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I know the writing is bad and the relationships in the books are unhealthy at best but you know what? It’s good escape literature that you love to hate. I also hate to love it.

What’d I tell you? It’s complex.

Last week Hayley text me and asked me if I would want to take an epic journey to Forks, WA next (now this) week. “Heck yes!” I replied. “It’s not like I have a job or anything going on in my life!”

That’s my typical response now: “It’s not like I have a job or anything happening.”

Wednesday morning came and Hayley showed up at the ridiculous hour of 7:30am. Doesn’t she know I have no job thus like to sleep till noon? (I’m half-joking!). She patiently waited until after I had a phone interview for a (potential) contract job and then we loaded up into the car and hit the road.

Oh boy can you sense the excitement?

After two hours of driving through the Olympic Peninsula and a whole lot of nature we hit Port Angeles and knew we were getting close.

And if Super 8 wasn’t helpful enough there was always road signs:

About 45 miles outside of Forks we hit some epic road construction by a lake that had us sitting there for 20 minutes. It was all fine and dandy since hey, at least we had a view! We managed to eventually escape that joy and within another fifty minutes we hit Tourist Spot #1:

I won’t tell you how many tourists were gathered around to pose by the sign but at this point I started loudly proclaiming “I have no shame” and “I embarrass myself.”

Driving through Forks itself was very… interesting since obviously their sole purpose is now catering to the rabid fans who descend in masses to be somehow apart of the series.

And I’m not even talking to the specific areas of town specifically catered to objects/places in the books.

Yes, that includes the Visiter Center.

This was just awesome: capitalizing on the madness:

“Twilight firewood”. Yes. I’m sure it’s wood from trees the Cullens broke while playing vampire baseball. I had to give whoever did that props since I’m sure someone will buy it since it’s from Forks and has Twilight written above it.

Even heading out to the reservation they got into the Twilight madness:

Here’s some overcast beach shots for those who are under the misconception that Washington state only has grey skies:

Overall I have to say that I had a good time but it was kind of sad how tourist trap the town now is. Like, you couldn’t walk down the main drag without Twilight being shoved into your face… especially as you go by the store Dazzled which, of course, sells only Twilight related apparel.

If you’re a hardcore fan who wants to go “experience” Twilight I’d say make the trip to Forks, WA since they cater to making the fans happy. I enjoyed my time with Hayley (despite a few times of refusing to get out of the car to take pictures due to embarrassment). Now when I tell people that I live in Washington state I can tell them yes, I have been to Forks, WA, and hopefully watch them explode in a dazzling display of diamonds.

Or whatever those vampires do.

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I thank my lucky stars they did!

I’ll write more on a day I didn’t get another job rejection and am thus depressed (I’ll write more on the job hunt as well! Lucky!). I’ll instead direct you to something positive and the product of everyone’s hard work:

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They now reside in our backyard.

I’ll go into more details later as to the building of the coop and adjusting to life with chickens (and all those tasty “farm fresh” eggs) but instead I want to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart: how uncooperative chickens are to photograph.

I mean, I get it since I know what a giant pain photographing our cats is but seriously? Probably nine times out of ten I end up with shots of chicken butts.

I secretly think they take pleasure is showing me their behinds and knowing that I fear them almost as much as they fear me.

I grudgingly text Emily last week and admitted that chicken butts are, in their own way, kind of cute.

That is until I see what a mess they’ve made in our backyard.

While showing their rears for photos.

There is, I guess, a reason why I named them after Hades’ sisters.

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wordless wednesday

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Me: Pretty much kicked everyone’s bejeweled score (on my facebook friends list) by 30k. lol
Mack: Noice
Mack: Well done
Me: I feel it ranks up there with world peace
Me: Or at least rubbing my victory in their FACES

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On one of our visits down to Oregon visiting Mack’s parents something inside me changed (or snapped) and suddenly I wanted chickens. This in itself was really odd since I’m scared of chickens. Or at least I was more so then I am now. Something about their beady eyes and sharp talons was a major turn off to me. Until I had farm fresh eggs. After that? Suddenly chickens weren’t all that bad in my book.

As we prepare to get some chickens for our backyard I decided it was high-time I do some research and learn more about these predators (joking) who will soon be making our lives a whole lot more chaotic.

1. More than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of food, for both their meat and their eggs.
2. The vast majority of poultry are raised using intensive farming techniques. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74 percent of the world’s poultry meat, and 68 percent of eggs are produced this way.
3. The broody hen will stop laying and instead will focus on the incubation of the eggs (a full clutch (all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles at a single time) is usually about 12 eggs).
4. Incubation for eggs is about 21 days (if the egg has been fertilized).
5. Chickens may live for five to eleven years, depending on the breed.
6. Meat chicken generally lives six weeks before slaughter.
7. Chickens can sense fear. This excites them.**
8. A chicken is 75% water.
9. A chicken once had its head cut off and survived for over eighteen months, headless.
10. There are more chickens on Earth than there are humans.
11. There are four cities in the United States that have the word “chicken” in their name: Chicken, Alaska; Chicken Bristle, Illinois; Chicken Bristle, Kentucky; and Chicken Town, Pennsylvania.
12. The chicken is the closest living relative of the tyrannosaurus-rex.
13. Hens will try to lay in nests that already contain eggs, and have been known to move eggs from neighboring nests into their own. Hens can also be extremely stubborn about always laying in the same location.
14. The fear of chickens is called ‘Alektorophobia’.
15. On average, a hen layouts 300 eggs per year.

* emphasis on “I didn’t know”.
** citation needed.

my sources: Amazing Chicken Facts, Wikipedia: Chicken, and 20 Little Known Facts about Chickens

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Now, originally we were going to catch a ride up to Dallas on Sunday morning with the newly wed couple as they went off to their honeymoon. Saturday night, however, we decided in part due to how stressful Saturday was for everyone and also the want for the newlyweds to have alone time and not have to cart us around to another place we’d find another ride elsewhere. It was suggested we try Enterprise car rentals since hey! They come to where YOU are!

… unless it’s Sunday. Then you’re S.O.L. as we came to find out.

Sunday morning, Mack and I scrambled around our Super 8 hotel room trying to gather stuff and find someone, somewhere, anything??, that was open on Sunday to get us to Dallas where we could rent a car to get up to Oklahoma City, from where we were flying out of Monday afternoon. After about an hour of this we finally decided hey, perhaps another day in Rockwall wouldn’t be all that bad?

Plus we kind of had no other choice.

Luckily, due to all of Mack’s traveling last fall for business, he had earned a substantial amount of Hilton reward points and we were able to use them for a “free” night at the Hilton (only took Mack six-weeks of back and forth travel to earn them!). Now, not to disparage the classiness of the Super 8 but I will have you know I moved the table in from of the door every night just in case.

Paranoid, yes, but justified. Years ago my uncle and aunt woke up in their hotel room to find themselves being robbed.

After all our stuff was haphazardly packed, we made our way to the front office to check out and order a taxi to get across town before we figured out how to get from the Hilton to Dallas the next day. We checked out and the taxi was called (and judgement passed since we had to tell the receptionist where the taxi was to take us) we sat down in the lobby to wait for the taxi to eventually show.

Enter awesome Trucker Dude.

As we were waiting on the couch we watched a semi pull into the parking lot and adjust approximately fifty times. Once satisfied the driver climbed down and lumbered towards the office. Now, the man wasn’t huge or anything but you could tell he was full of life and took no prisoners if you angered him. This, of course, naturally intrigued us as he burst forth into the lobby and demanded the receptionist offer him the best deal he could offer since it was only an overnight stay and he knew people and wasn’t willing to accept anything but the lowest deal. The initial price was offered and Trucker Dude scoffed saying they could do better and he knew it. Another figure was thrown out, five dollars cheaper, and Trucker Dude rolled his eyes and was asked again if that was truly the best deal? A stare-down commenced before declared the deal was the best available, the receptionist cowering(I can only assume). With a huff Trucker Dude turned his heal and said he’d be back but he’d probably find a better deal elsewhere.

At this point Mack was thoroughly impressed with this dudes powers of persuasion and I’m sure took mental notes.

Another twenty-minutes passed before Trucker Dude re-appeared with coffee and a few million more semi adjustments. The whole exchange between him and the receptionist, round two, was equally as amusing.

T.D. (Trucker Dude): Now, I have to have a room where I can see the semi. This is REALLY important.
Receptionist: We will see what we can do.
T.D.: You don’t understand, I must see the semi. I can move it. I can park in your damn swimming pool I’m so skilled at moving that truck! Then I can get it out with no problem.
Receptionist: …
T.D.: Now, do you guys have HBO?
Receptionist: Yes, we have that channel.
T.D.: Well good! True Blood is back on tonight and I gotta watch! … where ya from anyway?
Receptionist: I was born here in Texas.
T.D.: No, I mean, where are you really from? You look like you’re from India.
Receptionist: Yes, my family is from India.
T.D.: Yeah, I knew it. When did you come over from India?

So on and so forth.

As Trucker Dude waited for a room with a view of his semi he spotted Mack and I on the couch carefully avoiding eye contact. Fortunately these things mattered not to him and he started chatting with us, first asking what we were doing there (waiting for a taxi), where we’re from (Seattle, and we’re stranded, thanks), and commenting on my wrist tattoo since people with ink were “cool” and “good people.” His energy and enthusiasm drew us out and I thought damn, does this man have people skills!

We only really talked with him for a few minutes before our taxi finally showed up. As he helped me with my bags (what a gentleman!) he said farewell and that he hoped the rest of our journey was uneventful and we made it home safe.

I can tell you one thing for sure: this random stranger so full of energy and life definitely made our morning and brightened our mood on that difficult day.

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Late last night Mack and I got back from our trip to Texas for my friends wedding. Lots of stories to come about the weekend (like the whole wedding party almost eating boat deck when a strong wave hit during the ceremony) but in the meantime: get a taste of a Texas wedding!

Technorati Tags: texas, weddings, summer, texan wedding, traveling, photography, casual photos

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Thought I’d try another I Heart Photography challenge since the theme this week is “Pets“. We all know I am crazy cat lady, after-all.

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