Today I picked up my number for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon tomorrow in San Diego.
I was training for it, but got off track and pre-occupied with driving long distances in my Fiesta! (Don't worry - I'll get back to that again next week!)
I'm pretty sure I'll walk a bunch. I don't know if I'll finish. But I'm going to show up and do what I can!
Isn't it cool that they put "Brooklyn Hilary" on my number?! Sweet!
Last night I decided that today's adventure would include the use of my late great Aunt Barbara's Minolta camera.
I recently visited my sister in New Hampshire. She's getting ready to move to the Philippines and, in the process, is getting rid of lots of stuff. She asked me if I wanted an old camera that had belonged to my grandmother's sister, Barbara.
Of course I wanted it! It's hard for me to pass up a camera of any kind. And the fact that it was Barbara's made it even better.
When she was alive, Aunt Barbara worked for the government and traveled all over the world. It was never made clear to me what, exactly, she did. Therefore, many romantic stories have been made up in my head.
What I do know is that she would come back to the United States with all sorts of goodies. Jewelry and furs and rugs and, oh, I dunno, exotic birdcages and such. She once gave my sister $10 and me $5. It made sense to her because my sister was older than me. I disagreed.
There are many beautiful old photographs of her. Here is one:
I didn't decide where to bring the camera until morning. Someone Twittered that they'd be in Santa Barbara that afternoon. Santa Barbara! Of course!
I got up, put some film in the camera, got in the Fiesta, and made the fun and beautiful drive north along the coast. (Oh, how I'm enjoying having the Fiesta for such occasions!)
I'd only been in Santa Barbara once before, about three years ago, for a bachelorette party. But I'd brought my own camera that time and had thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the area.
I started off thinking I'd take shots that made me think of Aunt Barbara. The first one I took was this, which reminded me of treasures she would bring home from far-off lands.
Then I thought I'd re-visit some of the things I'd taken photographs of years before, like this staircase:
But did I want to just take the same photos all over again? No, not really.
It had been a while since I had used a non-digital 35mm camera. A few times, while trying to just check the light levels, I accidentally snapped photos. This one, for instance:
It was slightly frustrating. So I ordered the lunch special at Wahoo.
By the time I finished lunch, I'd decided that I'd take two rolls of film rather than just one. And that I'd just go out and do what I do best. Wander. And shoot.
Here are some of the things I saw...
After taking a photo of the VW, I heard someone above me on a balcony. "You like that bug?" he asked. I nodded. "There's a nicer one in the back." So I climbed on the porch of the house and looked back to see this one:
I love taking photos of old cars. I also saw a couple great old Fords!
Notice all the blues and oranges in Santa Barbara? As my visit came to a close, I saw these chairs on a lawn. I parked the car across the street, went right up on the lawn, and snapped the photo.
As I turned around a truck was pulling up and a young gentleman waved at me.
"May I ask what is so fascinating about my lawn?"
I told him that I was drawn to the color of the chairs - that they were so "Santa Barbara". He smiled and told me that he had painted them himself. He then explained that his newly-washed work shirt was on one of them and that the sun would be out by 6pm (it was a typically overcast day, apparently) to dry it out.
I laughed and thanked him for the photo opportunity. He thanked me.
We smiled.
He got out of his truck and went inside. I got into the Fiesta and drove away.
Thank you for the camera, Aunt Barbara! I'm putting it to use and having a truly lovely time at it...
Today I got out The Lonely Planet's Guide to Experimental Travel again and decided to go on an adventure.
My pick today was "Automatic Travel". I got in the Fiesta and just drove wherever I felt the urge to drive. Random lefts and rights just to see where I might end up.
I brought my camera along and decided to take 24 shots, like a roll of film. When I finished the 24 shots, I could go home.
Here is what happened...
I started off in South Pasadena, CA. I headed south. The first photo I took was of one of the many trees currently covered with purple blooms.
Oops. My camera was on manual focus.
I continued on my way. When I hit Main Street in Alhambra, I was tempted to turn and go get a bubble tea at a place nearby. I passed the turn, but the urge was still there, so I went a round-about way. It came up sooner than I expected and I passed it. I turned right down the next street, planning to go around the block. But I saw this:
I decided the road being closed meant I was kinda cheating and I should skip the bubble tea. So I continued along in the car until I saw this sign:
My nickname all growing up was Hilabean or Bean - mostly used by my father. So, you know, I supposed a photo of the "Bean Tract" sign was in order. According to an article in the LA Times, the Bean Tract is Alhambra's "priciest neighborhood".
I drove around some residential streets and came across this house, with an amazing magnolia tree out front. It was made even more interesting and beautiful by the plants hanging from it!
I'm pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood watch program saw me get out of my Fiesta with my giant professional camera. Perhaps an eyebrow or two was raised.
A few more twists and turns and bam! I was back on Main Street, right near Cha for Tea. Okay, if the Road Closed sign was a hint to move on, this was a hint to get that tea. At least, that's what I decided. I got "black almond milk tea with pearls". The thing I like about that place is that they have you try it and they'll adjust the flavor, if you want them to. This one was a bit too sweet at first, but they fixed it! Yum.
My next stop was to take a picture of Beto's Grill, in honor of Beto Lopez, also known as Mooncricket. He is one of my fellow Fiesta agents!
A little further and I spied this odd statue of a horse.
What would you suppose that statue would be in front of? I wouldn't have guessed a dental implant business. But there you go.
There were a few times when I'd see something and turn around to go back and take a photo. Jug and Jigger Liquor called to me and back I went.
The next two photos were of street signs. (Throughout the day I was tempted to take photos of MANY street signs, but I drove past most of them. These two, though, I stopped for. The first was Lemon Ave. My car's name is "Jack Lemmon", so...why not get a shot? The second was Pamela Rd., which made me think of my friend Pam from high school!
A little while later, I found myself in front of a mall. There was a sign for Border's. I decided to go in and buy a journal. I parked on the roof of the garage and entered the mall. Where was Border's? I decided not to look at a directory. Instead I would wander.
First thing that caught my eye was Ben & Jerry's. Yum. I lived in Vermont until I was 12 and grew up on Ben & Jerry's! I would have had some if I hadn't just had that bubble tea!
Then I saw a carousel. I took this video, but then had to stop for a photo once I saw the rabbit.
I went into a hobby shop and saw this Mustang.
I had been thinking about hobby shops lately. I remember them having all sorts of stuff in them, but this one was almost all cars and trains.
Next I went into H&M to browse. But I ended up spending $15 on this summery dress.
I found myself back where I started in the mall and, whaddaya know, there was Border's - I'd somehow missed it. I decided to skip it and got back into my car.
I drove down this beautiful tree-lined street...
Saw this draped cross in front of a church...
Found myself behind a truck with the license plate "BGPOPPA"...
And realized I was close to where my boyfriend, Rick works! I was hungry. He was hungry. We decided to have lunch at The Health Express. I love that place. It's vegetarian fast food! But don't let that make you think it's actually healthy. It IS yummy.
I dropped Rick off at work again and meandered west and north. Found myself going up a winding hill, where I saw Smokey the Bear! I had to park the Fiesta on the side of the road to get the shot.
I went up and up and found a neighborhood at the top of the hill. But from what I could tell, the only way down was the same way I'd come up. So I went down and down. And saw George's Drive-In Liquor.
There are some things that seem strange when attached to "drive-in". There were a lot of characters milling about and I remembered that there had been two shootings at a liquor store in the area recently. So I stayed in the car to take the picture. Rick told me later, though, that it wasn't the same place. Once at George's he'd heard a bunch of guys bragging about how they were about to go up the hill to see Snoop Dogg's mother, who lives up there. Hmmm. Maybe I saw her house.
The next thing that caught my eye was this. I couldn't tell if anything was actually there yet. Maybe it was all just closed for Memorial Day. But the colors were fun and photograph-able.
It seemed I was pointed back in the direction of home, so I snapped one more photo - of myself - in the Fiesta and headed back.
It was a fun outing and I saw lots of things I wouldn't ordinarily have driven past! I'm going to do it again. And again, maybe.
On Thursday, May 14, I visited Ford in Dearborn, MI. They were super-generous and gave me a Rouge Factory Tour! What was extra-special was the fact that Dan Klebe brought me down on the factory floor AND allowed me to take photographs!
Here I am with Dan Klebe:
Before starting the tour, we took safety precautions... Here I am with Scott Monty, Elise Miller, and Bill Allemon in our vests and protective glasses:
On the factory floor, I was reminded of everything I learned in my Operations Management class in grad school. I loved that class - figuring out how to make things efficient, identify issues, avoid bottlenecks...
And man, this place is well-run!
This truck plant produces approximately 1000 F150s every day. It takes 22 working hours to complete a truck. We were able to check out the process start to finish.
Dan pointed out lots of interesting things! For instance, the lack of cardboard. Look - can you spot any?
There was a time when factories were filled with cardboard. Now, though, they have replaced most of it with re-usable plastic bins. Some of these bins were filed with recyclable materials:
Some of the things that impressed me most were the measures taken to help the workers in the factory. Each person is performing repetitive tasks, which could take a physical toll. Of course there are regularly scheduled breaks, but there's a lot more than that...
For instance, this gentleman is in what they call a "happy chair" (happy seat?). Here, he uses the chair that can swing in and out of the cab of the truck. It is highly maneuverable, allowing him to do his work while minimizing physical stress.
As the trucks are being assembled, they are on the platforms you see below:
These platforms adjust in height depending on the task at hand, eliminating much of the bending or stretching that would otherwise be required of the workers.
Here is the end of the process - completed trucks. I was told that this area was nicknamed the "maternity ward"!
Everything happening in the factory is timed perfectly. It's an amazing production and so neat to see first-hand!
After seeing the factory, we were brought upstairs to view the "living roof". It is a 10.4-acre garden and is the largest living roof in the world.
It is just one of the ways in which Ford is taking environmental responsibility - an effort which has led to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Award. You can learn more about LEED here and more about the living roof here!
Visiting Ford's Rouge Factory was one of the highlights of my first cross-country road trip. Thank you to everyone at Ford for laying out the red carpet and letting me experience it up close!
So my friends Joe McGinty and Ward White recently appeared in my first Fiesta Movement Mission video (see it here), but I didn't really show off their real talent in my scene from National Lampoon's Vacation!
They are amazing songwriters/singers/musicians! And their new CD "McGinty & White Sing Selections from the McGinty & White Songbook" is now out! The official release party is tonight in NYC! I'm soooo sad that I have to miss it! f you're around, check it out...
Mcginty & White Record Release Extravaganza! Thursday, May 21 The Bowery Electric 327 Bowery (at 2nd St.), NYC Doors - 9:30 Free vodka drinks from 10-11 Special Guest DJ Tanyandsuki spins until 11 McGinty & White - 11:00pm - Sharp! $8
Featuring the M&W All-Stars:
Mike Fornatale - Guitar/Vocals Jeremy Chatzky - Bass Eddie Zweiback - Drums Jeff Hermanson - Trumpet
My first Fiesta Movement Mission for May's "travel" theme was to recreate a scene from National Lampoon's Vacation, using the Fiesta instead of a station wagon. I figured the Fiesta should also be used as the one that Christie Brinkley drives in the movie... :)
It was super-fun getting friends together to make this video. :D Told ya I could get people to do silly things! ;)
