It was maddening to begin our trip two hours after our original departure time (stupid Tidwell bus & Houston traffic) but once we were on the road things were going great. Upon hitting San Antonio, we were so caught up talking about late 90s rock courtesy of a commercial free 97.7 FM that Fran & I failed to realize we were no longer on I-10. It was an hour or so later when trailer after trailer passed us by that it dawned: we were off our main route. Ultimately, it led to one of my favorite parts of the trip...u-turning precisely in front of the Mexican border next to Del Rio, TX. Had it not been for the HUGE warning sign, Fran may have checked visiting Mexico off his to-do list.
Driving into Marfa at 3:00 am later that night was definitely another highlight of the trip. We are fairly confident in announcing that we saw the infamous Marfa Lights:
It was a deserted stretch of road. We had not passed a single car for at least an hour and a half (creepy!) when all of a sudden Fran urgently asks me to look out the back and tell him what I see. Instantly alert, I unbuckle my seatbelt, turn around and do a double-take. Off in the distance, high above the height any vehicle headlights should be, were a set of what appeared to be headlights. They were not the steady glare you see when looking back upon an oncoming vehicle's lights. Instead they hovered in a constant swarming motion with accompanying red dots next to the double white lights. It was eerily unreal. By the time the realization of what we could potentially be seeing hit me, it was too late to reach for my camera since the lights were gone. Fran & I have reached a stalemate. Relegating it to our first Valentine's Day drawer: maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. I'm siding with the, it was the Marfa Lights!
Other than our uncertainty regarding the lights, the trip was amazing. We even made new friends! A super sweet & intelligent couple from San Francisco, who Fran & I both fell in love with. We met upon touring the Chinati Foundation grounds & formed our own little quartet as we walked the compound with our guide, Logan.
We hope to go back one day. But first, we must recover from the drive. Until then, happy belated Valentine's day everyone!
3 comments:
welcome home!
did you see the 'prada, marfa' installation?!
please say yes.
and thank goodness you were together. i would have freaked with those lights.
anxiously awaiting more photos!
I love it! I love that the things you enjoyed are the unexpected things (getting off the route, etc.)
You guys are really, really cute Dahnya.
I'm glad you had a nice road trip! I can't wait to see more pictures!
Hilarious! I was laughing out loud at the description of you guys in the car, watching the lights. I could picture you whipping around in your seat and finding yourself face to face with...the MARFA LIGHTS! It sounds like you guys had a blast!
PS. Thanks for the teaching book recommendations. It's always nice to get feedback from others within the system (Hah - it sounds like we are part of the prison system.) I mean from others who are also in education! Happy Wednesday!
Post a Comment