Missed Opportunities

I was driving down I-57 from Champaign to Chicago today, and although I know there will be more days like this, I can't help but feel like I missed out on a good one.  A good opportunity to take some great pictures, that is.  At around 7p, the sun was still pretty high in the western sky and the way it was filtering through the clouds was breathtaking.  I swear, the rays were huge and plentiful and I could see where they touched the ground.  Factor in the lack of anything but green grass, the occasional grove of trees and some well-maintained barns and farmhouses and I just wanted to stop the car.  I solicited the help of my two wired-in children but to no avail.  Finally, my son took out his earphones long enough to snap a couple of pictures with his phone, but he was completely unenthusiastic about it, and later told me "you know your head is right in the middle of these pictures, right?"

I'm not a very good picture-taker, but I know what I like to look at.  I bought myself a decent SLR camera last fall, and it makes most anything, especially outdoor photos, look better than pretty good. I'm enjoying it and the fact that it's something I've always wanted to do. Someday actually came!  I try not to think about all the time I could have been doing this because honestly, the shots I missed today were nothing compared to many others captured only by a Kodak disc (!) or a disposable 35mm.  Amateur to the nth degree.

 I think I need a road buddy.  Someone who doesn't mind stopping every few miles to look at the scenery or cool stuff left on the side of the road.  I usually take 55 to Springfield, but the last two trips I've taken 57 South to either 24 or 74.  On 24 you pass through some REALLY small towns and I am always in too much of a hurry to stop and check out the little roadside antique shops or snap a few pictures of some interesting houses I've seen.  74 is a little busier, more "expresswayish" but there's a lot of Illinois beauty to be seen.  When I was in college, all the kids from out of state complained that Illinois was so flat. Actually not true the further south you go, but to have miles and miles of unobstructed view is pretty amazing.  Not that my kids would agree, but that's just me being really mad that I couldn't get those shots today and they were no help.

 

I passed the exit for Gilman, a town I've been meaning to visit.  There's a great spa there, "the Heartland" and I have a paid one-night stay that I need to use. I figured if I went ahead and paid for it, I would make myself go because one thing I won't do is waste my money.  So one day, probably soon, I'll take myself down I-57, take my 24 hours of R&R, visit some antique shops and GET THOSE PICTURES!

Garage sale tomorrow.  I should be asleep because I didn't get much last night, and tomorrow will be an early, long, and hard day.  If it is profitable however, I think I'll get over it.