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Travel

seven magic mountains

by Kaylah Stroup May 30, 2017

colorful rocks, las vegas, desert

The very first stop (after late night tacos + coffee in Los Angeles) on 2017’s road trip out west was the Seven Magic Mountains. I’m going to assume if you use instagram, you’ve probably seen one… or fifty billion photos of these incredibly colorful boulders.

This art installation in the middle of the desert opened up in May of 2016 and from the second I saw it I was in love. Less than a year prior we had driven around the same area and I was disappointed to have been so close but missed out. Why couldn’t they have been there then?!

Eventually, as time passed, my intrigue grew to disinterest as I saw photo after photo after photo pop up on social media. Gosh, I hate to even admit that. It sounds so bitter but it’s at least a little bit understandable, right? Every photo I saw showed the “mountains” surrounded by people. It looked so crowded. It just didn’t seem like somewhere very enjoyable. Part of what I love so much about our trips to the desert is that it’s kind of a solitary thing. The places we go just seem so far off the grid, so untouched and untainted. It’s an escape of sorts.

Still, I couldn’t resist the lure of these wildly colorful things in the middle of the desert. I had to see them with my own eyes. We drove through the night, stopped to sleep a bit at a rest area, and arrived at the Seven Magic Mountains as the sun came up. To my surprise, there wasn’t a soul around. We had the whole place to ourselves. It. was. magical! Seriously, an amazing way to start the trip.

moon, magic mountains, desert art sunrise, desert art, las vegas, 7 magic mountains las vegas art, roadside attraction

Normally I get my film hand checked at airport security since it shouldn’t be X-rayed. This year I didn’t have room in my carry on-to take my land camera which already had film in it. I just decided to toss it in my checked bag and hope for the best. I was pleased to see that the resulting damage was actually a pretty cool looking effect.

They’re only going to be on display for two years so I’m super happy I finally got the chance to see them. I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it even a fraction of the amount I did if it had been as busy as it always looks in photos but the Seven Magic Mountains are definitely worth waking up super early for!

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4th annual road trip out west

by Kaylah Stroup May 24, 2017

A few weeks back I was sitting at my desk, drinking coffee and responding to emails, shortly after Jeff had left for work when the feeling hit. That intense urge to travel. I text Jeff and said “I need to go to the desert. We can sleep in the car again!” I figured he’d give me the usual “I know, I miss it too.” Instead, he said, “Look for flights then!” Less than two hours later, without ever speaking of it other than through rushed, excited texts, we had a flight booked. A week later we were on our way to the airport!

Each year since we started dating Jeff and I have taken a trip out west. We fly into whatever city is the cheapest, rent a car, and just spend a week aimlessly driving. Each year has had its highlights, and of course, low moments but I think this year’s trip may have been my favorite so far! Last year was nice because we had booked a hotel for every night in advance so there was always a cozy bed to look forward to but this also meant that were on a schedule. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about taking road trips and how I function on the road, it’s that schedules kill fun. In an effort to not only save money but be free to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted we slept in the car three of the five nights. It wasn’t the most comfortable but it allowed for us to easily catch sunrise and sunset – the two most magical times of the day, especially somewhere as beautiful as the desert or the ocean.

This year we flew into Los Angeles, drove around in Nevada for a while then headed to the coast. Despite the fact we drove the Pacific Coast Highway back in 2015, we saw completely new things this trip. I feel like we could drive the coast again ten more times and still not see everything there is to see.

We watched the sun rise over giant colorful boulders in the desert, drove the extraterrestrial highway, met all sorts of amazing animals, crept around sunbaked abandoned buildings, searched for ocean life in tidepools, saw all sorts of random roadside attractions, wandered around some of the most interesting cemeteries I’ve ever seen, and fell in love with more than a handful of new places. Lookin’ at you, San Diego!

You’d think after four years of taking the same trip we’d be tired of it but I get the feeling we’d both be fine continuing this little tradition for as long as humanly possible. There is just something so incredibly special about the desert and the time we spend there. The ocean too, I could never tire of it!

mine fire headstone, cemetery, nevada

I have SO many photos to finish going through and organize into posts. I can’t wait to share more!
xoxo

Laurel Grove Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup May 9, 2017

laurel grove cemetery, savannah, georgia, cemetery

You guys! I finally, finally, fiiiiinally have the last post from November’s trip to Savannah ready to go. I essentially shot nothing but photos of cemeteries which, tooting my own horn here, I think I’m pretty good at. I’ve blogged about it twice already how when I got home I wasn’t really happy with any of the photos. Slowly but surely, cemetery by cemetery, I’ve been editing them and falling in love. These ones from Laurel Grove Cemetery are the last of the photos. Ideally, I’d like to say I’ve saved the best for last but I think these are a happy medium, not my favorites but not the worst. I’m just happy to have saved some photos from one of my favorite places.

My first visit to Laurel Grove Cemetery was back in early 2014. I didn’t spend very much time there but I was instantly enamored. I was SO excited to get back and shoot it properly this last visit. I had two things working against me though. The super bright sunshine for one. Just like at Bonaventure, the sun and the huge trees created an absolute mess of uneven light. Secondly, I realized that my camera was malfunctioning. The shutter isn’t working properly so when it’s bright and the shutter needs to open and close super quickly… it just doesn’t. The result is a large black area in the corner of the frame. I first noticed this issue while shooting these photos so instead of worrying about getting great shots I was stressing about what in the heck was wrong with my camera. In some of the shots it’s very obvious and just looks like kooky editing but in a lot of the other shots, I feel like it kind of works. The sun and my funky shutter were my sources of frustration but with a little bit of patience in lightroom I feel fairly confident that they were salvaged.

cemetery, headstone, savannah, laurel grove laurel grove cemetery, savannah, georgia, cemetery, headstone, graveyard spanish moss, cemetery, laurel grove, savannah

Even though I so clearly struggled with all the photos I got from this trip I still really do think Savannah has some of the most beautiful cemeteries. That spanish moss just gets me every time. I can’t look at these photos without feeling a little pang of homesickness. I’m sure I’m not the only one to get this feeling, the yearning for somewhere that you’ve been before. Somewhere that isn’t home but still holds a special place in your heart for one reason or another. I’m sure there is some word in another language that doesn’t translate to English that explains this feeling. Whatever it is, these photos make me feel it.
xoxo

More from November 2016’s Savannah road trip – Bonaventure Cemetery, Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery, Old Sheldon Church Ruins + Colonial Park Cemetery.

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Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup April 27, 2017

I’m throwing it way back to November’s trip down to Savannah, Georgia today. Basically, I only shot cemetery photos while we were down that way, and when I came home to edit them I hated nearly all of them, except for the ones from Colonial Park Cemetery. Still swooning over those, actually! It took a few months but I eventually started going back through them hoping to salvage some. First, my shots from Bonaventure Cemetery which were noooowhere as bad as I originally thought. Now, my photos from Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery!

I originally spotted this cemetery on our way to get Thanksgiving Dinner. We stayed on Hilton Head Island. I don’t recall if I mentioned how much we didn’t enjoy that or not. But yeeeah, we didn’t end up having much fun there. Our experience there was just that everything cost a lot of money and/or was closed. It was Thanksgiving weekend so it’s not surprising that things were closed but it was still kind of shocking how little there was to do that appealed to us. Anyway, our holiday dinner options were $50 per plate hotel food or to hopefully stumble across something on this fancy pants island that was open. We ended up finding a tiny little diner where we were able to play mini golf next door after stuffing our faces. So clearly, it wasn’t all a bummer.

Anyway, I spotted this cemetery off the main road on our way to the diner. We made plans to wake up early the next day, and head straight there.When we arrived the next morning the lighting was beautiful but I was slightly underwhelmed with the cemetery itself. It was a lot smaller than I had anticipated. Only 46 marked graves! There just weren’t many shots to take. When I came home and sorted through the photos I liked a handful of the shots but felt like there wasn’t enough to post. Fast forward to last week, I decided to revisit the photos yet again and wouldn’t ya know it, I ended up really digging them, and finding a few more worth sharing.

zion chapel of ease cemetery, hilton head island cemetery

Built in 1846, the mausoleum is the oldest standing structure on Hilton Head Island.

hilton head island

I just can’t get enough of this combination of early morning light, Spanish moss, and beautiful old headstones. These photos make me want to go back immediately.

There is one more cemetery worth of photos left from this trip that I still don’t like. We’ll see how I feel about them in another few months! 😉
xoxo

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Greenwood Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup March 21, 2017

Throwing it back to last month’s New Orleans trip right now. Since we wouldn’t be renting a car in New Orleans we had to find some way from the airport to our hotel. Jeff, and I both own our own cars, live in a drive-able city, and generally have had no reason to ever use any sort of ride sharing app. This would be a first. After having a rough time figuring out where the heck our Uber was at the airport, we eventually hopped in a stranger’s van and rode somewhere completely foreign to us. It was actually really fun, and only mildly terrifying. Our driver was super sweet and told us a bunch of places we had to check out in the city and said she’d point out some cemeteries from the freeway that she thought we might like. She didn’t have to point them out though. I spotted them immediately, prompting this tweet.

A few days later we summoned (requested? called for? I like “summoned”) another Uber and headed back toward the cemeteries that had caught my eye on that first day. There are actually a handful of cemeteries right next to each other in this area. Any other day and I could have spent the whole day exploring but the day we chose to head out there was HOT. Jeff wasn’t feeling it but I was running on adrenaline. Anywhere else trying to do that much walking in the heat and I would have called it quits but these were places I had dreamed of visiting for years. We walked through Cypress Grove Cemetery first which, in my opinion, maybe isn’t the most exciting. After that we crossed the street to wander around Greenwood Cemetery.

Greenwood was nothing short of amazing. Its such a beautiful cemetery. Despite the heat and a run in with some fire ants (I literally ripped off my shoes and was thiiiiis close to taking off my pants), this was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Greenwood Cemetery had a lot of really interesting mausoleums. The photos above and below show two of my favorites. I’ve never seen anything like them!

After spending only a little over a half an hour here we headed back to our hotel because we both were so hot. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to spend more time here or check out any of the other cemeteries nearby but I guess that just means I have an excuse to go back!

Until next time, NOLA!
xoxo

For more from my trip to New Orleans check out these posts; New Orleans for a week, St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 + New Orleans Pharmacy Museum.

New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

by Kaylah Stroup March 15, 2017

About a week before last month’s New Orleans trip I started my usual research; looking up what cemeteries I should visit, looking for highly recommended restaurants, wandering the streets with Google’s streetview, etc. I remembered reading that Allie from The Only Living Girl in New York had visited NOLA not too long ago and since we basically have alllll the same interests I obviously spent a good amount of time re-reading her posts. What stuck out to me the most was the Pharmacy Museum. Without even knowing anything more, just reading the name, I can tell you it’s something I’d be interested in but after reading her post I was sold! So on the list it went!

Jeff and I actually stumbled upon the museum randomly without ever having to look up the address. When we arrived it was shortly after they opened so it was just us and one other couple inside which was a good thing because the museum could definitely get cramped quick. It’s a fairly small location but it is jam packed with history! For five dollars you get to wander around two levels filled with the most awesome medical collection I’ve ever seen! There are apothecary jars upon apothecary jars, dental instruments, perfumes, cosmetics, questionable old medicine, and so much more! When you pay for admission, if you aren’t taking a guided tour, you’re handed a pamphlet filled with information on the most interesting pieces in the museum. As interested as I was in the museum, I didn’t even look at the pamphlet once. There is just so much to take in!

The man working the counter wasn’t terribly friendly. (Do not let that stop you from visiting, definitely could have just been a bad day) When he explained what to do it was kind of mumbled and rushed so I didn’t ask questions buuut I thought I heard something about an upstairs. I watched closely what the other couple in the museum was doing and followed them out the back of the museum when they left. There is an upstairs and I definitely want to live there. Seriously, the property is amazing. It’s basically my dream living quarters – smack dab in the middle of the city but with a gorgeous private courtyard. The courtyard is so beautiful you can even rent it for weddings!!

All the photos in this post are from the second floor of the museum. The lighting was much better up there, and when I realized how big the museum was I knew I had to blog about it. If you’re with friends or family who maybe aren’t into old medical stuff they will at least appreciate the location. Walking inside is like stepping back in time!

The Pharmacy Museum reminded me a lot of Cleveland’s own Dittrick Medical History Museum, both of which I consider must-visit museums!
xoxo

St. Louis Cemetery No. 2

by Kaylah Stroup March 7, 2017

Lots of people have a list of places they’d like to visit, and some people (me) even have a list of cemeteries they’d like to visit in those cities. New Orleans ranked pretty high on my ‘need to visit’ list just because of their cemeteries. There wasn’t one in particular that drew me there, I just knew they had a bunch that were like none other I had been to before. Without ever having visited one in person I still ranked them high on the list of most beautiful US cemeteries.

On our first full day in the city Jeff and I walked to St. Louis Cemetery No. 2. This cemetery is located just a few blocks away from St. Louis No. 1 which is the oldest cemetery in the city (and the most famous!) As of March 2015, No. 1 is closed to the public without a tour guide due to vandalism. While a cemetery tour is right up my alley, and we ended up taking one later in the day, I really wanted to explore at least one of New Orlean’s cemeteries at my own pace.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 is broken up into three square blocks. Each is similar in the sense that it is laid out with a main center aisle to walk and two smaller parallel aisles. This makes it super easy to see everything and know you’re not accidentally missing a chunk of the cemetery. We started off in square 1 (here’s a map of it, look how organized it is!) and had the whole place to ourselves.

From the second I stepped inside I was in LOVE. I didn’t know where to look or what to shoot first. I found the whole experience very overwhelming, in a good way. I honestly don’t even know what else to say about it so let’s get on with the photos! Photos I’ve been dreaming about taking for yeeeears!

St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, cemetery, mausoleum

St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 was everything I had hoped and dreamed NOLA cemeteries would be! Usually when you’ve dreamed of something for so long it can never meet up to your expectations but on this rare occasion, it actually did. I cannot wait to go back.
xoxo

I shared some of my favorite spots in New Orleans here if you’re interested!

New Orleans for a week!

by Kaylah Stroup March 2, 2017

If I’m awake, I’m probably daydreaming about taking a vacation. Luckily I fell in love with someone who has the same priorities in life, and wants to see as much of the world as possible just like I do. These past three years we’ve been a good number of places. I’ve been able to cross lots of places off my bucket list, and subsequently added a bunch more. The one place I had been wanting to go for a while but for some reason just hadn’t was New Orleans.

Jeff and I were browsing flights last month with no particular plan. That’s a pretty normal activity around these parts but on this instance we found flights to NOLA for under one hundred dollars round trip. I was sold instantly! The one issue we came across while planning the trip was that rental cars seemed kind of expensive compared to what we’d paid in the past. I did a bit of research and came to the conclusion that getting a rental car would actually probably hinder us anyway. So, we booked the flight! Unlike our other trips, Jeff and I would be spending the entire week in one place.

It. was. a. blast. I enjoyed being able to get a real feel for a city instead of just seeing something and hopping to the next town like we tend to do. I have so many positive things to say about this trip I’m sure I’m going to think of something I meant to add as soon as I hit publish but here’s a taste of my trip…

Where we stayed – We got a room at The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery and it was… THE COOLEST. The decor is super hip. Seriously, go look at the photos! And the bed? Coziest bed ever! It was a most excellent place to call home for a week. I would absolutely recommend staying there. I didn’t love the fact that our room didn’t have an exterior window but I was so charmed by everything else that it wasn’t a huge deal.

The photo below is in the hotel’s restaurant, Compere Lapin, which was divine. Their avocado toast stupid delicious. Easily the best I’ve ever had. The restaurant was so busy in the evenings that much to our dismay we never got the opportunity to try their dinner.

But seriously, the hotel was incredible. I feel like people have come to see words like “hip” and “trendy” as bad but when I use them to describe this place I mean nothing but positive things. I could have easily written a whole post filled with cool photos of The Old No. 77! Also, I’m giving this place even more bonus points because on the day we arrived there was a lady with a cat on a leash in the lobby which made me smile from ear to ear.

What we ate – We ate a lot in New Orleans! Some highlights included St. Lawrence where we actually ate twice during the week since we liked it so much (their wings are amaaazing), Croissant D’Or Patisserie (best breakfast!), Sucre for dessert (we had some sort of key lime deliciousness and it was heavenly!), and Drip Affogato Bar (best affogato I’ve ever had!) Of course we also ate at Cafe Du Monde because it seemed like something you have to do if you’re in town. Honestly, it was a little crowded for my tastes. I got my beignet on at Cafe Beignet later in the week though! We also got sushi at Geisha which I basically inhaled.

Food was definitely a big part of the trip for me. I know that the list above doesn’t sound too crazy or anything but they were very memorable experiences. New Orleans seems to be a place where good food is basically everywhere you look. There were so many places we wanted to eat and just didn’t get the chance.

What we did – We walked… and walked… and walked some more. In the four days that were in the city we walked a total of fifty miles. My feet hurt at the end of each day but I am SO glad we didn’t end up renting a car. Walking is the best way to get to know a new city. We saw so much, and accidentally stumbled upon so many great things we may not have seen otherwise.

Some highlights for me included;
▴ Glitter Box N.O. – A shop run for and by women in the French Quarter! What actually caught my eye as we walked by was that they had a print by my favorite graffiti artist hanging on the wall. We went back as soon as they opened so I could buy it! The woman working was so nice and helpful, and it’s just a really rad store.
▴ Louisiana Loom Works – Gonna be honest here, the reason I’m mentioning it is because of the cats. If you look at the store front on street view you can even see a kitty in the window! The woman inside told us a little bit about the rescue cats she had all while working the loom. I was in heaven since there was a tiny siamese kitty who reminded me of Professor. It was a really nice experience. I might have even cried a little.
▴ The cemeteries, duh! They were everything I thought they’d be and more!! St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 is a dream.
▴ The Insectarium!
▴ New Orleans Pharmacy Museum!
▴ Bourbon Street. Wait, what? Yeah! So let’s get a few things out of the way here, I don’t drink, and I don’t like being around drunk people. Drunk people to me equal barfing and I have a major phobia so needless to say I avoid situations like that. I had read a lot about how Bourbon Street wasn’t all that great, and dude, I’ve seen the show Cops. Real life Bourbon Street though? I LOVED IT. Well, not the first day we were there. On that occasion it smelled like straight up human waste but we went back the next night and it was kind of amazing. That atmosphere was so wonderful. Everyone was smiling, happy, and just celebrating. There was so much live music happening, there were street performers everywhere, and I even got to pet a tiny pig! While I wouldn’t want to spend the night hanging out on Bourbon Street, it was absolutely a fun experience!

Reading back over this post, I clearly I enjoyed myself in New Orleans. I labeled so many things “best” or “favorite” and they honestly were. I ate the best wings of my life, and slept in the coziest bed ever! New Orleans is super awesome. I’m very very excited to go back again. There is still so much I want to see, do, and eat there. Emphasis on eat. Y’all know some good food down there!

I feel like we picked the best possible time to visit too. Since I’m not huge on partying, or crowds Mardi Gras always seemed like it might be my worst nightmare. I’m glad we weren’t there in the absolute thick of it but it was amazing to experience a little bit of it the week before the big celebration began.

Until next time, New Orleans!
xoxo

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Grahamville Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup February 27, 2017

After that incredible abandoned church we found on our Valentine’s Day adventure (check it out here!) I couldn’t imagine our luck getting any better. Shortly after crossing the Pennsylvania border we hit a major wall of fog. Like barely see the car in front of you wall of fog! Jeff said something like “wouldn’t you love to shoot a cemetery in this?” To which my response was “well, I doooo have the find a grave app!” I opened it real quick and found that a little ways off from the next exit was a real gem of a cemetery. The photos showed some old headstones and I was sold!

It was about ten minutes away from the freeway which when you’ve had the worst luck ever photographing fog feels like a lifetime. I’ve told you a million times in the past how every time I go to shoot some beautiful foggy location it all burns off before I arrive. I held my breath the whole way there. We went through patches where the skies were clear, and patches where you couldn’t see a darn thing. By some stroke of luck when we pulled into the driveway it was so white you couldn’t see a single headstone.

I nearly jumped out of the car. Just kidding. I literally jumped out of the car, grabbed my camera from the back and started running around snapping photos. I was so happy to just be shooting anything in the fog but the further I got into the cemetery the older the headstones were until I found that sweet spot I’d seen on the app. It was SO EXCITING. I honestly could ramble forever about how much I love fog and cemeteries, and how the two combined is like the ultimate photographic subject for me so, here, just look at my photos from the day…

cemetery, fog, foggy, pa, grahamville cemetery,

xoxo

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