That’s the only way I could describe it.

Last night I went out to the Downtown Traverse City bars with cousins Allory and Katie, along with Allory’s husband Steve and my cousin Erin’s fiance, Ben. (Side note: Thus far? The Cousins Kriscunas have picked out awesome dudes to marry. Bar has been set so high. It’s ridiculous.) My cousins were raving about this nearby restaurant called Trattoria Stella, which boasted fresh, local ingredients and an impressive wine list. Despite being set in a renovated portion of a former state insane asylum, the trattoria was bright and contemporary. However, it was not without it’s oddities: Katie spoke of a “secret door” in the ladies restroom, and Allory talked about strange writing on the walls if you wandered off the beaten path. There were small pockets of modernity, but most of the surrounding grounds were eerily abandoned.

“I WANT TO GO TO THERE,” I declared. “And I must bring my camera.”

So this morning my pops and I (and his Nikon D200, which makes my D50 feel like a Vivitar from the 90s) headed to the the “Traverse City State Hospital.” My mom, a former social worker who had visited the asylum WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY FUNCTIONING, stayed home. “I can’t believe you find this fascinating,” she said. “I saw some really crazy stuff in there.” Which, of course, made want to go there all the more.

Here’s a preview of my shoot:

Abandoned weird things = Photographer’s dream. The place does emanate a strange, sad energy - which didn’t actually hit me until I came back to the hotel to quickly shop these shots. See, behind the camera?  I am brave. I’ll walk up the steps, I’ll stand on the fence, I’ll lay on the concrete.  I am thinking about light, and shapes, and rhythm. I’m not thinking about what sorts of crazy this hospital has seen.

Oh, and sadly, Trattoria Stella’s was closed for the holiday. Going to try to get in there tomorrow, because the exterior just whet my appetite.