This is my final day in Chicago. I have no idea what the internet access will be like in the Smoky Mountains (I'm sure that's not how you spell smokey/smoky but that's how it appears on the road map!), so I may not write again until next week when I arrive in Washington DC.
I had a fabulous final night in the 'Windy City' and was treated to an unforgettable time. Now its just the goodbyes that are left, something I hate at the best of times. It's certainly not easy and makes me a little concerned that this trip will, by its very nature, be full of them. I'm sure there will be many bus rides that begin with more than a couple of goodbye tears!!!
Have a good weekend folks, take care.
I won't say much as this is a public site, but you know who you are when I say that I'll miss you, will think of you often and hope that you'll think about what I said xxx
Ola folks, hope all is good.
The next stage of my trip is drawing near and I thought I'd update you.
Fun and games have continued here, but I will now be leaving chicago on friday evening. I had planned to depart today, but I've met someone, an incredibly special woman who I want to spend some more time with. I know its only one more evening we'll have but I value each chance I get to see her.
So, I will depart on friday at 8.30pm, after having dealt with the slightly terrifying ordeal of a Greyhound bus station, I'm sure I'll be fine but I'm a Greyhound virgin and more than a little nervous, particularly of the first come first served system so I have to turn up early and hope I can get a seat!! At 11.30 am on saturday I get into Johnson City Tennessee where I'll be picked up by staff from
Uncle Johnny's Hostel and taken to a town called Erwin. It sounds like a fabulous place on the edges of the Smoky Mountains and just yards from the Apalachian Trail. So some hiking is in order. I get my own private cabin, the staff all seem incredibly friendly and have been very helpful and accommodating. I will stay there until Monday night when I get a bus to Washington DC.
Today, I'll head to the Art Institute and see if I can check out an Edward Hopper Print I'm a fan of.
My time in Chicago has been amazing, due mainly to the people I have met, but I am ready to leave and travel. I don't feel like my trip has really started yet and won't until I climb on board the bus. my itchy feet are driving me crazy and the thougt of a weekend at the Smoky Mountains is incredibly exciting. To be honest leaving Chicago will be harder than leaving the UK, simply on the basis that in 3 months I know I'll definately be back in the UK, nothing is quite so guaranteed about Chicago, unless someone gives me a reason to come back pretty soon.
Ok, I have to warn you, as I write this I am half way to falling asleep and am typing in the dark, so forgive me things deteriorate somewhat !
Gwen has gone - how rude - get your cute Scottish ass back over here woman, departure form this country is not permitted.
Friday night was spent at a party, I got to burn George Bush's leg while dancing to pirate calypso with two of the gorgeous Shangrila residents. Ok, so the burning was purely symbolic but I doubt the real thing would be that different from the papermache effigy - fun fun fun. And for the brits reading this - they really do set up a beer keg at parties, and I thought that just happened in crazy 'Animal House' / 'American Pie' movies !
The camping trip never happened, the wusses decided it was too cold ! 'Get your thermals on and head into the hills' shouts the hardened Derbyshire lass (that will raise a chuckle from anyone who knows me, I'm as nesh as they come). Instead Marianna, Anikka, Kyle and I headed out to Kenkekee River State Park for the day with two dogs who displayed their true wolfish side when they got into the wild, it was fabulous to see from two dogs who by my reckoning spend too much time inside. Kyle was about ready to swim across the river when what appeared to be a cooling box sailed into view, the cold and the fact we couldn't be sure of its identity put him off. If we could guarantee it was beer he'd have been there in a shot. Later Marianna experienced bacon for the first time - a major event for the diner staff at the Brothers Family Restaurant, Wilmington, who will no doubt tell future customers about this strange bunch of city types one of whom had never had bacon and another had a funny accent. Apparently I am 'so English' on the basis that I order white toast !!
Its kind of strange to drive past things like the State Penitentiary or signs that say 'The best self help book in the world - The Bible'. It's these little things that I appreciate the most and make me realise I really am somewhere new.
Sunday night - OK , Katherine and Col, this one is for you. I headed over to 'T's', a bar in Andersonville to watch the evenings episode of the L Word with Kelly, Mira, Katy and a room full of Chicago dykes, That's definately a step up from an imported DVD box set. All I can say is its a fabulous episode that will have you crawling around with laughter and nodding at its politically appropriate statements - (its the Olivia Cruise episode - just for your reference). I was amused to find one group of people had been taking bets as to the origin of my accent (partly based on the back of my head !!!), for those who meet me along the way - I am not German !!! From there I found myself playing 'Flippy Cup', I still cannot believe that I was involved in playing a college drinking game. I won't go into details except to say that it's incredibly simple in concept and disturbingly addictive! I wasn't too bad either !
I've wandered around downtown - getting a real kick from the Frank Gehry auditorium at Millenium Park, the 'Egg' was under wraps - its being buffed apparently. I've always had a thing for cities by water, Chicago is no exception, it has a stunningly beautiful skyline. It was fabulous driving in by night on saturday while listening to cheesy rock tracks by the likes of 'Heart', I'm prepared to admit there are times when my sense of 'culture' and 'taste' depart me but the music was entirely fitting and satisfied the part of me that belongs firmly in the eighties.
Today the lovely Leslie, a Dominatrix by trade, and an incredibly generous woman, gave me a driving tour of the length of the city. Her dog, Samson, cute if you like dogs who are small enough to fit in your back pocket, sat on my knee giving me the commentary.
Increasingly, Shangrila is a place that I believe I could call home if I were to hang around in Chicago. The most amazing group of people live here with the most interesting, and interested, minds. Their talents (artistic - behave) are clear and numerous and it adds to my trip to be in such a creative environment. I don't think I am being oversentimental to say that I have discovered a group of people I can already call my friends.
Despite loving my time here I am keen to 'hit the road'. I'm looking forward to the anonymity of greyhound travel, being able to stare out of the window and watch America unfold, drifting in and out of sleep, knowing that every couple of days I will see somewhere else for the very first time. I am making no 'return trips' during these 3 months, preferring to see everything fresh and with no history of my own in each city or town.
We got lost in the airport carpark !!!!! Gwen (doing an ultra cute look) and I were very nearly resigned to spending 3 months in the bowels of O'Hare airport - we don't even have a car. I'm proud of us. A little while later we entered into the daylight and made our way to "Shangrila', that is where I'm staying - no kidding. What can I say about the flight - utterly uneventful unless you include the woman who chose not to sit next me, maybe she's afraid of women with holes in their jeans, maybe it was the way I was cleaning under my nails with a 12 blade swiss army knife, either way I didn't take it personally.
The apartment / warehouse space, is every non-conformist's dream, a trapeze hangs from the roof (how often do you have to get out of bed and make sure you don't hit your head on a trapeze ? I'm loving it), the rear is a workshop for the various artists that live here, the kitchen is hand made, the furniture eclectic, the 9 bikes like functional works of art,its a wonderful character filled tribute to the personalities who live here.
I've eaten buffalo at 'Grizzly's', drunk more coffee than ever before, been unable to shift my head cold, conquered (some of ) my fear of American public transport (which stems from grumpy New York bus drivers) , agreed to go camping out of town this weekend, discovered the delights of thrift stores, over-indulged at Margi's ice-cream store,and been given contacts all over the US, one thing is for sure, I will never be lonely on this trip, nor will I continue to fit in my jeans for much longer.
Chicago has, to date, been an incredibly friendly city. Already I'm seeing more of the real US (previously having been limited to trips to Manhattan and a short time spent in Boston), by which I mean my focus is on the people and what I can learn from them, or even just sink into a sofa with a beer and discuss random meaningless subjects.
Before I forget, the Virgin Mary is in town, I aint kidding, she has appeared in a salt stain under the freeway. I've yet to be introduced but I will head over there in the next couple of days. At least it's a step up from her making an appearance in a piece of toast, the chances of her being accidentally consumed are limited. So its a trip to the 'piss stain', as George so elegantly put it, before I depart.
Short but sweet (not me, my blog, although I hope I'm sweet in the eyes of many), I'll spend a bit more time with you after the weekend. I'll also try and get some photos up i the next week.
Xxx
At last, the time has come. In less than 24 hours I’ll be on an American Airlines plane pointing in the direction of Chicago, head-phones on, head back, mouth open, fast asleep and hopefully not leaning on the poor unsuspecting stranger next to me.
Last Thursday I left the office for the final time, now I can stop pretending to work. I have to admit that it is much harder pretending to work, than actually working, not that it stopped me fine tuning the art of looking busy while planning my trip and stashing any filing I was handed under my desk! Since then I’ve had a couple of days in a local school observing English lessons as part of the preparation for my course. During my time there one pupil asked if Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ was based on a true story and a member of the English Department – and I’m talking staff here – answered the question ‘who, in 1519, was the first person to sail around the world?’ with ‘Phileas Fogg?’*. Although best of all was the girl who tried to escape through a hole in the fence round the back of the school, the rather large child got stuck Winnie the Pooh style. I’d have left her there until the process of starvation had made her the right size to slip through. And to think I could be responsible for your children one day !!!!
But back to the trip………I have accommodation planned for most of my journey, just a couple of gaps remain. I’ve managed to arrange to spend a week working for San Francisco Pride, found a tattoo artist in San Francisco who’s work appeals to me (tat number 2 is long overdue), and if all goes to plan I’ll have a day in an American school as well. Lets hope things continue to go this smoothly.
All that remains is to pack, get a massage off my brother (finally I know someone who is training in something useful), watch a farewell episode or two of ‘Will and Grace’, spend a few hours choosing which books to take on the plane (a family habit, we can be going away for a weekend break but take enough books to see us through a 6 month relocation) and get a couple of hours fitful sleep before heading to the airport at 7.30am.
For those in the UK, see you in 3 months, for those in the US, see you soon. Xx
*Ferdinand Magellen, for those interested enough to care what the answer was! Phileas Fogg was a fictional character created by author Jules Verne in 1873, Fogg travelled around the world in 80 days. And no, I couldn’t answer the question. But then neither could I answer the question ‘which is the biggest state in the USA?’** and I’m spending 90 days in the country !!!
**Alaska, apparently.
I want to put a shout out for
The Hospitality Club, a website that has restored my faith in humanity. It’s an amazing site where people around the world can contact one another, make new friends and find people to stay with when on their travels. I’ve been amazed by the generosity and trusting nature of people I’ve never even met. I’ve been offered somewhere to stay in Washington DC, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Eugene, Portland, and others. I’ve had someone contact me out of the blue to ask if I would like to house sit for him for two weeks in New Mexico (sadly I couldn’t take him up on his offer). I’ve arranged to meet a number of people in Chicago, go for drinks with people in San Francisco. Checking my email account is always a pleasure now as I can pretty much guarantee that I will have a friendly message either offering me somewhere to sleep, recommending areas to visit or asking me how my plans are going. Even people I won’t get to meet this time round have wished me all the best for my trip and asked me to keep them up to date with my adventures. I now consider myself an active member of the ‘global community’! It’s a wonderful thing and this combined with actually making my first big trip a reality has made me realise just how much is out there and just how much of it I want to explore.
I’m as excited about meeting all my Hospitality Club hosts and getting to know them as I am about exploring the cities I’ll be visiting. A few cynics have made comments along the lines of ‘be careful, how do you know you won’t be staying with an axe wielding psycho’. It’s sad that we live in a world where people’s first thoughts turn to scare stories about the potential threat posed by our fellow wo/man. The kind of generosity I’m at the receiving end of seems to be, sadly, viewed as a suspicious rarity. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to host people here in the UK, and the only threat I pose is making them sit through all 5 series of ‘Will and Grace’ ! Painful for some maybe, but certainly not a reason for friends and family to be worried about the safety of their loved one while they stay in my home.
FINALLY, I'm getting excited. It's taken a while to kick in (I think the
fear of being stranded at a bus station at 3am in the middle of nowhere
with only a raccoon and the local drunk for company was beginning to kick
in. I realised raccoons are quite cute and I could probably overpower the
drunk and steal his whisky, it would also make for an interesting blog).
I've started to spend my days wandering around with a stupid grin on my
face regularly saying 'oh my god, oh my god I'm actually going' and not always in my head either, the people of Manchester have voted me the 'local fruit loop'. My work mates are probably getting tired of the daily updates and my family want access to the computer again. However, it can't have completely sunk in; when I explain to people where I'm going I feel like I'm lying, in order to avoid being found out I'm going to have to spend the next 3 months hiding at the bottom of someone’s garden and then miraculously appear at Manchester Airport on the 18th July and somehow explain the lack of a tan.
I've been slightly freaked out by the cost of everything, I also have
issues around spending hundreds of pounds and coming away with nothing but
bits of paper to show for it. So I'm covered if my bungee elastic snaps, or
someone decides to steal my rucksack full of grubby unwashed clothes, I
want to see where my money has gone. If I don't break an arm, get mugged or
catch a tropical disease I'll want my money back. Whilst paper is on the
agenda, what's all this ticket free flying malarkey? I'm not happy. Apart
from not getting to keep that particular souvenir of my trip I'm not
convinced that turning up at the airport with a 'print-out' is going to
enable me to get to America. Mind you, of greater concern is the fact that
I look nothing like my passport photo. When it was taken I had extremely
long hair and glasses from the Dame Edna Everage collection, now I'm shaven
headed and wear spectacles that even Carson Kressley would approve of. One
suggestion was "tell them you've been ill and lost all your hair". I'm not
sure how airport security would expect me to prove ill health leading to
hair loss, nor do I think it's the most ethically sound route to take, but
thanks for the tip Keeley!
OK, the basics: I fly to Chicago on the 20th April 2005 where I’ll be met by Gwen and George, fed ice cream and get up to all sorts of adventures, the likes of which will push my boundaries further than they ever thought they were capable of. From Chicago my route will involve too many hours on numerous Greyhound buses and look something like; Washington DC (in the hope of running into CJ, my future wife), Atlanta (just because!), a bit more of Georgia and fingers crossed for a few nights in a tree house, then down to New Orleans via some small town southern hospitality. From there it’s on to Houston and then Dallas for my share of cowboy hats and hell fire and damnation, Santa Fe to chill and then Flagstaff for a chance to view the Grand Canyon. Next up is Las Vegas, where I intend to gamble away exactly NONE of my money but take lots of pictures of excess at its most excessive. Los Angeles (its like a giant sprawling magnet, whether I like it or not I have to stop off for a night or two), San Francisco, which is my spiritual home and where I’m staying for 3 weeks in attempt to pass as a ‘local’, figure out if I want to relocate there and experience Pride, (its gotta be done or you can take away my lesbian membership card and I’ll return the complimentary toaster). I’ll then head up to Seattle, consume gallons of coffee, gain very little sleep and climb a few hills. Finally it’s over the border to Vancouver, from where I’ll fly home on the 18th July 2005. Then I’ll wonder why I came home, deal with the ensuing blues, book a ticket back to America for the Christmas break and then get on with the task of training to be a secondary English teacher.
The route is flexible and largely dependant on the good-natured folks who will provide me with a floor to sleep on, a re-fill for my water bottle, and somewhere to tie up the horse! So if anyone reading this can help out, let me know, I’m house trained and won’t run off with your daughter.
It started out as a year in Australia, it’s become 3 months in America.If you knew my obsession (in a ‘feet on the ground’ kind of way) with the USA, you’d realise that I got the better deal !
Of course, no offence is intended towards the Australian nation and its people, and I’m certain that I'll make my way in that direction at some point, it just hasn’t been lodged in my brain for the last 22 years.
