Chasing Fish Tacos

It’s not always about sunsets and rainbows.

Marquette, Michigan September 2019, Copyright MPM Photography

I don't run very often these days, but when I do, I can come up with some great ideas.  One such run earlier this year, I realized that a goal of visiting all fifty US states before the age of 50 was well in my reach, as I only had roughly ten left to visit in the next three and a half years.  But how was I to quantify being in that state? Airport layovers didn't count; I had to have spent the time with my feet on that state’s claim of the Earth’s surface, and be there long enough to eat a meal and use the bathroom.  So amidst the pounding of my feet and the pounding of my heart that spring morning, I created my campaign, Eat and Pee in all Fifty.

I soon got to planning how I could check more off, and over the summer visited Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon (which I will tell all about in other posts).  I also knew I was presenting at a conference outside of Chicago in late September, and decided to take a long weekend (which is actually my birthday weekend) and remove Wisconsin and Michigan from the list as well. [For those of you curious about what the remaining four are Alaska, Maine, Nebraska and North Dakota.]

One of my main goals for this trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was to capture some spectacular fall foliage shots. I had attended a landscape photography MeetUp a few weeks prior where shared about their fall foliage excursion and the trip clicked. My wanderlust and goal oriented brain loved the idea of checking off two more of my #eatandpeeinall50 and getting in some more travel, as I was still craving it after my trip out west from the month before.  It seemed perfect timing of peak color season for this part of the country... per the internet. Not so much. In driving up I could see the many bare trees from earlier color change, and then many leaves that were still green (or at least not the brilliant hues I was seeking). I had minimal agenda for the next two and days, and after getting to Gladstone and seeing there was nothing there, I decided I could drive up to Marquette to get in a short hike overlooking Lake Superior, and capture a pretty sunset.

Aside from getting great shots and contemplating the woes of getting another year older, another topic of deep ponderance for me over was what to title this blog. In all of my excitement of getting it started, I had too many things I wanted to write about: travel, solo travel, my journey into photography, and stand-up paddle boarding.  How do I get it all in, or do I even try?  As I was rushing to be at Sugarloaf mountain before dusk, Chasing Sunsets came to mind, though I assumed it was taken somewhere - and it almost felt a little more ambitious than what I was actually doing.

You see I'm not really that good at this photography thing - yet.  I am a solid advanced beginner and think I have an inherently good eye, but I have a lot to learn.  I fumble around to get things set up, and always realize the mistakes I make once I get home and examine the shots.  Too open of an aperture, shutter speed too slow, exposure compensation not reset - the list goes on.  Then I just get frustrated and overwhelmed and just give up on trying to get the shot I envisioned.

Example of the shot not quite meeting the vision.

So I take a bunch of shots overlooking the lake, get a few shots along the shoreline as the sun is beginning to fall and I am heading back into town to eat.  A handful of scenes I pass look amazing to my eye, but I don't even try to shoot them because I feel I can't get what I see.  Besides, it's getting late and I'm getting hungry.

And wherever I am, if fish tacos are on the menu, there's a 98% chance that's what I'll be ordering.

So I forego the final sunset shots for the fish tacos... AHA! I'm not really chasing sunsets, I'm chasing fish tacos - with the opportunities for pictures and travel and all the other good things in between.  There you have it.   

I'm slow to get all of the things I have written about shared with the blogosphere, but will share more about my UP adventure and my solo birthday celebration in other posts.  I wanted share the tale of the origin of Chasing Fish Tacos as I continue to grow the blog.    I have so much I want to share and hope that it is amusing and inspiring to someone out there.

Stay tuned.