Category Archives: WPC – Reminder

Alamo Bowl Road Trip: Magnolia

I slept like a baby. Like an angel. Like a baby angel. I woke up in the morning ready to take on the world.

After I got out of the shower I decided to walk the Motel 6 grounds to check out the lay of the land. I carried the trusty Alpha 77ii with me as I was deleting images because I didn’t want to run out of images on the memory card because we were going 2 places I planned to photograph.


Alamo Bowl Road Trip
Motel 6

While I was deleting pictures a paranoid Motel 6 employee approached me and wanted to know what I was photographing. I explained nothing, I was just deleting images. He seemed to be satisfied with this answer. But he also seemed to shadow me for several minutes. Not very trusting these Waco types.

I don’t watch a ton of home improvement shows, but my two favorites are REHAB ADDICT and FIXER UPPER. While Chip and Joanna Gaines aren’t making the show now, they have created a tourist trap where people can fork over their hard earned coin for overpriced mugs, shirts, and bags.

Jesse and I left the hotel and headed to this oasis in Waco known as Magnolia.

Here are a few images:


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia

The fact that the Alabama Sweet Tea food trailer wasn’t open was a minor tragedy. True, I still had a couple bottles of Gold Peak Extra Sweet Tea in the cooler in the car, but I strongly wanted to evaluate this Alabama Sweet Tea to see how it stacked up against my own brew, Thick Soul Sweet Tea.

The lack of Alabama Sweet Tea wasn’t going to ruin the trip, but it certainly left a hole in the trip that didn’t seem could be filled.

My recommendation if you go to Magnolia is to skip the bakery. There is a trailer that sells the same food as the bakery, with a considerably shorter line.

Magnolia was cool and all, but it is still mostly just a store. As a minimalist, there is only so much unabashed commerce I can stand.

That being said, if you are in Waco I would recommend stopping.

As for the bakery, I had the Silo Cookie and the Chocolate Chip Cookie. They were both tasty, but the Chocolate Chip Cookie has it all over the Silo Cookie. They also sold cupcakes, but I didn’t purchase any, as I am not a big fan of cupcakes.

We loaded up the car and I punched the address of the Branch Davidians Compound into the GPS. I had absolutely no clue what we would find what we would find when we got to the place where 76 people died in the Waco Siege.

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SURPRISE!


WEEK 176- SURPRISE
SURPRISE

A SURPRISE photo is a photo of anything that deals with a SURPRISE. From reactions to results to planning.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alamo Bowl Road Trip: USS Batfish

After paying our respects to “The Tall Chief”, we hit the open road. We headed south in Oklahoma and weren’t really sure what we would find.

Several miles down the road we saw a sign for Muskogee. While I am personally devoid of musical talent, I do love music. I wanted to visit the town from the Merle Haggard classic.

Unfortunately, the signs indicated that we needed to make about a 60 mile detour to visit Muskogee. Nothing against Merle Haggard, but we aren’t talking about Johnny Cash here.

However, the signs seemed to be wrong. Not seemed to be wrong. The sign was wrong. We headed straight when it told us to turn. Yet, we drove right into Muskogee, Oklahoma. Where we were able to observe many an Okie. From Muskogee. Many of them seemed to be livin’ right. We didn’t see any that had let their hair grow long and shaggy. Unfortunately I can’t say I saw any Okies holding hands and pitchin’ woo. That being said, it definitely seemed like the kind of place where even squares can have a ball.

Since we had hit the mythical Haggard town, I was hoping to find a statue of Merle Haggard or at least a plaque that bragged up the only reason anybody has ever heard of Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. But my mad googling didn’t come up with any information on a Merle Haggard statue or even a plaque indicating where kids still respect the college dean or even a store that sells white lightning.

The biggest tourist attraction in Muskogee… Oklahoma… USA.. according to the googles was a park that had a submarine in it.

A park with a submarine in it?

Muskogee is a good 10 hour drive from the nearest ocean, gulf, or sea. So a submarine… in the middle of a park? This is something we had to see.

We put in the GPS coordinates into the phone and before you knew it, we had paid $7 and were staring at a submarine.

This is what we saw:


U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

U.S.S. Batfish

The submarine is the USS Batfish. It was launched in 1943 and decommissioned in 1969. It is known primarily for sinking three Japanese submarines in a 76 hour period in 1945.

It was definitely one of the surprise bonuses of the road trip. It also confirmed my belief that I would never make it in a submarine. In addition to never wanting to me submerged underwater at a depth of any more than a few feet, submarines are definitely not made for the talls.

Average height for people serving on the USS Batfish was 5 foot 8 inches. I believe anything below 5 foot 10 inches is considered a midget. Some of them preferred to be called dwarves. None of them enjoy being tossed.

We bid a fond adieu to the USS Batfish and got back on the open road. Let the tones of Merle Haggard take us from Muskogee.

“We still wave Old Glory down at the court house…”

As we meandered down to Texas we enjoyed a beautiful Oklahoma sunset on an unknown lake:


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

When we hit Atoka, Oklahoma we stopped for gas, snacks, and a restroom break at a Pilot Travel Center. It was here that I made the most wonderful discovery! You could call it an Alamo Bowl miracle!


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

As an aficionado of sweet tea of some note, Gold Peak Extra Sweet Tea is kind of like my holy grail. While southerners cling to their racist past and try to denigrate us yankees incorrectly for not knowing sweet tea, there is one thing they do have. Gold Peak Extra Sweet Tea. I have never been able to find it up north. This makes me melancholy. It is a fact that I have even tried to order it online, with nothing but failure greeting my every step.

I was beginning to think Gold Peak Extra Sweet Tea was something that I had imagined. But it isn’t.

I picked up a few bottles and we hit the open road, more than a little bit happier than before we had met the magical place known as Pilot Travel Center in Atoka, Oklahoma.

Our next stop was for supper. We got a little ways past Dallas and pulled in to the first Whataburger we could find.

Who has two thumbs and LOVES Whataburger?

This guy!

I realize now, that would work better with a picture.

Enjoy these pictures instead:


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Whataburger is the #1 franchise we don’t have in Iowa that I wish we had in Iowa. There isn’t even a close second. And not just because as a general rule I can’t stand corporate eateries.

We made the rest of the journey and found a cheap hotel in Waco and bedded down for the night.


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

It was a Motel 6. They don’t have breakfast, but it is still relatively nice compared to some of the other places that Jesse and I have stayed.

I slept like a baby. Like an angel. Like a baby angel. I woke up in the morning ready to take on the world.

To be continued…

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is MACRO!



MACRO

But what is a MACRO photo? There is a technical definition that involves the ration of the real life object being a 1:1 ratio for reproduction blah, blah, blah.

All you need to know is that it is close-up photography. Get close to your subject. Very close. Very, very, very close.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alamo Bowl Road Trip: The Tall Chief

Jesse and I left for the Alamo Bowl at about 7 AM on Thursday, December 27.

Our first stop was at a Casey’s in Peculiar, Missouri. It was noteworthy mostly because gas there was $1.75 a gallon. A good 20 cents cheaper than in the Cyclone State:


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Our second stop was at Red Hot & Blue a blues themed barbecue in Joplin, Missouri. Every time I get just a little bit south into the Civil War participant ribbon part of the country I try to drink almost exclusively sweet tea.

There is a thing about southerners where they don’t think us yankees know anything about sweet tea. A point that was hammered home by a Waffle House waitress in Mississippi during the Liberty Bowl Road Trip.


Liberty Bowl Road Trip

It is a myth that all yankees don’t know about sweet tea. I am somewhat of an expert on sweet tea. I design and make Thick Soul Sweet Tea for Baby Got Rack Barbecue, an award winning competitive barbecue team of some note.

When we posted up in Red Hot & Blue I ordered up a sweet tea. This became a story in 3 acts.

Sweet Tea: Act 1

The first glass of sweet tea hit the spot. It had almost the perfect amount of sweetness. Almost.

Sweet Tea: Act 2

The refill was decidedly less sweet. Maybe about 45% as sweet as the first glass of goodness.

Sweet Tea: Act 3

They gave us a glass of sweet tea for the road. This final insult to sweet tea was an insult to sweet tea. It was little more than brown water. Did you have an aunt growing up that put so little sugar in Kool-Aid that it was little more than colored water? That wasn’t just me? It was an abomination.


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Our next stop was at the Conoco One Stop Food Mart in Big Cabin, Oklahoma. The thing that stands out about the Conoco One Stop Food Mart is that in the front of its parking lot is a 46 foot tall statue called The Tall Chief.

It might be the best art in Oklahoma, if this gas station clock of Taylor Swift is any indication:


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

I pulled out the real camera and took some photos of “The Tall Chief”:


Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip
Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip
Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

Alamo Bowl Road Trip

After paying our respects to “The Tall Chief” we hit the open road heading towards San Antonio, but uncertain what we would see between there and there.

To be continued…

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Reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ART:


WEEK 174 - ART
ART

An ART photo is any photo of a piece of ART or of somebody engaging in making a piece of ART. A truly confident person could argue that any photo they take is a piece of ART.

Happy photo harvesting!

Boone FUMC Church Directory: Chapter 2

Back on December 27, 2018 I began publishing pictures I took for the Boone FUMC Church Directory back in April and May.

One of the things that I do for the Church Directory is going to the local nursing homes and take pictures of church members that can’t make it to the church for the actual church directory photographers, but still wish to be included in the church directory.

Here are pictures from those photo shoots:


Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

Boone FUMC Nursing Home Photos

There are still at least one, possibly two or three collections of photos I took for the Church Directory still to publish.

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This is your weekly reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ABSTRACT:


WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT

An Abstract image is a picture of something where it isn’t readily evident what the subject is. It is a representation of an object that isn’t meant to be an exact facsimile of the object. Wildly out of focus pictures qualify for ABSTRACT. Long exposures can be ABSTRACT photos. Or, you could even take a picture of ABSTRACT art.

Happy photo harvesting!

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 13

Before we dig into the meat of this blog, I should point out that I’m (hopefully) in San Antonio right now. Getting ready to root for the Cyclones against the Washington State Cougars in the Alamo Bowl.

You should definitely sit down and root the Cyclones to victory.

The game starts at 8 PM Central Standard Time. The channel is ESPN. Root hard, because better believe that I will be!

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Last Thursday night Andy texted me and invited me to come to an event I’ve never been to in my life. Something I’ve never really wanted to attend. However, it involved his progeny Kyle and Kyle is a good egg, so I figured, “Why not?”

It was also a good chance to put Page 13 into the completed column of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:


Photo Journal - Page 13
Page 13 – Take a picture that helps you come to terms with a personal hang-up.

How is a high school wrestling meet a personal hang-up? It isn’t really. It is more like Youth Sports is kind of a personal hang-up of mine. I helped coach Little League for 10 years and I saw very little good come from the experience.

I can say that wrestling also isn’t my thing. I don’t hold any ill-will towards the sport, but it just isn’t my thing.

I appreciate the discipline, hard work, and commitment it takes to be a wrestler, I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t take those same things and direct them towards something fun… like basketball. You know, the best sport.

But I have agreed to go to 1 Kyle wrestling meet every year for the next 3. 2 if he makes it to State.

While I can only physically adhere one picture in the physical THE PHOTO JOURNAL, I did take several more wrestling pictures.


Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Page 13 - Alternate

Not sure what page we will cross off next time we check-in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. Perhaps that page will be crossed off in San Antonio!

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is FRIENDS:



FRIENDS!

A FRIENDS image is a picture of FRIENDS or anything that comes along with having FRIENDS.

Happy photo harvesting!

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 88

My favorite church service of the year is undeniably the Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve.

The last 4 weeks at Youth Group we have been having our own Advent Candle series.

It culminated on Wednesday when we lit the Love Candle and then the Christ Candle and then had our own Candlelight Service.

It was the perfect time to take Page 88 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:


Photo Journal - Page 88
Page 88 – Take a picture inspired by your favorite poem

I took this picture in the worst way possible. I put the DSLR on a little tripod in the front of the room and controlled it with my smart phone, while running the ceremony. The results were less than spectacular, but they are what they are. I’ll set up for success next time.

Here are a few of the other photos:


Page 88 - Alternate

Page 88 - Alternate

Page 88 - Alternate

Page 88 - Alternate

The poem that is my inspiration for these photos is “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

I first came across the poem in the movie AKEELAH AND THE BEE. If you haven’t seen that movie, I highly recommend it!

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Here is your weekly reminder that the theme for this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is PHOTOJOURNALISM:



PHOTOJOURNALISM

A PHOTOJOURNALISM photo is any photo that can be used to tell the story. It doesn’t have to be the kind of story that the “New York Times” would report. A small company newsletter would still count as PHOTOJOURNALISM.

The editor of the “Boone News Republican” is a subscriber to this blog. You never know, you could catch his eye and you could be launched on a PHOTOJOURNALISM career.

Reminder that Monday is Christmas Eve. Plan your submitting accordingly.

Happy photo harvesting!

Naima Car Ride

I still haven’t got back to THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, so instead of that, enjoy these pictures of Naima riding in a car.


Naima enjoying a car ride.

Naima enjoying a car ride.

Naima enjoying a car ride.

Naima enjoying a car ride.

Naima enjoying a car ride.

Yes, I was driving while I took these pictures. I’m pretty sure that is safe.

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Here is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SPORTS/GAMES:


WEEK 170 - GAMES/SPORTS
SPORTS/GAMES

A SPORTS/GAMES photo is any photo that involves creatures involved in SPORTS/GAMES. Or a pictures of SPORTS/GAMES equipment.

Happy photo harvesting!

Word

A couple months back I was cruising back from Big Creek and I saw an interesting bird sitting on a fence.

I pulled over and snapped a few photos.

Have a looksie:


Bird

Bird

Bird

Bird

Hopefully next Friday I’ll be back on track with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. I guess we’ll see.

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This is your reminder that the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme this week is FAMILY:


WEEK 169 - FAMILY
FAMILY

A FAMILY photo is a photo of a FAMILY or anything that is related to a FAMILY. Don’t let anybody else’s limited definition of FAMILY constrain you!

Happy photo harvesting!

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 23

Last night was the lighted parade in Boone. While I was walking around the mean streets of urban Boone, it dawned on me that it was a perfect opportunity to knock out Page 23 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:


Photo Journal - Page 23
Page 23 – Photograph a shadow

To make image more unique, I really leaned into the contrast and clarity of the image to make it somewhat film noir. I like to think THE OUTER LIMITS.

While I was up at the lighted parade I got a somewhat indecent proposal from Santa Claus, but I’ll share that at a later date.

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Reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is COMMUNICATION:



COMMUNICATION

A COMMUNICATION photo is any photo of creatures engaging in COMMUNICATION. A dog’s tail wagging. COMMUNICATION. Sign language. COMMUNICATION. Smoke signals. COMMUNICATION. Bumper stickers. COMMUNICATION. They are saying, I’m not worth getting to know.

Happy photo harvesting!

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 44

When RAGBRAI came through Boone a few months back, I knew it would be a great chance to tackle Page 44 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT.

Therefore I took a day off from the day job, grabbed my camera, and began walking down Old 30 between Boone and Ogden.


Photo Journal - Page 44
Page 44 – Take us on a journey through your picture.

I took hundreds more pictures of the RAGBRAI experience, but I’ll share those at a later date.

Next time we check in on THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, we’ll… I have no clue what page we’ll check in on. I need to get out there and take some more pictures!

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ? PLACE:



? PLACE

A ? PLACE picture is a picture of a PLACE from where you are at or wherever you are from.

Happy photo harvesting!