Banjo's 30 Day Adventure! At the park...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Today marked the official start of Banjo's 30 Day Adventure.
We had quite an exciting day. My parents had to stop at the bank, so I went with them and finally opened my own account! Finally, I'll be able to use Paypal and not have to worry about keeping my money in a little tin, where it's within reach and all too tempting. So, all but some change is now tucked away, safe from my greedy paws until I have enough for Kentucky. Meanwhile, Banjo hung out in my purse and waited patiently, guarding the Daffodils my dad had bought for me.
Then it was off to breakfast! We went to a local diner called the Trackside Grill, which Banjo seemed to enjoy the last time we went. When I was done, I left and began to walk towards Central Park (not that one... I wish!). What a great day for it, too. It was almost 60 degrees and very sunny, with a slight breeze.
On the way to the park, we had to make a pit-stop for a very special attraction. I have to ask you, readers, how many of you remember getting a magazine that had this somewhere on it?

I'm sure many of you got Highlights when you were kids... I was certainly one of them! Now, do you know where it's published?

Right here! Highlights is pretty much one of the only things my town is known for, other than birthing the Railroad system (which we will take pictures of!), and the song "Winter Wonderland".
So after Highlights we finally got to the park.

Now, I took this photo for a bit of a sentimental reason. The table that Banjo is standing on used to be on the playground at my old school.  It obviously brings back many memories. Well, the school had to close before the 2010 school year began due to lack of funding (it was a private Catholic school), and the tables were donated to the park. It's kind of heartbreaking, seeing these old things now covered in grafitti (which I didn't take photos of. This is about Banjo and me, remember. Besides, some of the drawings were quite vile.)

Anyone who is a friend of mine on Facebook has seen this picture! I personally think it's quite a good photo of the two of us. But maybe I'm just vain.

This picture was a little on the difficult side to take. I'm a bit of a perfectionist at times, and photography is no exception. When I want to get a good photo of a model at eye-level, I will usually not hesitate to lay on my belly in the grass to get a good angle (of course, this is after making sure there isn't a critter or some droppings on the ground first). Well, that whole getting on the ground this has become a bit of a habit, and I attempted it in public in broad daylight. I can only imagine the looks I was getting from the lawyers taking a stroll, some strange girl with a point-and-shoot practically laying on the pavement to get a picture of a plastic horse. Unfortunately, sometimes one must endure the odd looks in the name of art.

"I thought today was St Patrick's Day..?" Yes, Banjo, it is, but there's something you must understand. We live in a town where people are too lazy to take down their Christmas decorations (and what with the weather, sometimes can't even get to the bloody things!). The county seat is no exception. Usually, though, when the weather is nice, the tree comes down and the fountain starts running again. FUN FACT: We later found a lone shoe in that fountain.

I love shadow-photos.

Let me start off by saying: I love the depth-of-field in this photo. For those of you who haven't sat for three hours in a photography course, Depth-of-Field is basically when the photo looks more three-dimensional. In this case, Banjo looks very crisp and clear, while the memorial in the background is out of focus, and the courthouse behind THAT is even fuzzier. Anyway, this is a memorial that was erected to honor those who have died in battle. Which battle, I'm not sure, and I can't remember for the life of me the name of the guy on top of it.

I don't think I need to explain much here. It's a time capsule. What's in it? No idea. Who's this Jessica lady? Beats me. All I know is that it's historic (in a sense), and there's only ten years until they open this baby.

Chilling on the bench in the sun, waiting for our ride. All in all, it was a good day. We took some nice photos, got a bit of exercise, and enjoyed the warmer weather and the sunlight. (What wasn't enjoyable was the absurd amount of 18-wheelers driving behind us... the park is really close to the road.) Oh, I also lost $5 to the Lottery Demon, but that's irrelevant. Hopefully tomorrow we can do some more fun stuff, but for now, I think it's time Banjo go to bed.

Banjo's 30 Day Adventure!

An idea was proposed on Model Horse Blab that we all pick out one of our models, take it around the area where we live and take six pictures at the least. Well, I took this idea and the idea of the 30 Day Facebook photo challenge and came up with...


Banjo's 30 Day Adventure!!!

So what exactly IS Banjo's 30 Day Adventure about? Well, wherever I go for 30 days, I will have Banjo in my purse with me. If we stop somewhere neat or interesting or photogenic, we'll take a picture of him doing something!

Where will you go? Good question! The truth is, I don't know! Banjo and I could go anywhere in the area... the mall, grocery shopping, perhaps an appointment or two, drive-thrus, the movie theatre, a local salon, a farm, some local landmarks... we never know where our adventure will take us!

Why Banjo? There are multiple reasons. First, I think he's one of my most photogenic models. Second, Banjo hasn't really been anywhere. The only place he's travelled was from Texas to here, in a cramped little box on a mail truck, and that isn't much fun, I can imagine. Third, he was able to fit in a tote-bag. I had thought about Goffert, but he would have needed a small backpack! Fourth, Banjo is kind of like the Silent Hill Stables mascot. And finally, he was able to fit in the only halter I own that has a lead-line.

Why are you doing this? For fun, really. Just something to do, and something that can make errands a little more exciting. And who knows, we might be able to spread the world about the model horse hobby!

What about the weather? Currently, it's still kind of cold in Pennsylvania, so heat won't be any sort of issue. In case of rain, I have packed Banjo a little rug. If there's snow or ice, chances are we might stay inside, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun, right?

Was Banjo forced into doing this, or was he willing to do it? So far he has not complained.

What if people give you weird looks? Then they do! I've gotten odd looks all my life, I don't let them get to me anymore. Besides, it's just fun, it's not like anyone's getting hurt.

Are you being paid to go certain places, or to bring Banjo anywhere? No.

Will you take Banjo deep sea diving/Gorilla hunting/skydiving/volcano exploring/to the Water Buffalo rodeo/other dangerous activity? No. If there is any threat to either myself or Banjo, we won't do it. This is another reason Banjo will no be allowed to fill my dad's car with gasoline/pick out other horses hooves.

Will you be posting pictures or telling us about your adventures? Absolutely. You can check back here, or go to my Facebook for photos and stories.