America

 
VISA
None - I live here, or atleast I used too ;)
ECONOMY
1 Dollar = 100 Cents
Diem = $Alot/d ($Alot over Alot of Days)
Extras = $Alot (New Travel Gear)
Food = $5-$40 (Variety Central)
Room = $15-$30 (Hostels & Motels)
Ride = $8/h (Greyhound)
Gas = $1.75/g
Web = $1-$6/h (Fast but Expensive)
NOTES
Bin Laden may strike at any time in any place

December 17, 2003

Flight > Los Angeles, California  22:30 / 11h Seemingly Forever / 15,000km
Inflight Movies...

Santa Claus - Fun romance and comedy in one, and released just in time for the holidays. Who could ask for more?

Matchstick Men - Con artist trains his illegit daughter in the business and tries to quit. That's when his small problems turn big and she cons him outta everything. Good.

Stupid Video Game Movie - Some stupid video game movie I won't even bother to care about.

Open Range - The politics of being a cowboy when the west was still wild. Good.

Inflight Meals...

Interesting results when the chinese try to cook western. Something resembling an omelete served with a plastic knife.

From daylight to dark again in a matter of hours. The fastest i have moved against the sun the whole trip. Dropping into LA i reckognize the power of America. Thousands of glittering lights, arteries of cars 12 wide. It's where dreams come true. It's no hoax.

Touchdown!

Push the watch back a day and a few hours. Landing essentially the same day and time as i left Bangkok, only 21 hours later. An unbelievably easy and quick immigration with none of the expected hassles, despite the garb.

Welcomed home by my good buddies Jim, Denny, and David. Shocked by the balding muslim man standing infront of them handing out the obligatory thank you chopsticks. And no sooner then finding Denny's car in a maze of lots, off we go stirring up trouble across the city.

Hit a 7-Eleven to fill the coffers with greenbacks and brew. And since I have been gone something strange has happened. A new $20, peachy colors and fancy inks. A couple 6'ers for the road and Denny finds us the required first food.

In-N-Out - The southern california tradition. Strut up to the counter, still looking like a terrorist and proudly order. 'One Double Double a strawberry shake and fries...' '...please' with perhaps the biggest grin on my face in over a year. As I dig in hard, my stomach actually feels satisfied for the first time in months. Starting on the right foot.

Things are working. People are speaking english. It feels good to be home.

Off to Larry's, a friend of Jim's with a nice place on the beach just south of Venice. A nice invitation. An evening of stories and beers on the patio out back. The waves of the mighty Pacific crashing in on the white sand below. The stars of the Northern hemisphere winking at me from above. It's really great to be back.

December 18, 2003

Los Angeles, California
Spent the day with the gang on a stroll to Venice and back. A peach pineapple strawberry smoothy and some badly needed guitar strings that sound of heaven but cost of hell. Money melts away like ice on a hotplate.

Stretching my arm for the bimo that never comes. Public transport is non-existant in LA, a big problem if you don't have wheels. Waiting hours for a cab and paying what has come to represent a weeks budget for a few miles across town.

Otherwise, a nice day out and around.

December 19, 2003

Los Angeles, California
Made the move across town to Lenny's, another weasel of the Jim clan. A professional musician who keeps himself busy playing computer games while composing the music for them. A trick in-home studio complete with a multi-track digital recorder and cones of foam on the walls. He shows off some of his best work.

Fish tacos and a deep discussion about ideas for 'things' we have been hashing over. My XJpeg idea gets a workout and a makeover. Some strange stranger who was actually vastly interesting but sadly detached pokes his head in a bit about artificial intelligence. A born again techno-spud. Everyone is an engineer at the end of the day.

Crash on the coach while Wigs digs into the XBox reality.

December 20, 2003

Los Angeles, California
2am and we make the move over to Phil's, another weasel. Also a professional musician, but more into studio recordings and town gigs. He plays sax, and is damn good.

Convinces us the show he's putting on tonight is for shit and so Jim and I hit the Sunset Strip instead. A nice turkey leg (late Thanksgiving) at the deli/wine next to the Laugh Factory, where we meet Katz who invites us back to her place for DomPerignon and caviar (early New Years). 'Pumpkin Scones' with perfect timing. Ultra-lux.

After the gig, Phil joins us and together we jam out of key blues by artificial fire until the early hours. Gets cold at night.

December 21, 2003

Los Angeles, California
Finally get in touch with Blaine, my way back friend from Santa Barbara and my ride onward. He's on his way and so we find ourselves back to Phil's to pack out and say our goodbyes. A really great time. 
Car > Santa Barbara, California  8pm / 1.5h
Blaine - My ex-neighbor during the Fred's on Hollister era who helped out on building the hovercraft. A guy that used to be easy going and now he's got himself deep and serious about work, his own work. Quit his secure CommissionJunction.com job for a startup of his own trying to push drugs online. You know, another one of those damn viagra popups that annoy the piss out of you when yer surfing the web. Anyways, this time we got Blaine to thank.

Talk shop over sushi at the Piranha, lots of sushi, the best sushi in the world, $40. He is really into his ideas and hopes to retire with five few years if it succeeds. Noble plans with noticeable stress. A busy man so I try to leave light prints.

A nice apartment on the Mesa. Lord of the Rings on DVD. Long, not bad.

December 22, 2003

Santa Barbara, California
Spend the day on the computer updating my address book and uploading photos.

An earthquake shakes things up. A 6.5, just a tremor.

Mexican food and Elsies for a show at night, nothing special. An acoustic act from Oregon. A bit of a clone. Nothing like the Poltz. Too bad he ain't playin'.

Carly's Holiday Cheer

December 23, 2003

Santa Barbara, California
Ho-Ho-Ho - A suprise stop at the Handerhan's enroute to the airport. Joe's done himself up good with a busted leg. A torn tendon and so he sits on the couch, DVD remote in one hand, spiff in the other, cellphone and laptop nearby. Busy virtually orchestrating his Channel Coast Corp construction business which has gone gang busters since I left. Good to see.

And low and behold, my Volvo and hovercraft sit patiently out back. Under a pile of leaves and thick in weeds. Rat nests and cobwebs everywhere. Flat tires and a dead battery. Significant weather damage despite the cover which blew off months ago. Good to see.

Drop off my industrial sewing machine and Tina gives me a lift to the airport. 
Flight > Salt Lake City, Utah  14:20 / 1.5h
Delta - An hour and a half late, a typical american airline.

Beautiful looking down over the rockies. Patches of clouds and clearings. Snowcapped peaks remind me of Tibet, but really offer no comparison. Light snow on the ground, but nothing to explain the delays.

Missed my connection of course. After exhausting all the options I accept the fact that I am stuck for the night. $24 in food vouchers and a room at La Quinta. Stoaked! Always wanted to see Salt Lake. Hungry from the flight, I conveniently settle into the only place in the airport willing to accept my vouchers.

Chops - Significantly similar to Australian style and served with mash. Significantly different in that the American portions are extreme and the quality is tops. Here you pay more, but what you get for your buck is real and its usually enough for 2. And usually you eat it all by yourself anyways. Back to the fat, second in overweightedness only to Australia. Wish I invested in plastic knives before 9/11.

La Quinta - Doing quite a bit better here then in Mexico. In-room high-speed internet links and remarkable decor. Check in and down to Temple Square to see what this place is all about. 
Bus <> Temple Square $1.25
The 50 runs on a half hour schedule and at night a one hour between the airport and downtown. Finally a place with decent public transit, a welcome change from LA.

Salt Lake City - The 'Holy City of Salt Lake'. Mecca for the Mormon. Church focused, a city something like Adelaide. A pleasant clean and orderly city without so much about it.

Temple Square - The sole highlight of the city center. A handful of almighty churches and the tabernacle where I was lucky enough to catch the last half hour of a Silent Night recital on the pipes. A bitter cold 30f and snowy but festive with xmas lighted trees, crowds of 'times square' snaphappy socialites and their digital cameras, and heated horse drawn carriages jockeying alongside the trolley tracks down Main Street and through the shopping district. Do the rounds and after a half hour along, i am on my way back. Nothing to keep my interest for very long.

Sink into the hot tub. Flick through the channels.

December 24, 2003

Flight > Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  10:45 / 4h
Christmas eve and finally on a flight home, half hour late ofcourse. The unavoidable baby kicks and screams behind my seat for hours. The inflight magazine bombards me with ads and brainwashes me with consumerism. The I purchase therefore I am mentality. Suddenly I need one of everything.

The mountains smooth out to strictly flat prarie land which gives way to a patchwork of farms. Touchdown in PA, home again. With a tear in her eyes mom finds me in one piece.

Christmas eve dinner with the relatives. Sister Jodi and her husband Greg. Brother Mark and his new boyfriend.

!!! Merry Christmas !!!

December 25, 2003

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Christmas! A nice morning with family in the comfort of home. A stocking full of Park City gift certificates, cause no one really knows what I need, and neither do I.

Over to the Fausts in the afternoon for the traditional relative get together. Scrabble around a table stocked with way too much good food. Uncle Ron supplied the glue to fix the cracking neck on Blue. Good to see everyone.

December 30, 2003

Car > Brooklyn, New York  10pm / 3h / $20 gas
Grant, a friend from the Carolinas who I met in Nepal buses in the early morning to join me to NY and Vermont for New Years. Alberto and his girlfriend arrive at night and pick us up. And so off we go...

Al's childhood home on the outskirts in Brooklyn. Living with his Peruvian mom, funny and friendly. Commuting daily to his Blue Cross insurance job in the city. Thinking of quitting and moving back to where we went to school together in Troy, to be closer to his other girlfriend, Natalie.

December 31, 2003

Brooklyn, New York
Spent the day with Grant touring the city while Al put in his day at work. Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry, Staten Island. Bought a new S400 digicam to replace the one I bought in Malaysia which has erased one too many cards.. Nice day around.

Met up with Al and his work gang to head to Vermont. A full car, Grant sadly stays behind... 
Car > Somewhere in Vermont  6pm / 4h
Lorey and Lauren's - Newlywed friends of Al who invited us for the New Years. A wild and silly fun drunken night of lunatic behavior. Gule! Gule!

!!! Happy New Years !!!

January 1, 2004

Somewhere in Vermont
Late rise from the floor and lazy about. Together the gang hikes up nearby Equinox Hill. Nice view across the countryside. I demonstrate tree bending. Nice.

Down to the Equinox Inn for drinks and chess. Al loses.

Dinner at some smoke filled bar.

January 2, 2004

Somewhere in Vermont
Another late rise. Plans to go skiing fall through out of lack of organization and motivation. Instead we do a breakfast together at some twisted variety store place and say our goodbyes. To Troy enroute to New York, to see Natalie. 
Car > Troy, New York 5pm / 1.5h
A short but seemingly long ride consumed by Dave's endless chat trying to impress the girls and trying to convince us Taiwan wasn't a country. And we should believe him 'cause my father's in the UN', and because he pretends to know everything. Dropped off Dave and Jen to take the train back to the city and spent the evening out with Abby and another Jen in the local Brew Pub. Stay the night at Natalie's.

January 3, 2004

Troy, New York
Having missed the skiing in Vermont we determined ourselves to make up for it in Troy. E-coupons for Jiminy Peak have us waiting till the 5th.

A day spent doing nothing really. A trip to the Crosshatch Mall to join the other mall rats and pick up a hair shaver so I can cut my own. I cut my own, a close shave with the number 2. Liberating.

Estelle's Holiday Cheer

January 4, 2004

Troy, New York
Another nothing day helping Al fix up his POS rental property.

Gambling with the italian mofia in the evening. Bar hopping around town and a mixup has Al and Natalie on the rocks.

January 5, 2004

Troy, New York
Skiing. Not bad for having not gone in forever. Al retires early to the lodge for a drink and doesn't return, the whining puss.

Pack up and head back to NY. 
Car > Teaneck, NJ  18:00 / 2.5h
Stop by at Tapan's (another ZBT brother) in New Jersey on the way. Married now and freshly laid off. o definate plans. Lots of shit talk. 
Car > Brooklyn, NY  22:30 / .5h
Back to Al's.

January 6, 2004

Bus > Lancaster, PA  12:45 / 4h / $31 (one way)
Al's back to work and I am back to home in PA. An unexpectedly comfortable and efficient bus from the Port Authority. Suprisingly ontime and unsuprisingly expensive. About 15 times what I would have paid in Indonesia.

January 7 - 9, 2004

Lancaster, PA
Computer hacking on my XJpeg idea.

A trip to the dentist for the first time in 5 years. 4 cavities to be filled on the 13th. The stress of growing old.

January 10 - 12, 2004

Lancaster, PA
More computer hacking on my XJpeg idea.

Tony's Adventure Tours

January 13, 2004

Lancaster, PA
$400 for the 4 of them and one already fell out. Atleast he fixed my paintball tooth for free. Prescription strength toothpaste replaces the tooth powder in my gig.

Andrey's Nostalgia

January 15, 2004

Flight > Salt Lake City, UT  7:00 8:20 / 4.5h
The first snow fall since arriving has blanketed the ground in white and already i am off again.

8:20 and the 7:00 flight leaves the runway, typical of an american airline. This time blamed on the weather and deicing, while all along other aircraft have been taking off around us so i doubt it. On my way back to California after a traditional all nighter of last minute web repairs announcing new items on GroovyGear and sewing my new back pack together. A 20 liter 'grocery bag'of blue tarpelene i bought in indonesia for a quarter and a few simple straps. Weighing in at under 10 pounds and containing all i need to survive camped out in the snow, it doesn't get much smaller then this. My packlist has certainly come along way since the beginning.

An uneventful ride, less a sudden and momentary hot-flash / faint-spell following sinus-like pains deep in my brain. Blamed on lack of sleep. Oddly the first time this has ever happened to me. 
Flight > Santa Barbara, CA  11:55 13:00 13:30 / 1.5h
Luckily my connecting flight was to lay over for 2 hours and so arriving an hour late i still got a good 2 hours of Blue in before they wheeled the plane out of the hanger after some last minute repairs. The airlines in america are hopeless. Another delay adding to the 75% running average i have accumulated in my past 10 years of logging flights.

A beautiful sunny blue sky, 70f with a light sea breeze, day in Santa Barbara. A really welcoming and enjoyable off the plane experience, as it always is.

Walk to the beach and up the hill to UCSB for a suprise visit of my grad school gang. The same hopeless bunch of foreign grad students fill the lab i left nearly 5 years back. And ofcourse they all have excuses why they are still here. Professor Manjunath is away and so I sit and talk the afternoon away until one of the Turks took me into IV for a burrito and then dropped me off at 'the ranch'.

The Ranch - A 3 story log cabin on acres of unspoilt canyon, complete with horse stable. Hand built by Joe and Tina when the land was considered useless, a classic story of rags to riches. It's where my car and hovercraft still sit.

They welcome me in and we chat it up for some time before I take my bed in the plush guest room. The Handerhans are some of the coolest people i know. Plans to stay for some time.

January 16, 2004

Today's objective is to get the car going.

My car - My prized 1984 white Volvo 240 DL. A car i have had since i can remember. A car with 350 thousand miles and counting (before the odometer busted). A car I would never part with. A sad sight, deep in the trees and weeds and badly weathered. Animals nesting about and covered in cobwebs. Flat tires and a dead battery, rat dropping scattered throughout. Looks like work and so I turn my attention elsewhere.

My hovercraft - My prized 2000 corvette yellow 12t4, built by yours truely. The cover torn off and laying in the bushes. The epoxy coated plywood splitting from the intense direct sun. The engines corroded frozen and the props split in half. Numerous holes in the skirt from Dan's Mexican Adventure. Not much better, I decide to keep myself content on the car first.

A tough task without a vehicle to use. Tina loans me her bicycle to shoot around on. The tires are flat. Hitched my way to a service station for a fill.

In-n-Out - Meal numero Uno, Double-Double, fries, and a Coke, $5. A damn good cheap burger, a damn good California tradition. Help wanted, and paying $9.25 the hour to start, surprising.

A bit on the general populous. People here aren't so helpful or at all concerned about me. They are self-consumed and in a hurry to do nothing much. No where near as friendly as the Indonesians i have become accustomed to. Kinda depressing.

Down to CMI, recently bought out by Intuitive Surgical. Closing shop, all my buds are busy packing their cubicles into cardboard boxes. Working on finalizing that all important documentation package that no one will ever read. Some taking their severance with hope of something new in the future, the others making the required move to the Bay Area to keep plugging for the man. I'd have to say I'd side with the severance. My old boss is still the asshole i thought he was. My baby Hermes is dead. No regrets...

Over to Yulun's new company, In-Touch Health, with a renewed startup vigor reminding me of the early days at CMI. Developing another robot, this time offering 'remote presence' for the doctors to the elderly. Drove it around the office via web interface without hitting too many walls or people until i happened into the solution to the problem that had them in a meeting all day. And ofcourse as usual i got none of the credit for it. Patent pending...

Out to dinner with old worker bud James Cuevas and his newly wed at Longboards, with peanuts on the floor. A long and infinately recirculating traditional James rant about things he wants to do but never will. 'what if... but...' However, things are about to change because according to him '2004 is the year of 'something''. Profound...

January 17, 2004

Over to Sears for a new car battery. Confronted by the typically disgruntled and incompetant mechanic, a piss ass from the first word. Throws my old battery on the machine and fake tests it to tell me it's no good. A chart on the wall offers my choices, with 'the only one that will work'ofcourse being the priciest at $100. I piss him off even further by taking the cheapest at $35. That's when he tries to jerk me on the warrantee writing a 'customer is aware the battery is not correct for the car' onto the receipt. That is until i tell him it is going in a Jeep and he has to erase it all and start over.

At the end of the day it is all a crock of shit as i plug it in and the car starts on the first turn. Runs great even on 4 year old gas. Air in the tires. Polish it off.

January 18, 2004

Football Sunday. Gang of Joe's friends come over to sit infront of the tube. Our team loses.

Sold a 'gak' wool sweater.

January 19, 2004

Martin Luther King Day. Nothing is open.

Down to the service station to fill er full while the prices are still low. A buck 60 per gallon and another $10 for 'the works', a shitty auto cleaner. The car is officially back in shape.

Pulled out the hovercraft and the rats scatter. Full of leaves and droppings, i hose it down for an hour and it is still a long way from clean. After a few it is starting to look semi-respectable, but still a long way from running. The engines have long ago ceased. The result of improper storage after Danny's Mexican Adventure.

Danny shows his face, good to see. A night of Budweiser and shit talk around the pool table. Joe wins.

January 20, 2004

Spend some time on the DMV phone tree trying to register my car. Stuck in a phone tree for the better part of the morning acheiving absolutely nothing. I hate phone trees.

Blaine drops off my Juki commercial sewing machine. Grab a quick fish and chips down at Sonnys, the best fish and chip there is. A stressful conversation revolving around his work, something he is determined to kill himself over. Why does everyone want to retire young?

Out to Ojai in the evening for a house warming party of some Creekside bar room buddies. Cold on the porch. Move over to another friends. Hot in the tub. A bag of oranges off the tree.

January 21, 2004

A day dealing with the beaurocratic bullshit of America.

Standing in line at the DMV for hours to pay the $37 registration fee and still not get the registration papers for lack of insurance and smog certification. Atleast they permit me a single day to drive the car and straighten it all out. It is enough to make your blood boil.

California Smog - Required every other year unless your car is sufficiently ancient, another reason not to let the Volvo go. 5 times through the entire computerized tester regime all because of a failure of the gas cap. Where it turns out it wasn't a bad gas cap after all, but a leak in the tester hose. Anyway, the asshole requires me to purchase a new one. And so after 2 hours what was advertised as $40 ended up costing me $110 and another $20 for 'installation of the gas cap'. An amazing combination of incompetence and cheatery. Sometimes i wonder about this place.

Auto Insurance - Required by law, ofcourse. A catch 22 in that the DMV won't issue registration without insurance and the insurance won't write the policy without registration. After arguing with the Allstate man for an hour he finally gives in a prints up a fake policy for me to show the DMV. If it's good enough for them, its good enough for me. A $220 savings over 6 months.

To Danny and Aimee's place in Summerland, up on the hill with a view of the pacific. A nice place, but for $1800 the month it oughtta have more then just a view. Ever since collecting his severance from CMI Danny's been converting the guest room into a full scale CNC shop. A place to design laser pointer stabilizers and keychains and other great ideas of his.

A place where I was able to finally machine an idea of my own. Introducing the GroovyStick, a combination toothbrush and shaver that is smaller and weighs less then a disponsable razor. Another trick to throw in my GroovyGear travel gig.

Moved a bunch of shit he has been storing for me out, gifting him the coveted bread box and the mighty Shop Vac which he badly needs.

Down to the Creekside with Blue for Open Mic Night. Turns out it ain't very 'open' afterall. Sat for hours kicking back white russians and keeping a lonely rich lady company while the organizers friends took turns on stage. Atleast she thought i was good.

January 22, 2004

Fixed Joe's new bimini top for his ocean boat. A 30 footer that we plan to take to the islands once we get it fixed up.

Decided to try and get the hovercraft hovering. Pull the engines apart and freed the stuck valves. Fired it up and the prop which Danny glued back together in a hurry to take to Mexico decided it wasn't gunna have it and tore a hole through the side of the craft landing 60 feet away. Lucky i wasn't in the way or I would have lost a leg. The horses go crazy. Looks like this ain't gunna happen.

Another pool night with the the gang. Entertaining Joe's Mexican construction contingency with Mana.

January 23, 2004

Another Day hanging at Danny's. Pull ups and TV. Leftover chicken.

January 24, 2004

Car > San Francisco, CA  8:30 / 8h 3h / 252170m
My first road trip with the Volvo, no problems. A long day on the road to San Francisco to visit my friend Jim. Failure to get through to his cellphone has me at his PO Box and on a 2 hour wander through the city trying to find his real place. The Logic Pole, an art studio rental on Haight where he and Max and Gordo spend their time hacking computers and working on various projects in the wind. Park my backpack on the couch and out for a few beers. Good to see em all.

January 25 - 31, 2004

A week around town with the gang joined by Jodie, my ol' Hollister roomate and Kathy, an ol' travel friend. Lots of coffee shops and pubs. Programming computers and parking the car.

Jodi and I out to witness Adrian, another Hollister roomate, and his new band The Lord Weird Slough Feg. The Cure meets Hole meets underground alternative punk. A female singer I couldn't understand and a slutty chick dressed as a school girl wiggling around on the floor and sucking her thumb. Sorry Adrian, Anything But Three Bucks was better.

January 31 - February 2, 2004

Moved over to Kathy's on Nob Hill.

Dinner party in the East Bay.

Caught up with Brian McGuire, my Enfield through India travel buddy, over IHOP. Since married and living in the city. Busy trying to put together and market his photos from the trip. Alot of nice shots, we talk business.

When all the airlines are advertising $700 one way to Peru, Alberto scares me up a ticket for $143. An offer too good to pass up on. May 18th it is, perfectly coinciding with a school friend's wedding in Lima.

My mom has been bothering me for some time about helping out with the family waterpark. A park my father built by hand some 25 years ago. A park that was leased out after he passed away in 1984. A park that was driven bankrupt and is now back in our hands. A park that is in desperate need of repair. A family that desparately needs me.

And so it is, plans have been made. Plans to finally pack up and out of The Ranch. Plans to cross the country via Route 66 all the way back home, a trip I have always dreamed to take. Plans to fix the park up for a couple months and at the same time make a bit of extra cash for my continued travels. To kill a handful of birds with one stone.

With only a month before I must be there, I decide to get moving. To finish up seeing long lost friends and get my ass in gear.

February 2, 2004

Car > Cameron Park, CA  15:45 / 2h / 120m
A rainy day, a good day to head out and catch up with others.

Michelle Kiser one of the CMI Roma, her son Ian, and her boyfriend Michel. Living in a big house in South Tahoe, afforded by retiring from their Silicon Valley jobs during the techno-boom and selling their house in Mountain View. Unemployed and working on a startup online seller idea that she thinks will go busters. Advertising and handling the sales of other peoples goods on Ebay for a cut. Old Singer sewing machines are her specialty. She just sold Ian's old skateboard.

An incredible gourmet dinner invites me in.

February 3, 2004

Another rainy day.

With nothing else to do we spend the day wine tasting, returning in the evening pissed.

February 4, 2004

A beautiful sunny day.

More wine tasting, ending up in a back country pub where an old WWII pilot and his wife keep us mesmerized with story and full of liquor. A classic couple, a wonderful chance encounter and experience.

In a drunken rant on the way home Michelle lets out all her whoas. Evident problems brewing in the relationship back home.

February 5, 2004

A day of skiing at the Sierra At Tahoe.

Free lift with Michel's pass and $33 rentals. A nice day and a great performance on my first pair of parabolics. I nearly forgot how much I enjoy skiing.

February 6, 2004

Car > San Francisco, CA  10:00 / 3h 1h / 120m 252893m
Time to get moving again.

Stopped in Davis on the way back for a personal tour of Moller Industries to finally see their SkyCar in person. The transportation of the future. A nice old man gladly tours me around.

Drop off the keys I forgot I still had at the Logic Pole. No one is around. A falafel and I am on my way. 
Car > Paso Robles, CA  13:30 / 3.5h / 205m
The usually brain numbing ride to Paso Robles, just over half way home.

Paso Robles - 'Darn near paradise'. Atleast until the earthquake hit last month and turned it into a national disaster. The turnoff to Lake Nacimiento and Club Chuck's, where my boat has supposedly set for the past 4 years. Decide to give it a look see. 
Car > Club Chuck's, CA  17:00 / .5h / 22m
No boat... nothing. Must have given it away after not hearing from me in so long. Depressing. 
Car > Santa Barbara, CA  19:15 / 2h / 130m
On to Santa Barbara.

California freeways - Fast and efficient. The average speed limit is 65mph. The average actual speed is 75mph. The troopers don't care.

February 7 - 8, 2004

An attempt at a weekend island trip on Joe's boat fails. Sitting in the boat at the port before sunrise and the engines won't start. Looks like I gotta hold off on my trip east for another week.

February 9 - 12, 2004

Spend the week fixing up the boat and packing the car, significantly lightening my footprint around here. Except for my hang glider and the hovercraft everything 'just fits'.

February 13 - 14, 2004

The second time is a charm. A successful weekend out at the islands. A couple days of fishing, scuba diving, and drinking beer. A few lobster and a big bag of scallops makes for a memorable BBQ. And the wave that almost got us the next morning. Dolphins chase us in.

February 15, 2004

Sunday swap meet to rid myself of half of my useless excess. All day in the baking sun trading over $1000 worth of crap for $100.

Back at the ranch, Tina has an accident while painting the basement. Joe rushes her to the hospital for stitches.

I thank them for the stay with a no-holds-barred Thai Dinner.

Across America via Route 66

February 16, 2004

Covered the hovercraft, said my sad goodbyes and packed out the last of my junk. Regardless of what I have, packing into the Volvo is always an exact fit. 
Car > Ventura, CA  11:00 / 30m 253535m
The cross country trip commences!

First stop, Ventura to see Chuck. A hurried chat the way relations with Chuck usually are indicates my boat probably was junked. Together we share lunch according to what his fitness schedule dictates and I am back on the road. 
Car > San Diego, CA  14:30 / 4h / 253574m
No word from Andy in LA and so I skip the hassles and head straight to San Diego to see the two Robs. The 101 to the 405, rush hour the whole way but today it is a rush to get home after the long weekend. The heavy annoying airport traffic hasn't changed a bit, i don't recommend the 405.

San Diego - Strands of asphalt and cement in a vast and tangled web of 8 lane freeways, strip malls, and planned neighborhoods. Actually not much different then any California city.

After dark and i pull into Rob number one's, my old chilhood friend from back east. A new house he and his newly wed Lyuda just bought. A house they are proud of and a house they will be paying off for the next 20 years. Interestingly enough, in the few short months they have owned it they could turn around and sell it for a fortune over what they paid for it. So if you think of it as an investment it really isn't as bad as it seems. Real estate here is going crazy.

Anyways, we chat it up and all is well. It is good to see him after so long. He hasn't changed a bit.

February 17, 2004

A quick breakfast chat and he is off to work.

Since graduating highschool together he has become quite the aerospace electronics stud. He boasts of having designed circuits that withstand the rigors of space. He is really into what he does and it is good to see his enthusiasm.

Unfortunately it comes with a cost. Putting in 12 hours a day and satisfying tough schedules has him under stress. Downs a handful of antacids to keep the acid reflux at bay and waves goodbye. Doesn't look like he has much spare time and so I decide to move on. 
Car > Ocean Beach, CA  8:30 / 1.5h / 253760m
On to OB Robb's, a roomate from my days on DP in IV.

Ocean Beach - 'OB' as the locals lovingly refer to it. A classic small and sleepy oceanside deadbeat surfer town. A town that still clings to its original character. A pleasent place with a laid-back feel.

No one is home so I squeeze through the dog door, take an orange, and leave a note. Off to tour the nearby Taylor Guitar factory. 
Car <> Taylor Guitars  12:00 / 3h / 40m
Taylor Guitars - The ultimate guitars manufactured using the ultimate assembly technologies. An interesting tour of an incredible factory. Picked up a t-shirt on the way out.

Back at the house Rob is amazed at how i made it in while Dorta, his girlfriend is rather disturbed by it. She never liked me much for some reason. I am not sure if she likes anyone actually.

February 17 - 19, 2004

Hanging with Rob.

February 20, 2004

Car > Almost Route 66  7:45 / 30m 253862m
The 15 to the '66', or atleast almost. What I think is an empty tank has me stalled by the side of the freeway. Hitch my way to the nearest service station for a gallon. Back at the car I crank and crank and still I sit. Back to the station for another gallon. Back at the car I crank and crank and still I sit.

The roadside callbox finds me a tow. 5 miles to the nearest 'hole in the wall' shop where I argue the driver down from $135 to $65 before he unhitches me. It starts to rain.

Not wanting to fork out a wad for the repair I pull out my tools, pop the hood, and start the search. Quickly it becomes apparent the problem isn't gas related afterall but an electrical short somewhere. It gets dark and i negotiate the owner's kid behind the desk to let me stay the night in the lot. Grab some tacos pescado at the carneceria down the street before shutting myself in the car. They lock the gates and set the killer dogs loose.

February 21, 2004

Impressed by my self-determination the kind garage family offers me a bay and lift to use for free. Papa Arnaldo stops in in the afternoon to check up on my progress and gives a few pointers. Spent the entire day pulling and replacing rat-eaten wires. Mama Sonia invites me back to their house for dinner and to stay the night. Some of the friendliest and most helpful people I have met in America. They are Mexican.

February 22, 2004

First try and it starts right up!

Finish up fixing other nagging problems, cleaning the injectors and replacing the headlights. Say my goodbyes and thank them with a bottle of a special wine I bought on my trip North. By 3:30 I am back on the road to Route 66. 
Car > Victorville (The Start of Route 66), CA  15:30 / 1.5h .5h / 253983m
Climb 4000 over snow capped peaks covered in dark rain clouds and exit the 15 at Victorville, leaving 8 conjested lanes behind to official start my Route 66 experience.

(Route 66 'The National Trails Highway' history goes here)

Victorville - A small and pleasent town where it still looks like not much has changed. 2 lanes and stop lights at every corner. It is frontage roads alongside the 15 and the 40 from here on.

Dip into my ammo tank and reload my holster with: Cake, The Police, Spin Doctors, Talking Heads, Roger Waters, Erasure, David Lee Roth, Pink Floyd, Sublime, Blind Melon, Sting, and Peter Gabriel. Should keep me going for a couple days. I really could use an iPod. 
Car > Barstow, CA  17:00 / 254037m
Jerry is humming along smooth and happy now. Packed full except a small slot reserved for sleeping. I am already proud of myself for how far I have come and the trip has only just begun.

Across rolling hills of sage and brush alongside the rails of the Santa Fe. A single lane of broken asphalt absent of cars. Passing rustic establishments of the olden day, still the same. A different perspective on the average trip across the USA.

Pull through Barstow at dusk. 
Car > Just past Barstow, CA  18:15 / 30m 254074m
Pull off the road right before Dagget and call it the night. Parked behind some bushes in a field hidden from the passing traffic.

February 23, 2004

Raindrops on the roof and passing trains all night. Near freezing temperatures in the morning. Fog and heavy clouds. No problems starting the car. 
Car > Nearly Seligman  8:00 / 12h 5h / 254084m
Newberry Springs - Home of the Bagdad Cafe, the roadside diner where the movie was filmed. Where 'Boss Lady Andre', a frizzy bleached blonde old lady mans the grill and serves with a smile. 'Gimme a couple eggs over easy, bacon, toast and a side of hash browns'.

Sit down next to a table of local contract truckers who measure their miles in packs of cigarettes smoked. Quickly they chat me up curious about what i am doing and where i am going. A good and friendly back country gang.

An interviewer for a LA radio show overhears and hovers over my table with a boom mic and DAT. 'The Savvy Traveller' on KPCC 89.3, a weekly program covering the budget travel scene. A scene that I have quite a bit of experience with. I feed him what he wants to hear.

Pass up on the apple pie and hand Flo my money. She takes a buck twenty five from my hand, pushing the rest back with a wink. A nice lady, a nice stop.

An hour and a half around Amboy Crater. A volcanic cone in the middle of nothing. No one but me. Nice but nothing special. Blue skies break through.

Back on the road, a nice shot looking back toward the crater. The scenery reminds me of my trip through the NullArbor. Pass a tree of shoes swinging in the light breeze. The temperature soars. A car passes by every 5 minutes. It is a beautiful day in the desert.

Heavy clouds move in and the temperature drops again. Along the 40 for a bit where retirees jockey with each other in their RVs. Off again before Needles and back onto the 'Old Trails Highway'. It becomes the 'Needles Highway'.

Needles - A nothing town as most seem to be. A single main street which by definition is the 66 lined by hotels and diners. Where one station offers gas at $2.50 the gallon and another just down the street has it at $2.00, strange.

A mixup on the trail and the border to Arizona at 254255m near Lake Havasu. Switch maps.

Arizona

A rainbow over Golden Shores, AZ 'A Good Place to Live'. Where the Needles turns into the 'Oatman Highway', the 'Back Country Byway'. A road that curves around every foothill and leaves me wondering if it will ever get through the mountains ahead. Craggy peaks straight up. Pass a Christmas tree yucca cactus, interesting.

Oatman - The 1st official tourist stop. A historic gold mining town turned souvenir strip. Wild burros roam the street looking for handouts from the elderly tourists busy capturing it all on film. I stop only momentarily to witness it all.

Over Sitgraeves Pass at 3550 and down the Gold Hill grade, the steepest grade on the 66. Across a flat valley of parked trailer trash. Another mixup as the Oatman dead ends. Eventually I find my way back on and headed to Kingman.

Kingman - That's with a capital 'K' as on the hillside. A bit more 'real' of a town but still quite the tourist stop. My hunger gets the better of me and I pull over for an amazing homemade rootbeer and a 66 Bacon Cheese at Mr. D's. Push my watch an hour forward, I am now on Mountain Time. Gas here is only $1.65, nearly 35 cents cheaper per gallon then California. Must be the lack of a 'gas cap tax'.

Ice and snow on the road near Peach Springs through the Hualapai Indian Reservation. It is after dark when I make it to the Grand Canyon caverns, closed. Continue on and stop just short of Seligman. Another roadside night.

February 24, 2004

Awaken to find myself surrounded by snowy peaks, an even colder night. Heavy fog and clouds keeps me unsure about making the diversion to the Grand Canyons. 
Car > Just past Grants, NM  9:00 / 10h 4h / 254401m
A slow climb through snow dusted evergreens to Williams at 6600 feet. where I exit the 66 for the Grand Canyons. A deal on gas at $1.66 and the full service redneck talks me out of going. 'With this weather id be a god damn waste yer time...' Fair enough and so I continue on. Over the Arizona Divide at 7335 feet and down into historic Flagstaff almost by definition. And ofcourse as I drop into Winona the sky clears and I begin to wonder if I haven't made a mistake.

Unfortunately this is where the 66 gives way to the 40 for the remainder of Arizona. 4 lanes of flat, fresh, and fast asphalt with a posted speed limit of 75mph. Off to see the meteor crater at Exit 233.

But it isn't just any crater, infact it is 'this planet's 1st proven impact crater'. 'A prototype for the study of all impact craters in our galaxy'. The roadside signs along the iconic Close Encounters landscape juice me up. $12 for entry ?!?! Looks like the only view for me is the parking lot. Strangely enough the sign said it was a national landmark. Picnic lunch on the way out.

Time for a new rack of CDs: Sting, Squeeze, SRV, more Sting, Talking Heads, Marillion, more Talking Heads, John Cougar Mellencamp, Genesis, Dire Straights, STP, Tone Loc.

Past Winslow and through the heart of Navajo country. A flat, dry, and barren devistatingly dull stretch. Passing a 'dinosaur park' and it's paper mache roadsign monstrosities and 'tribes' selling 'museum quality' jewelry; whatever it takes to make a buck I guess. Canyons far off on the horizon look like movie props.

Past the petrified forest national park and through Apache country. Exit 354 and finally back on a proper 66 as I enter New Mexico, 254678m. Switch maps.

New Mexico

All of the sudden the canyons off on the horizon close in and i am surrounded by them. Back to a slower, smaller, more scenic, quieter, and more enjoyable trail. Stop for some pictures of a passing train. Scares the shit out of me with its blaring horn.

Gallop - The cheapest fuel stop so far at $1.51 the gallon. A broadway of cheap fuel and motels like most Route 66 cities so far. As I leave town, the sun sets behind me. The canyons radiate in beautiful shades of orange and purple.

I reach the Continental Divide at 7295 feet at dusk. It is all down hill from here!

Stop for a couple tamales at the Tomahawk in Prewitt. Pull off in an abandoned and decrepid service station just after Grants.

February 25, 2004

Car > Somewhere just before Chillicothe, TX  7:30 / 10h 3h / 254782m
Covered in a sheet of ice, the coldest night so far, warm inside my sleeping bag. Blue skies as far as the eye can see in all directions.

Route 66 Travel Center - Advertising hot showers for miles in all directions I had to give it a go. A popular casino / one-stop-shop in the middle of nowhere. A crappy $5 breakfast buffet followed by an amazing $5 shower. Refreshed and ready I continue on.

Droppping into Alberquerque with a backdrop of snow covered mountains is an impressive sight. Perhaps the biggest city enroute so far and the only place I would even consider living. An artist's depot. A city not hopelessly clinging to the tourism of the 66 but with a personality of it's own. Buildings of adobe painted in very New Mexican pastels separated by wide and uncrowded streets. A multicultural and educated crowd with the university at its heart.

Around the mountains and back to flat, this time with a blanket of snow. Gave another try at the famous Cline's Corner. Don't even slow down. Over 2 hours of pulling miles on the brain numbingly dull 40, a stretch where the 66 is no longer. Absolutely nothing to see.

Off at Cuervo and back on the 66. Nothing to see, but atleast the road is dodgy enough to keep my attention and there aren't any truckers trying to run me over. Infact there is no one else at all, I am the only one. With 160m to Amarillo, I should make it just in time for dinner at The Big Texan, a classic steakhouse that I have had my sights set on since leaving California.

It isn't long before I am back on the 40 and crossing into Texas, 255072m. Switch maps.

Texas

New Rack: Hendrix, The Cars, REM, Prince, Laurie Anderson, Simon & Garfunkel, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, Bruce Hornsby, Men At Work, Don Henley, Alice n Chains.

Just 20 minutes over the border and the snow that blanketed New Mexico is nearly gone. Along with that, whatever scenery New Mexico had is gone too. Vast and dry grasslands, ranches in the distance, a few cattle grazing. An obligatory wave to the shotgun rack pickups passing in the opposite direction. A frontage road that is actually used by the local farmers.

Vega - A motel, 2 service stations, a John Deere dealer, and 936 texans everyone of them in pickups. A town that got a real scare over the threat of Mad Cow Disease i am sure.

Amarillo - The official end of my Route 66 experience at 255152m. It is where the road turns North and I am detouring to Duncanville in the South to see a friend from way back. But not so quickly as it is also the home of the almighty Big Texan Steakhouse, a required stop every time I pass through.

Farewell Route 66

The Big Texan - Famous for it's free 72oz. steak if you can finish it within the hour. That and a plate of fries, a couple rolls, beefsteak tomatoes, and a piece of cheesecake. The walls are full of quotes and signatures from those that have. It ain't gunna be me. Starving, I barely manage a 18oz. Ribeye, $25. The quality is tops.

The 287S toward Fort Worth. Texas highways are excellent. As flat and straight as the crow flies, turning just enough to keep you awake. And since there isn't much to see, you can drive at night without feeling like you missed something. And they don't fuss much with wild on/off contraptions. You want on or off? Just do it! It is just like a back road, only bigger and as a bonus the lanes are separated so you don't get hit by headlights. Outside of the real cities I have yet to see an overpass or bridge, just flashing yellow lights and 'yield' signs which can be safely ignored. Wanna make a left? First get on, then at the next turn around flip a bitch. It couldn't be easier. A bit 3rd world in that through towns the pickups just pop right out infront of you, but you don't end up clover leafing around for an hour just to get where you want. Just set your cruise control at a smooth 70 and go for it.

I try to make it as far South as possible before another frosty night. Pull off onto a dirt sideroad at 10pm and in the search for a more desolate resting spot another even dirtier road. Mud infact, one wheel off the road in a ditch and that is where I stayed the night, accepting my fate and hoping the ground will be frozen solid in the morning.

February 26, 2004

7:00 and as luck would have it the ground was solid. Sure enough, patience is all it took. That and a half hour of simultaneously throttling and pushing, one foot on the pedal and the other out the door. Out of the ditch and back on the road. Too bad my digicam batteries are all dead.

A farmer who saw me the night before stops to congratulate me. 'We never go down that road, not even in a 4WD... especially after a rain'. 
Car > Mansfield, TX  8:00 / 4h / 255307m
Big cities are a definate exception. Doing circles around Fort Worth just to stay on the same road. An hour search for Mansfield and more specifically Marty's house. Finally I find myself in an Edward scissorhand neighborhood and he ain't home. The neighbor clues me in that he must be at his school in Duncanville. After another couple hours I find my way and realize she meant the middle school, not the elementary or highschool. It is the 'spurs' that kill you.

Somehow I talk the principal into walking me in. A surprise visit right in the middle of his teaching 8th grade computer class. The Nike sneaker lesson. The look on his face is priceless. He hasn't changed a bit since we went to middle school together back in PA.

February 27, 2004

Friday - Marty works and I spend the day sleeping, washing clothes, and relaxing. The neighbor comes over at night for a session of XBox. We talk about someday building an airplane together. He is a pilot.

February 28, 2004

Contact my Aunt Becky and Marty and I over to visit her school in Fort Worth. She's the principal. The old headquarters of Exxon turned into a religeous school. Very nice place.

We tour around Dallas and end up the night at Marty's parents friends house which they are sitting. It is a mansion. Pizza.

February 29, 2004

Marty and I spend the day touring around Fort Worth with Becky as our guide. Down to the stockyards for a memorable chicken fried steak. I much prefer Fort Worth to Dallas.

On our way back I set Marty up with The Ultimate Meal at a health food store. He is excited to reap the benefits, but not so keen on the taste. A recipe he doesn't believe is good enough just the way it is. More XBox with the neighbor.

March 1, 2004

Marty is back to work, and I am back to the road. Setting my course for Nashville, TN to visit my sister and her husband. But first the possibility of seeing a long lost friend in Memphis. Someone I haven't heard from in years. There is a good chance he moved. 
Car > Memphis, TN  11:00 / 8h 1h / 255591m
Blue skies. The 30E. A new rack: RHCP, Paul Simon, George Thorogood, Annie Lennox, John Mellencamp, Steve Winwood, Pink Floyd, Sinatra, Edie Brickell, The Cure, Glove, Marcy Playground.

TexArkana - 'It's Twice as Nice'. It's nothing actually. The border to Arkasas, 255820m.

Arkansas

Through Hope, 'The Home of President Bill Clinton' and past Arkadelphia, 'A Great Place to Call Home'. Lightly rolling hills of evergreen. On to the 40E at Little Rock. Past the Remington Sporting Ammunition Plant. Past Palestine at Exit 233. Over the bridge and into Tennessee at Memphis, 256100m.

Tennessee

Looking for my old friend's place from an old address in my book. Stop at Central BBQ late in the night for directions and come out with a pork sandwich. 'The Best in Memphis' and so I suspect one of the best in the world. Everyone I come across is really friendly and easygoing. A world away from most big American cities. A pleasent experience.

Coincidentally my friend moved to Texas. Anyway his old house is in a nice and quiet neighborhood so I sleep the night in the car out front.

March 2, 2004

The 'Music Highway' to Nashville. The coincidence of my sister and arriving at her house. A day spent with her touring around the city. A beer on Main St. and a walk around the Parthenon, a full scale copy constructed for the state fair some time back. Perhaps more impressive then the real thing.

Back at the house we invite the neighbors in on a campfire BBQ out back. 'Aussie Style' with snags and chops as I share with them some stories from my trip and some song. Great ambiance and fun.

March 3, 2004

So far the passion of America seems to be cats and Diet Coke, in every house i've been. My allergies and the taste for 'the real thing' can't take it anymore.

A work day on their never ending rebuilt the entire house project. The plan is to remodel the kitchen before she has her baby in August, and today it begins. Quickly we demolish most of everything. There is no turning back now.

A thankyou and goodbye sushi dinner is provided.

March 4, 2004

Drop Jodi off at the airport. She's headed to Florida for a woman's week with mom and the Jones' aunt clan.

Blue skies, spring is here. The 40E toward Charlotte, NC where yet another friend waits. The speed limit is 70mph, the average speed is 80mph, 90mph isn't out of the question. Past Knoxville and tunnels through the Smokeys.

New tunes: The Police, Yes, Frank Zappa, U2, INXS, Floyd, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, Brian Adams, Jane's Addiction, REM, David Matthews.

I enter North Carolina at 256583m.

North Carolina

2 hours of construction and searching for Berkeley Place Drive in heavy traffic has me pulling my hair out. The coincidence of Matt & Noel at home. A small apartment on the outskirts of Charlotte. Surpise, the coincidence of them getting married, scheduled for July 4th and I am invited. Perfectly bad timing on their part as I will well be in the middle of Peru. A wedding I could never miss, what to do?

Over to their friend's for a dinner social.

Estelle Leaves Nice

March 5, 2004

A day of nothing much. Laundry, reading The Beach, fixing Noels's printer, playing guitar with Matt after he returns from work. He is a greens keep at a local country club. Another friend's dinner social at an art exhibition downtown. A beer at a redneck honky-tonk that was empty cause the band never showed.

March 6, 2004

Matt and Noel are off to check out a school in Boon for Noel to teach and so I am on my way. 
Car > Richmond, VA  12:00 / 4h / 256788m
The I85N to Richmond, VA to see another friend. A girl I met while travelling Italy, but can't reach on phone. I got some emails hoping I would visit but never got confirmation on an address. And so I am going off of what is in my outdated book. This is the typical case and usually it is wrong. I wish people would keep me updated.

An alley of tall pines welcomes me to Virginia 'The Lovers State' at 256983m.

Virginia

And ofcourse after the long and aggrivating search finds me the empty loading dock of her business and her cellphone won't connect I decide to just head on. 
Car > Washington, DC  20:00 / 257163m
To Washington, DC to see the country's capital and my cousin David and his boyfriend Ron.

1st stop, the Pentagon where after being informed there is no tour I was politely asked to leave and was warned they could confuscate my camera. I took a picture on the way out.

2nd stop, 12th and Pennsylvania downtown for a walk about around the White House. Again, no tours since 9/11 without months of prior apporval by a congressman.

A day of monuments and museums. Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court, and finally in the late afternoon David & Ron. A quick visit after they concluded my car wouldn't be safe parked on the street. I convince them to atleast do dinner with me and in the pouring rain i'm off with the plan of finishing my road trip and making it home tonight.

Pennsylvania

And there in the dark of the night my car pulls into Lancaster, PA. The town it left some 10 years ago when I decided to move to California.

Alas! Home sweet home. My road trip is through.

March 7, 2004

My mom couldn't be happier to see me, but it isn't long before she's got me on the plow.

March 8 - May 13, 2004

Lancaster, Pennsylvania
A couple months of fixing up the Eagle Falls Thrills & Spills adventure park. A family affair.

Work Journal From Eagle Falls

Motivating Stories While I Worked

Ruppert's Travel Update 2

Chris's Crossing Canada

Egil's Photos From Latvia

Grant's Camino de Santiago

Rory's Off Again

Rory's G'day From Oz

Boy's Alive in Lima

Grant's Spanish Tour

May 14, 2004

Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Late in the evening on my last day of fixing up 'the park'.

As usual a last minute push to ready myself for my next episode. Tomorrow I take Jerry to New York where he will once again be put into storage and where I will once again embark on another episode of travel.

South America. First stop, Lima, Peru where me and RPI frat. brother Alberto will touch down on the 18th to witness the wedding of another Zebe, Jorge. A convenient excuse to start the wheels rolling again after such a long hiatus.

Plans to spend a couple weeks with his family learning Spanish before buying a motorbike and setting myself free.

Finished up making a silny tarp for my Eureka Gossamer tent and my new backpack, the GroovyPac - v2. A 20l simple grocery style propylene sac with shoulder and tent straps. Minus the camera gear, the guitar, and a set of clothes it all weighs in around 8 pounds, my lightest load so far. Actually, it's the 6 bottles of wine that really set it over.

Rory's From Billabongs to Bouncy Marsupials

David The Spaniard

Estelle's Hippy Life

Rory's From Rains to Plains

Keith's Bachelor Boogie

Rory's Monoliths and Opals, the ride turns East

May 15, 2004

1pm and I sit in my car in the driveway at home trying to remember anything I may have forgotten before embarking on my next episode. Nothing I can remember and so I turn the key and pull out as mom holds back the tears, sad to see me go. On my way to Troy, New York to meet up with Alberto and put my car in storage at his rental property. From there we will return to his home in Brooklyn for a couple days before catching our flight to Peru. He's got a return ticket, mine is one way. 
Car > Troy, NY  13:00 / 6.25h .5h / 340m
It is a beautifully sunny albeit hot and humid day. A bit of a change from the past two months of primarily snow and rain which i had to endure while working on the park. I think back and am thankful for it to be finished and excited to be back on the road.

The 72N to the 81, a historic ride I used twice a year to get to college and back, and with the same car. A route that 15 years later is still under constant consturction. Thanks to PAand PENNDOT, known for keeping the worst roads in the country. One of the few which still remains with a speed limit of 55mph. Troopers hiding in the bushes and behind billboards.

Make a quick stop at my grandma's in Waverly. She's moved into a new place and just got a new car. She's on her way out to the movies. Despite her age, she hasn't slowed a bit. On to Troy.

Good ol' Troy, the armpit of America. Heavy dark storm clouds hover above. Where the rest of the country is in the sun it is a rainy miserable day here as usual. The search for Alberto eventually finds us downing beers and buffalo wings in OhLeary's. Haven't seen him since New Years. Dropped his girlfriend, picked up a few pounds. He gets even with hair jokes.

Back to his shithole of an old place, festering of RPI Indian graduate students. Dede, a professional soccer player from Kosovo lets us share his room. He wants to use my car while I am gone.

May 16, 2004

My first sleep-in past 9 in months. Spend the day helping Al sweat pipe (fix the plumbing). Looks like all my practice at Eagle Falls is already paying off. A new shower fixture, rewarded with dinner at the Olive Garden. Some quality wine, but nothing like what I brought from California.

A hopeless bit of indoor soccer on over-full stomachs. Dede is quite the stud. Chicks dig his accent. Guitar and wine back at the house.

May 17, 2004

Car > Brooklyn, NY  6:00 / 3h
Up before dawn to make it back to NYC for Al to put in his hours with 'the man'. Heavy traffic all the way.

Crashed in bed until noon and spent the remainder of the day half catching up on my online journal. Some friends of Al's in the evening say their goodbyes and others join the trip. Tapan, another frat brother from my days at RPI and Christopher, a work friend of Jorge's who's wedding we are off to see. More fine wine.

May 18, 2004

Another early morning up and to the JFK airport, terminal 14. An easy checkin. Taca Air flight 573, stopping just about everywhere it possibly can on it's way south. On time and nearly empty, seated stretched across a row. Liquored up double duty on the Duty free, we strap a bottle in for the ride. Off to Peru... _ _ ______________________________________________________ _ _

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