4x5 before I leave to make sure that it's working the way it should. I also have to talk to the head of the photography department about some things to make sure that I can take advantage of everything that I have on hand. Nothing too major though, I just want to make sure I can make the best of the opportunity I have been given.

Finishing up projects and going to class are pretty much going to take up the rest of my time until the end of the semester, and I have two more papers that I'll be doing before Monday, but that shouldn't be too difficult. It's not even like I'm interested in my grades, I just want to leave.

The last few weeks I've been throwing around the idea that I wouldn't come back once my trip was done. It was mostly just a joke, see how people would react, see what it would be like to actually be gone. It was all just harmless fun for me, but then for the first time today, I actually thought about it. I let the thought manifest in my head and whirl around between thoughts of Lego men and early North American art. Would it be so bad to have the chance to start over? To be able to walk down the street and be able to honestly say I have nothing except for the new experiences that I am going to have? It's only the single greatest thing that I thought could ever happen. Would I miss my family? Probably for a little while until I just stopped thinking about them. Would I miss my friends? Of course, but even they, too, would eventually slip themselves from my thoughts.

It wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Another Try

Hello again!
I've been starting to gather everything that I'll need for the trip. I purchased a lockbox since I don't have a locking trunk (http://www.oramagazine.com/images/0511-nov/051106t-holiday-gift/item17.jpg). It's sort of like that one but it has a door that open on the front, as well as the opening lid. At least this way I'll know that the equipment that I'm bringing will be safe. I'm not exactly sure how big it's going to be; even though it says the size on the website, I'll never really know until I actually see it in person and can start throwing some of my stuff in there.
I also bought the tent I'll be using to camp in. It had pretty good reviews at most websites, and since I'm not expecting much rain while I'm traveling, I don't think I should really have any problems (http://www.w-trek.com/images/solitaire.jpg).
Things are looking pretty well, so far. I have a lot more work to do to figure out the actual route I'll be taking, but after school ends I'll have a nice, solid two weeks to figure all of that out. I have a very vague idea of where I'll be going, but I still have to decide whether I want to enter Canada through Washington and go all the way across the country or travel through Montana and then go up there. It'll all be arbitrary, depending on what sort of research I do before I leave.
I still have to buy all the food I'm taking, decide what clothes I'll take, and find truck stops or camp sites to sleep at. I also have to buy my film still. And do some more shooting before then so I can get the development right.

I'm feeling a little nervous, a little anxious, and more than a little excited. I really need this solo trip in my life right now.

Over, and out.

Preparation

With just over five weeks left until I leave, it's time to start thinking about everything I need to buy, bring, and still plan. I have a general route planned out, nothing too exact yet, but I know that I want to make it down to Texas, across to California, up to Seattle to visit Curtis, and then east through Canada along the plains, and eventually back through Fargo on the way home, stopping to visit my aunt in Des Moines, Iowa. It seems like a lot of driving, and it is, over 7000 total miles and over 110 hours of driving time alone. Not to mention time scouting locations and setting up shots. I'm hoping to take a total of about four or five weeks for the whole trip. That'll be enough time to get my mind off of a few things and decipher a couple more.

The day will be May 11. I wanted to leave earlier but my grandparents will be in town for my brother's graduation so I figured it would be nice to stay the couple extra days they are here. My only exam is on May 4 so I'll have the whole week before and after it to get all my stuff together, packed, and arranged. It's going to be quite the amazing trip. I've never done anything like this by myself before; I mean sure, I've travelled to Australia, but that was with a friend, and a group. I've driven the whole way to Baltimore, but again, with friends.

The only big worry I have is where I'm going to be staying at night. Truck stops seem convenient, but I'd like to spend a couple nights camping out by myself. I have a couple places along the way that have friends, or family, or family of friends, that have offered me a place to stay and a shower. A nice warm shower. That's the thing I'll miss the most. I need to get away. I'm so ready. The last couple weeks have been very strange, and the next few are sure to be no different.

No pictures to upload yet, but I'll try my best to throw a couple up from the trip each day. You know, the stereotypical sunset, mountain shot, or self portrait in front of a landmark. I'll save the good stuff for my show when I get back. I'm going to be travelling back in time, using a 4x5 camera, travelling by myself, through miles and miles of empty, open space. I think it might be the best thing that could happen to me.