The great american journey :)

Original date:
June 10th, 2005

After many mini dramas and obstacles we left at @ 1 am and entered Panama City Florida @ 8 am. We did however gain an hour and couldn't get in to Falling Waters park for another hour. The park was home of Florida's largest waterfall. Evidently it was quite large but we didn’t stay long enough to see what it really had to offer. I believe that at least half the crew had anticipation about this journey and a Florida park with mosquitoes and pine trees wasn't holding much excitement. When we started this trip I proclaimed that the only "plan" was to be in Dallas by the 10th for the shoot. That was my only obligation. I wanted to be able to just go with the flow and see where it took us, be open to all possibilities. An interesting observation with this concept is that everyone still has their own expectations and understandings about what's going on and what they want to do. The most vocal usually wins out and that usually leaves the least vocal, irritated or cheated. We are all ( 5people) learning important lessons in communication. We are learning how to assert what we want to do and listen to another's desires as well, then come up with a democratic solution which still requires a certain amount of sacrifice somewhere along the way. Democracy is not always the best solution when all people are not voting. We traveled four states in less than 24 hours: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. We breezed through the French Quarter, bought some post cards, took pictures and then went to Baton Rouge and camped in Tickfaw State Park. We were set up about an hour and already eating dinner. I had driven most of the early part of the trip, through the night and early Am. Night driving is more my bag and I had my ADHD med to keep me focused and not in my own little lala land. Yet, when we finally settled at the end of 24 hours and I had not slept or eaten, I was in meltdown mode. My heart was racing, my body was pissed off at the misuse and the message was clear "EAT AND PARK YOUR BUTT ON THE COT AND TAP A NAP!" Eventually I leveled out and I was listening to all the frogs signing... and I was telling Heather how cool it was to drive through huge fields of fireflies... when Scotty came in to the tent to get us. He insisted that we come outside and escorted us into the black forest canopy and it was aglow with sparkling lights like a well strung Christmas tree. To me, it seemed as if I was in a magical forest or a scene from Ferngully and fairies were converging everywhere! There were also occasional flashes of lightening to further increase the dramatic effect. Pinpoints of light would pop in and out of existence and the sky would flash. We got up and grabbed a bite to eat at our campfire and headed to Lafayette. Once there, we ate @ Prejeans and had the traditional Cajun Cuisine which was sumptuous. We sat in the car trying to plot out our next adventure. The deal is... it's great to be in the moment and just go but we have a SUPER limited budget, so little things like "where do we sleep" are things to consider. Still have not gotten our IRS return and waiting on a check from a henna client. W/O those monies, it makes it much more of a challenge to be spontaneous. We have had a few moments of frustrating communication failure, but looking at the whole picture, I think we are all happy to be where we are. We all feel fortunate to have the opportunity and love one another. We are driving in a Ford freestar together for two months and that... in itself is quite a challenge, one that we are all up to tackle. It's all good. I am enjoying being with my family, seeing new sights and gaining new experience!