This post is more of a photo essay than anything else; it documents the two road trips I just had the pleasure of going on. First I went to a small Northern town called Wells with my partner, where his grandparents have a lovely 50's era cabin. We spent a blissful, quiet week there before I had to rush home and leave on an 11-day trip with my parents and little brother across the northern United States to get to a family reunion in Minnesota! I benefitted from both of these little escapes, and it was important that I got away from my everyday routine for a short time. I hope you enjoy the photos I captured along the way. For more practical reasons, I WILL be doing a whole post on how I stayed healthy, vegan and fit while travelling. Stay tuned.
The following group of photos was taken in and around the cabin in Wells. The lighting was always picturesque so I stayed busy with my camera for a couple days. Since no one lives here permanently anymore the house wasn't in the best of shape so we spent more than a day cleaning it and mowing the huge lawn. By time we left it was feeling more like a home again. The building needs a bit of work internally, too. The plumbing was on its last legs (we didn't have running water for the last few days) and the oven didn't work, but we managed with a slow cooker and patience. We found an old record player and several boxes of records, so we immediately hooked that up and enjoyed vintage tunes while we cleaned, cooked and relaxed every day. There was a lot of Joan Baez, which I appreciated. Jacks' grandpa has good taste. There was also an abundant forest of wild flowers all over the lawn, before Jack mowed them all down I picked a few bouquets and decorated the house with them. As far as food goes we usually had fruit smoothies (there was a blender there, THANK THA LAWD) or hand squeezed citrus juice during the day, along with bread and peanut butter or hummus. We found some amazing rye bread in a nearby town and it was AMAZING with avocado spread on top, with a pinch of salt and lime juice. For dinner I would make varying one pot meals in the slow cooker consisting of potatoes, avocado, yams, broccoli, curry powder and rice or quinoa, often with chill peanut sauce.
This next set of photos was taken in the old - seemingly ancient - bakery that is also on the property. Jack's grandparents bought this piece of land long after the bakery closed down, so even then it was beginning to become decrepit. I believe it was built in the late 40's or early 50's. It was chock-full of dusty, rusty, and fascinating objects. Old baking bans, gardening and farming tools, suitcases, bottles, newspapers, typewriters and more were stacked up in corners and creaky rooms. I very much enjoyed wandering through it and imagining what this place was like in it's active days. I also loved the smell. Perhaps that sounds creepy but I simply adore the smell of mustiness! It's the smell of nostalgia, in my eyes (or more accurately, my nose).
And finally we come to the pictures I took when I travelled across the States with my parents and younger brother. I have to be honest and say that I hardly took any photos. This is primarily because we had to get there and back in almost no time, so we didn't have the luxury of stopping at every scenic spot, or exploring the unknown gems hidden beyond the highway. And regardless of that, when we weren't in the car getting there or getting home, we were spending time with family and relaxing on my aunt and uncles deck! Nevertheless, I managed to snap a few. These were taken mostly in Montana, and the pie is what I made for my aunt and uncles anniversary (yes, I will be posting the recipe soon).
I love the landscape of the northern United States, and it is almost effortless to imagine the first nations peoples living in the land, only 200 years ago. Now the land is divided into cattle and buffalo ranches, which made me pretty damn depressed. I wanted to let every animal go free, but of course - as my parents wisely reminded me - that isn't the answer. The answer is to stop the demand for their murder by becoming vegan. It's gotta be from the grassroots up. Tell corporations the world you want to live in, by buying or boycotting products that support or hurt that world, respectively. Meat is murder. I don't want to live in a world where murder is allowed. So I am vegan.
Okay there's my little rant. Whenever there is an opportunity I WILL talk about the benefits of living a cruelty-free life. Aaand that ends this post. Please let me know what you thought of this post in the comment section or elsewhere (I'm all over social media like coconut oil on a hot body). It's different to what I normally do, but if you're into it, I will do more like this!
