I left work 30 minutes early to get home, but I didn't save 30 minutes before leaving. I took my time as it was beginning to get dark to drive out. I had to pack the camping gear and get the compressor out of my dad's car, and I off I went. This trip, I would go either north or west or both. New Mexico is very easy to drive through because there aren't many cars on most highways; it was driving through Texas which there were tons of drivers.
It's only a 3-day weekend, so I won't be able to make it to more than one state. Sometimes, it seems like a waste of time to just drive for 3 days and then return- a waste of gas, time, money, energy. But it's too late to think about that now. The freedom of the open road has a soothing and therapeutic affect like soft jazz music to some people. If anything, it will give me a chance to reflect on my life lately- to examine what I do wrong and how I can change it.
I brought along my new Fuji 2300 FinePix digital camera (it was a display unit which I bought at an online auction for $125 with shipping), but it only has an 8 meg smartmedia card which will hold about 24 pictures at normal quality. Fry's, an huge electronic, is on the opposite side of town and has the 128 meg smartmedia card on sale for $39.99. It's a long drive, but it's on the way if I head strictly north to get out of gigantic Houston. Well, as fate would have it there was major traffic at one point, so I decided to head west and forsake the card for now. Man, $39.99 is so cheap!
I haven't been taken too many pictures in recent past. I'm not sure those pictures will ever be of any use in the future, and I hardly ever review them again. It seems sometimes a waste of time to try to capture a moment in time when time isn't something which should be stopped. We are fascinated with capturing anything we can- whether it's animals, emotions, people, time. I don't know. It's not wrong to capture memories, it's just not something I think about much. When we try to share these captured moments with others, do they genuinely care? Maybe I'll change my viewpoint in the future, but for now I will take a few pictures.
After making many turns on farm roads, I ended up on Highway 71 heading into and through Austin, TX. It was late, I was tired. I came across a farm road which led to a recreational area and figured that was where I would spend the night.
Finally I made it to the end of a road with a big empty parking lot and a boat ramp. I parked at the very end and brushed my teeth and put on my shorts. It was dark and a little scary, but I was extremely beat.