Today I am $5 richer after offering one of my AirBnB mates a free ride to her grad school interview after five Lyft drivers in a row cancelled on her. We speculated that perhaps we had spent the night in Skeazeville. It seemed likely. In any case, it was a short drive to the interview, and I was happy to see the area in the daylight. She gave me $5, and I wished her luck.
The strange thing with AirBnBs – I will likely never know how Leslie’s interview went, or if the other woman (Annie, I think) gets a gun, gets her kids back, or is killed by her ex.
Like I said, I knew too much about this woman already.
Ahem. I put my $5 (+$5 of my own) to good use after the three-hour drive up to Pasaquan in Buena Vista, Georgia.
Eddie Owens Martin (1908 – 1986) had a vision from the future wherein three beings appeared to him and named him St. EOM, and dubbed him a Pasaquoyan. He started building Pasaquan – the religion and the place – in the 1950’s, and if I remember correctly, started painting about a decade later.
It’s hard to explain the feeling of seeing Pasaquan for the first time. If you stayed on the main roads, you’d have no idea it was even there. There is no signage, and the road named after Eddie Martin is off a nondescript side road off the highway.
After a road closure, I was sure I was in the wrong spot. Trees lined both sides of the empty road I was on. Suddenly a small vibrant sign appeared, and I pulled in. Seeing all of this colour emerge from an otherwise natural landscape was almost surreal.
I had the place to myself for over an hour, during which I played a game I like to call “The Pasaquan Face Game”. Only one other guest came while I was there, so I enjoyed the peace and quiet.
It’s hard to capture this place in photos (especially with the cool dreary weather) but here’s a sampling:
This guy looked sad, so I left him a cupcake.
Other than that, today was mostly spent driving. I popped over to downtown Buena Vista before leaving, but given the lack of foot traffic and the majority of the buildings being businesses, I grabbed lunch and hit the road.
I’m now settled in at the Super 8 in Valdosta. I was hoping to get out and do something this evening, but Cats is no longer playing at the movies here, and I figured sitting here watching a Simpsons marathon and playing tiny Ms. Pac Man (smart purchase of the day) was the next best thing.
I am getting peckish, but my lack of motivation will likely keep me here for the night.* Tomorrow I have no solid plan except working my way back south. Depending on what interesting stops I find along the way, I may be back in Boynton Beach earlier than expected. I’m sure I’ll at least find some thrift stores along the way, and we’ll see where the day takes me!
*I ended up making a snack run while my photos downloaded, and broke my sunglasses in the process. Ho hum.
A Crumby Adventure 
Hehe, I really enjoyed your faces game!
The colours and designs on the buildings are gorgeous, cannot imagine the hours it took to get it accomplished.
Oh no, your sunglasses!!
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I wonder how Bryan would feel if I told him I wanted to paint our house now… 🙂
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