I was sorting through the photos from our Marfa trip and realized that (unlike miss aimee) I’d never done a proper re-cap post. I’ve actually attempted one a few times, but every time I sat down to write something that adequately encapsulated our experience, I came up empty. (For those of you that know me in-person, you know I’m rarely at a loss for words, so this state perplexed me a bit.)I think the reason it’s been so hard to write about the trip is that Marfa surprised me… it caught me off guard. Sure I expected to have fun, to relax, see some great art and spend quality time with friends, but I didn’t expect to be bowled over (enchanted even) by the town.
Mainly because I am not a desert girl. I like misty, loamy, green… I love Big Sur, the Pacific Northwest, spots where the forest meets the sea. I don’t do dry, yellow, barren – all desert hallmarks. This was an unwavering preference, a part of my make-up for as long as I can remember, but nonetheless, I all of the sudden found myself scheming ways to drastically simplify our lives, pack it all up and move to Marfa. Desert be damned.
Perhaps it was the timing of our trip... Maybe my feelings about the town are a reflection of where I am right now in relation to consumption in general. Marfa's a sort of "stripped-down" town -- it’s not a place to go if you want to be endlessly entertained, to shop or dine excessively. But discovering the treasures behind crumbling buildings, stumbling upon the surprises... that to me is perfection. We ate one of the best meals of our life (with our dear friends Buck and Camp at Cochineal), we saw incredible, thought-provoking art (at Chinati and the Ballroom), we met incredible new people (her and her) and came back home refreshed, inspired and filled up with all sorts of good stuff.
I can’t wait to go back!
