On Saturday, I made an unplanned trip to Hallettsville to visit a cousin who has fallen upon some hard times. Hallettsville is only about 1.5 hours away from my house, almost all but a mile of it traveled on the same highway. I-90 is road I travel quite often to get from point A to point B in my neighborhood, and I never gave any consideration to how far it might stretch across the state and what all I might find if I ever took it out of town. Not being the adventurous sort, it’s probably not something I ever would have done without a reason, but I noticed pretty early into the trip that there were a lot of little interesting stops that could be made along the way – only I hadn’t brought my camera as I didn’t think it appropriate at the time (turned out my aunt and cousin both asked me why I didn’t bring it, so I guess I could have and it would have been fine).
Anyway, I did have my iPhone with me of course, but I didn’t want to slow the trip down by taking pictures, so I decided to film video of the journey instead, both to remind me of places I’d like to get back to later with a camera in hand, as well as entertain myself while driving. I ended up with about 20 minutes of footage, but knowing I could never subject people to that much shaky iPhone video taken through a bug-splattered windshield, I narrowed it down to four minutes and added a pretty song to make it more entertaining. I worked on this video for hours Sunday when I got home, so please – ENJOY, dammit! It’s only four minutes! And if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to drive across Texas, here you go (even though really this is only 1.5 hours of driving across it. Still).
I also took photos with my phone once I got to Hallettsville; here’s a few I’ve had time to process.
Hallettsville courthouse – also taken with the iPhone through a car window and edited with Snapseed on my phone. Not bad huh?
One of my cousin’s dogs had puppies, and this is the only one they have left to give away. He’s adorable, but already spoken for, and he’s going to get big so I couldn’t have taken him anyway.
mareymercy. 
I found this to be poignant on a number of levels, starting with this song. As I watched it I couldn’t help but think about environmental issues, which have been on my mind lately for many reasons. The people who live along that route, I am sure, are just trying to have a good life. How I wish they could have it but I am not sure they will, as things are going. That said, nice job on the transition between the vintage-almost-sepia and the color. Great sky. I don’t know when we will see clouds like that again here, but I would be very grateful for them. That courthouse shot is amazing — especially from a phone. And, of course, that puppy is adorable (mix?). Nice, thought/mood provoking post perfect for blue Monday. Hope for the best for your cousin. They can’t be too sad if they mentioned your camera. 🙂
I had a few songs specifically about Texas in mind at first, but as I was perusing my music for the right tune I came across this one and not only liked the way it sounded, but it was timed perfectly to the end of the video, so that decided it!
Mesmerizing ! Once again, another “talent” so wonderfully exposed. “Next one”?
Thanks! I need to remember to use this app I have on my phone that makes the video look vintage – I always forget to use it!
Great video. I love how that rice mill place (or whatever it is) looked like classical Greek architecture at first.
Thanks! I did like that shot too.
Very cool video Ned photos too
Thanks! 🙂
so much open space and buildings that look straight off a movie set. It was like the journey to Oz from the wizard of oz. cool video.
Thanks – Texas is really spread out and you’re right, there’s a lot of open space. We’re all so used to it down here we forget it’s not like this everywhere.
Very nice video. It really gives you a feel of the area. I spent time in Dallas, but that’s a bit more congested.
Nice work.
Yeah, this is a pretty short trip from where I am to Hallettsville, but it’s all very open and traffic is sparse. It made for a nice drive.