New York City -- The Adventure

Ah... there it is. New York City in all of it's glory. People all over the United States and even the world, dream of coming to New York City. There's no need to say which state or even which country New York City is in. Everyone knows. It's a world city.

In geography, a world city is a location on the globe that people in all other parts of the globe know about and perhaps want to go there. A world city will have people from all over the world traveling, working, living and talking in various cultures and languages and interacting in meaningful ways with other cultures and languages.

Over eight million people live in New York City. In just this one photograph you can see that the social structure is compact and tightly knit. People live and work in skyscraper buildings that lazily sway in the wind.

I took that picture on a recent trip which included Jacksonville, Florida, Washington D.C., and New York City. In total, I drove 4, 480 miles in less than two weeks.

The adventure was grand! I'll be posting about the trip and all the things we encountered during those days. But, I have to tell you, you can't truly say "been there, done that" until you have driven in New York City.

The Quest for Knowledge

The two girls are my daughter and her best friend. These girls went to school together, got married within days of each other, had their first babies just 10 days apart and now go to college together. They are nearly inseparable. Inviting my daughter on a little outing almost always comes with "can she come too?" No one can deny these sweet girls anything.

This particular trip was to Marfa, Texas. The town where orbs are seen floating around in the sky at night. We were curious, so we packed up and jumped in the car and off we went. What a glorious trip! Eight hours of talk, talk and more talk. We laughed and had fun all the way there and all the way back.

We explored the countryside and speculated about the mountains and what may have gone on in centuries past both in human and natural history. We had a pic nick at a roadside park and enjoyed the bright sun, good food, and great company.

When evening approached, along with many other people, we were parked at the roadside observatory with cameras in hand to look for and take pictures of those famous orbs. It was an awesome experience. The girls took pictures and I looked after the girls. Eventually, the cameras ran out of batteries and we got tired, so we returned to our hotel room where we visited and finally slept.

We had just as much fun on the return trip home. The difference was we were also speculating as to the strange orbs we photographed. We knew they were not headlights of cars because that would have been physically impossible. They were not some strange kind of lightening, it was a full moon and clear night. They didn't remain stationary, the photo evidence proved that. They were not moved by wind, it was a calm night. Some people believe they are spirits of ancestors. Other people believe they are alien beings inhabiting the region. Some people believe they are angelic or demonic spirits.

We don't know any more about the orbs than before we left except that we experienced them. We plan another trip to see what might happen some other night. But, the important part of the trip wasn't to solve that mystery. After all, if people from all over the world can't explain it, how would we? The most important part was the trip itself. The time we spent together being together is precious and can never be duplicated no matter how many times we make that or any other trip. Sometimes, its not the treasure at the end of the quest that people need but in fact the quest itself.