Thursday, November 22nd 2018
Marfa, TX
It’s 9:30am CST and I am getting ready for our first full day in Marfa, TX. Today is Thanksgiving and we have no idea what we are going to do! I meet my parents for breakfast in the lobby at 10am. I am wearing wool socks, 3 layers of clothing and my hiking jacket, which is rated for subzero temperatures. After an unnecessarily, drawn out production of shedding multiple layers, I finally sit down at the table. No one else even has a jacket; despite my Texas roots, I am already feeling like a dumb tourist.
For breakfast, I order a small plate of bacon and avocado. Service is slow, so we spend nearly an hour in the small restaurant, clutching our coffees and deciding how to spend the day. Not much will be open, so we opt to take this opportunity to make the drive to Prada Marfa.
On the way out of town, we stop at Cobra Rock, which is a handmade boot company. We are surprised to see they are open and go inside to have a look. I’ve been on the lookout for high end boots for many years and am doubtful that I will find them here. While my Mom marvels over their vintage sewing machine, I take a look around. Holy crap; these boots are perfect! I chat with the sales women and tell her about my lifelong quest for Texas boots to wear in LA and she is very sympathetic. She explains that all boots are made to order and that I would need to make my purchase from their website. The wait time is roughly 4 months. I’m into these boots and vow to order some after the holidays
Our next stop is Prada Marfa, a weird, little art installation in the middle of nowhere. Technically, it’s not even in Marfa; it’s about 1.5 miles north of a town called Valentine, TX. I've known about this installation for a while, but decide to use this time to get up to speed on its history. I pull up Wikipedia and begin to read.
Prada Marfa is a sealed off storefront with Prada shoes and bags from 2005, when it was originally built. The idea was to build the store in a harsh environment and then never repair it so that it would eventually become a ruin and disappear back into the earth (thus providing a pretty overt statement on the fleeting nature of fashion and status). However, as it turned out, humanity had another plan. The night after the sculpture was completed, it was badly vandalized and looted, forcing the artist to restore it immediately. Since then, Ballroom Marfa, a local nonprofit, has performed “minimal maintenance”, including painting over graffiti and picking up trash.
When we arrive there is only one visitor. A solo woman on a large motorcycle. I immediately offer to take her picture and she is grateful. There is a yellow, curly line spray painted around the base of the building, but no other current graffiti. We get a ton a pictures right before a large crowd arrives. Dad wanders across the street to photograph some railroad tracks that are so straight and flat, they look like they are falling off the end of the earth. He convinces me to climb up and we take a few photos of each other.
On the way back, we catch a new mural, called “Giant Marfa”. It reflects a key scene from the movie, Giant (filmed in Marfa) and was donated to the city by John Cerney this October. There is an extremely large wooden cut out of James Dean set next to cut outs of Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor in a yellow car and a large mansion. There is also music playing in the background. We deduce that it’s powered by solar energy, but are not completely sure.
Once we get back into town, we take a quick break before convening in the lobby for Thanksgiving dinner. We can get a table at our hotel, but we prefer to go to the buffet the Hotel Paisano. A quick phone call suggests that they are booked, but we decide to walk over there anyways. When we arrive, we are easily seated next to a large table with multiple screaming kids. Our server is totally over the top and has fingernails that are easily 3 inches long. I wonder if that’s sanitary, but am mostly amused by the randomness of this place. He gives us each a small bottle of champagne to start the meal. The buffet includes a basic salad, a Waldorf salad, some prime rib, a green bean casserole, corn, potatoes and bread. Aside from the prime rib and complimentary champagne, it’s fairly unimpressive. Oh well, at least we don’t have to do the dishes.
Next, we go back to our hotel lobby and order a round of after dinner drinks. Port for me, a margarita for Dad and a Shirley Temple for Mom. We call Grandmother and talk on the phone for a while. At one point, Dad asks if I can drive later and I switch from wine to coffee. We lounge around until it gets dark enough to see the Marfa lights.
Around 8pm we bundle up in our warmest clothes and pile into the truck to go look for aliens from outer space. By this point, Dad is visibly tipsy, I am a little jealous and Mom is bordering on annoyed. As we drive down the dark highway, Dad sings classic rock songs and tells us how much he loves his dog and his truck.
Once we arrive at the viewing point, we join a small crowd of hopeful tourists to stare into the night. Dad tells me about the Marfa lights, he has seen them on YouTube and explains that the "real" Marfa lights will blink on and off and jump around the horizon. He tells us that the lights date back to 1885 so they are obviously not headlights. We stare intently at the horizon and wonder what they are. After about 30 minutes, just when I am ready to give up, Mom insists that she sees moving lights. I take the binoculars and I see them too! They are near a distant radio tower and are appearing and disappearing in various locations. Other groups of tourists point and chatter in excitement.
Eventually the cold drives us back to the hotel. We spend the rest of the evening in the lounge. We order some snacks, a few more rounds of drinks and Mom updates us on her research on our family tree. Around midnight we finally close our tab and head upstairs for bed.
Marfa, TX
It’s 9:30am CST and I am getting ready for our first full day in Marfa, TX. Today is Thanksgiving and we have no idea what we are going to do! I meet my parents for breakfast in the lobby at 10am. I am wearing wool socks, 3 layers of clothing and my hiking jacket, which is rated for subzero temperatures. After an unnecessarily, drawn out production of shedding multiple layers, I finally sit down at the table. No one else even has a jacket; despite my Texas roots, I am already feeling like a dumb tourist.
For breakfast, I order a small plate of bacon and avocado. Service is slow, so we spend nearly an hour in the small restaurant, clutching our coffees and deciding how to spend the day. Not much will be open, so we opt to take this opportunity to make the drive to Prada Marfa.
On the way out of town, we stop at Cobra Rock, which is a handmade boot company. We are surprised to see they are open and go inside to have a look. I’ve been on the lookout for high end boots for many years and am doubtful that I will find them here. While my Mom marvels over their vintage sewing machine, I take a look around. Holy crap; these boots are perfect! I chat with the sales women and tell her about my lifelong quest for Texas boots to wear in LA and she is very sympathetic. She explains that all boots are made to order and that I would need to make my purchase from their website. The wait time is roughly 4 months. I’m into these boots and vow to order some after the holidays
Our next stop is Prada Marfa, a weird, little art installation in the middle of nowhere. Technically, it’s not even in Marfa; it’s about 1.5 miles north of a town called Valentine, TX. I've known about this installation for a while, but decide to use this time to get up to speed on its history. I pull up Wikipedia and begin to read.
Prada Marfa is a sealed off storefront with Prada shoes and bags from 2005, when it was originally built. The idea was to build the store in a harsh environment and then never repair it so that it would eventually become a ruin and disappear back into the earth (thus providing a pretty overt statement on the fleeting nature of fashion and status). However, as it turned out, humanity had another plan. The night after the sculpture was completed, it was badly vandalized and looted, forcing the artist to restore it immediately. Since then, Ballroom Marfa, a local nonprofit, has performed “minimal maintenance”, including painting over graffiti and picking up trash.
When we arrive there is only one visitor. A solo woman on a large motorcycle. I immediately offer to take her picture and she is grateful. There is a yellow, curly line spray painted around the base of the building, but no other current graffiti. We get a ton a pictures right before a large crowd arrives. Dad wanders across the street to photograph some railroad tracks that are so straight and flat, they look like they are falling off the end of the earth. He convinces me to climb up and we take a few photos of each other.
On the way back, we catch a new mural, called “Giant Marfa”. It reflects a key scene from the movie, Giant (filmed in Marfa) and was donated to the city by John Cerney this October. There is an extremely large wooden cut out of James Dean set next to cut outs of Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor in a yellow car and a large mansion. There is also music playing in the background. We deduce that it’s powered by solar energy, but are not completely sure.
Once we get back into town, we take a quick break before convening in the lobby for Thanksgiving dinner. We can get a table at our hotel, but we prefer to go to the buffet the Hotel Paisano. A quick phone call suggests that they are booked, but we decide to walk over there anyways. When we arrive, we are easily seated next to a large table with multiple screaming kids. Our server is totally over the top and has fingernails that are easily 3 inches long. I wonder if that’s sanitary, but am mostly amused by the randomness of this place. He gives us each a small bottle of champagne to start the meal. The buffet includes a basic salad, a Waldorf salad, some prime rib, a green bean casserole, corn, potatoes and bread. Aside from the prime rib and complimentary champagne, it’s fairly unimpressive. Oh well, at least we don’t have to do the dishes.
Next, we go back to our hotel lobby and order a round of after dinner drinks. Port for me, a margarita for Dad and a Shirley Temple for Mom. We call Grandmother and talk on the phone for a while. At one point, Dad asks if I can drive later and I switch from wine to coffee. We lounge around until it gets dark enough to see the Marfa lights.
Around 8pm we bundle up in our warmest clothes and pile into the truck to go look for aliens from outer space. By this point, Dad is visibly tipsy, I am a little jealous and Mom is bordering on annoyed. As we drive down the dark highway, Dad sings classic rock songs and tells us how much he loves his dog and his truck.
Once we arrive at the viewing point, we join a small crowd of hopeful tourists to stare into the night. Dad tells me about the Marfa lights, he has seen them on YouTube and explains that the "real" Marfa lights will blink on and off and jump around the horizon. He tells us that the lights date back to 1885 so they are obviously not headlights. We stare intently at the horizon and wonder what they are. After about 30 minutes, just when I am ready to give up, Mom insists that she sees moving lights. I take the binoculars and I see them too! They are near a distant radio tower and are appearing and disappearing in various locations. Other groups of tourists point and chatter in excitement.
Eventually the cold drives us back to the hotel. We spend the rest of the evening in the lounge. We order some snacks, a few more rounds of drinks and Mom updates us on her research on our family tree. Around midnight we finally close our tab and head upstairs for bed.
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