Around Little Rock

I was just aimlessly driving around downtown Little Rock, looking for something to point the camera at. I was driving down Second Street and remembered walking past this old and faded entrance to a door on one of the old buildings. I pulled the car over and got this from the driver's side window.


It was getting a bit late in the day, so I tried to think of someplace to get a shot of the sunset. I ended up at the base of the Rock Island Bridge, an old rail brige over the Arkansas River. The sunset wasn't great, but here is a view looking through the old bridge.

The Windows of Fairpoint Avenue

It had been awhile since I had been out to get any new pictures, and I was starting to go through some withdrawals. So after work I grabbed the camera and drove aimlessly around Little Rock, looking for something to get pictures of. I ended up heading into the industrial area just east of downtown, and went down this alleyway past a few old warehouses. It wasn't really an alleyway, since the street sign said it was Fairpoint Avenue.


This building must have been an old warehouse, which seemed to be empty and abandoned now. Rows of windows looked out onto the narrow Fairpoint Avenue, and each one was uniquely different.








Farther down Fairpoint Avenue was a junkyard-looking place guarded by some guard dogs who came out to bark at the Vibe. Just up the road was a sign that pointed to a Civil War Historical Marker, but it just pointed to a similar looking old warehouse that was closed off by a fence, and I couldn't see any sort of marker.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

The sidewalk ends, apparently, at this unfinished subdivision in Southwest Little Rock.


There are a few other sites in this area - including this nicely decorated sign, which is too legit to quit.

Dallas on the 4th of July

The new Vibe wasn't even a day old before it went on its very first road trip. It wasn't great to add on a bunch of miles to the new car right after I got it, but the XM radio came in handy for the five hour drive there. But it was a good road trip. We were there for a soccer game - and FC Dallas actually won the game, beating New York 2-1. I was also able to pick up some Carlsberg, a great but rare beer that isn't available for sale here in Arkansas.

Here are a few shots from the game:


It was a good game. Both of Dallas' goals came within a two minute span, during the 15th and 17th minutes. The goals came from FCD striker Jeff Cunningham. Of course, I didn't manage to get any good shots of the goals.

New York had a few chances. Here is their top goalscorer Juan Pablo Angel, perched at the edge of the Dallas penalty box, ready to turn towards goal. Rushing in to defend are Dallas players Pablo Richetti and Drew Moor, with Ray Burse in goal.


While we were in good seats for watching the game, it wasn't the best for getting game shots. Plus, it was dark, which made it a bit more difficult for action shots.


Here's our view as dusk settled in over the stadium.




FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea moving up the side of the pitch...


There was a fireworks show after the game, which was billed as the largest fireworks show in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. When the game ended we rushed back to the parking lot and I set up the tripod to get these shots. We were close enough to where they set off the fireworks that during the display, we were rained down on by debris from the fireworks.

The End Of An Era

After seven years and 159,954 miles, I traded in my old Hyundai Elantra for a new car. It was a bittersweet farewell, I was fond of that old car. Of course, I wasn't the best owner - I took that poor Hyundai down too many dirt roads, several of which weren't made with little sedans in mind. It was covered in dings and dents, although each one told a story. There was some hail damage, for example, which happened during a trip to Petit Jean Mountain. The car looked like it had been through a lot, but it was always sitting there whenever I wanted to take a trip somewhere.


The night before I got the new car, I drove the Hyundai around for one last photo trip. This was sort of a "glamour shot" tour for the car. I stopped and got this skyline view, then drove out west to Pinnacle Mountain for one final trip through the woods.


The car was traded in for a brand new Pontiac Vibe. It's a really nice car, in fact it's perhaps just a bit too fancy for me. I'm not used to all the bells and whistles that came with it - like satellite radio, for one thing. It'll take me awhile to get used to it. But it was interesting to go from a car with nearly 160,000 miles on it to one that had only a grand total of nine miles.

Here is the new Vibe - in front of the Dallas skyline. This was taken earlier today, during the new car's first road trip.

And one last shot, of me filling up the gas tank for the first time. The big downside of the Vibe (along with the car payment) is that it doesn't get as good of gas mileage as the Hyundai, but at least the air conditioner works!
>