Friday May 20
Mammoth Update by James
Monday April 25th
zzz
Tuesday April 26th
Suitably rested, we met in Manhattan at the New York Public Library and strolled around the impressive book stacks, miscellaneous exhibits and vast reading rooms for a few hours before seeking sustenance and a way to pass the rest of our day. We continued through the new age shops and XXX dens of Greenwich village, briefly accosted by a ‘needful woman’ who lured us into sparing a quarter by flattery and japes: “I was gonna say: ‘Hey it’s Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’ but.. hehe, should I say Angelina Jolie instead…” Needless to say, it worked.
Freshly conned, we traipsed on to the Hudson River before heading north along the park towards Pier 54. As we drew near, a vast peninsula of stacked shipping containers extended into the water like a half-built giant bridge of Lego. This was of course the Nomadic Museum, a mobile staging point for the photographic works of Gregory Colbert. Ashes and Snow is the first public exhibition of a lifelong project to capture the wonderful connections between animals and humans. The stunning prints were housed in a long, dark hall lined with columns made from recycled paper. Accompanying footage taken by the artist played at the chancel of this contemporary cathedral, while vast work books were on supervised display in the transepts. We stayed until the friendly guards kicked us out, but not before we had the chance to buy some overpriced memorabilia from this moving experience.
Reality
Sadly, from this point on, I fear I am obliged to rush through the rest of the trip simply to catch up. My writing style is not suited to quick day to day updates. I always feel the need to embellish and perfect so as to convey sufficient justice to my experiences in words. Thankfully Tessa is here to pick up the slack—though this has allowed me to slip yet further—so that I only need to comment on events for which I have more to add. So here, in condensed form are my experiences.
Last days in New York
We returned to the Met. I spent the entire time there enjoying the Diane Arbus photography exhibition. Rekindled my desire to take up black and white studio photography with a vintage camera. Tessa joined us in Queens for dinner with Miguel and family.
After the harbour cruise on our last day, we headed to the South Street Seaport, a shopping district I’d remembered from my first ever visit to New York with the Ertmann’s 5 years previously. We duly took advantage of our last proper opportunity to spend cash in New York.
Boston: Friday April 29th - Tuesday May 3rd
This part of the trip marked my first visit to my brother’s apartment and home for the last three years. Richard has truly made a home for himself on Boylston Street while he’s been at Berklee College of Music. His time was limited since he was embroiled in exams, but I did get the chance to drive down to Northampton with Richard and the gorgeous Shea to visit Wei, an old girlfriend of his who was exhibiting her graduation work at Smith College. It was great to see her again as the last time had been 4 years ago. We couldn’t stay long but grabbed a quick Indian meal nearby before heading home.
On Monday, we met up with Pete Sylvain, a friend I had made online and who is currently attending Salem State University. After the initial challenge of finding each other, we wandered off and began reconciling our online and real-world personas. He generously offered to drive us around Boston and Cambridge before dropping us back at the Kileys. We had much opportunity to strengthen our virtual friendship and I really appreciated his effort to come and meet a strange foreign weirdo for the first time. Until next time, sir!
Boston was great. From the Venetian charms of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to the delights of Harvard Square and Newbury Street. But again the people are who make this trip, and especially our kind hosts. Thanks Gus, Claire, Alicia and Kyle for fabulous evening company and cooking. We look forward to seeing you on our side of the puddle soon.
Vancouver: Tuesday May 3rd - Friday May 6th
So we flew into Seattle on Tuesday May 3rd with a few hours to kill before heading to Vancouver. I tried getting in touch with some friends in the area but continually failed to make contact. So we decided to explore a bit and headed out to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is housed amidst sundry other attractions. We lounged on the grass a bit and took in the scenery before heading back to the Greyhound station to catch our ride North.
We were greeted in Vancouver by my ever wonderful first-cousin-once-removed Catherine Mori (my mother’s mother’s sister’s daughter) who drove us back to Richmond, where we’d be staying for the next few days. We’d by this stage come about half way through our travels and were starting to feel the effects of weariness creep up. As such, our limited time in Canada was spent in comparable relaxation with late rises, laid-back jaunts about the countryside (driven) and lazy afternoons at the beach. I think we needed the R+R, and it was especially appreciated in such good company.
On Thursday—along with Catherine and Brian’s ‘fils ainé’ Greg at whose swanky downtown apartment we stayed on our last night—the McAnulty family dropped by to pay us a visit, the entirety of whom I hadn’t seen in years. Greg and Michele McA. run a doctor’s practice in Burnaby, just North of Vancouver while their children Chris and Lisa are embedded in the high school system. Sean—their eldest son—is quite a character who dreams of writing fantasy novels and just generally aspiring to awesomeness. It was great seeing you all again, just a shame we couldn’t stay longer.
Seattle: Friday May 6th - Monday May 9th
So back to Seattle we bussed—after rigourous inspection at the border of course “What does your father do? What book is that you’re reading? What colour are your underpants? Who cuts your hair?”—and were met by Cyrus the great (II) and Debbie Olsen, friends of the Caldecott’s and parents of the infamous benoli. We headed back to their home in Sammamish and proceeded to spend the next few days hanging out with Ben, his band, his other friend Ben and the rest of the family. This even included an admittedly leisurely hike in the woods.
On Sunday, I got the chance to explore the Seattle Central Library, a diamond honeycombed spaceship designed by Rem Koolhaas. I’ll let the photos speak for this place. I took lots.
It was strange, bizarre and satisfying to finally meet Ben in the flesh as I’d heard so much about him from his legion of admirers back home but we’d only ever spoken online. Again, we really spent far too little time in Seattle and will have to arrange a further RSVP ASAP.
San Francisco: Monday May 9th - Sunday May 15th
Righto, making headway here. Awesome views flying into the city. Lots of solitary clouds with their individual shadows painting the city and bay below. After a hair-raising drive back from the airport in an old VW van, we settled into our new lodgings and surveyed our options for the coming few days.
Thankfully our kind hosts the Dudros had a knowledgeable tour guide for a downstairs neighbour. So on Tuesday Carlos kindly took us for a field trip through downtown San Francisco, pointing out interesting architecture and providing his own fascinating viewpoint on the city. Our tour then took us across the bay to Berkeley, where we enjoyed a fine Thai meal at Racha’s followed by browsing sessions at Moe’s famous book store and neighbouring arty shops. We finished off the day with a stroll through the University of California, Berkeley campus, the historical staging point for many of America’s civil rights efforts and affluent proponent of the California spirit. Carlos, your insight and knowledge was invaluable, thanks again for devoting your day to tourism!
That evening we met up with Robert “Psyrixx” Sogomonian, an old friend I’d initially met online and stayed with on my previous solo trip to America in 2003. After a somewhat terrifying drive through the precipitous gradients of the San Francisco grid, (notice a pattern emerging here) we arrived at Ghirardelli Square. There we met up with Psyrixx’s cousin Armen (or DaFloppMeistah/Flopp) waiting patiently outside Gaylord Indian restaurant and who reassured us that the rumbling was merely his stomach and not the early-warning signs of a repeat of the 1906 quake. Needless to say, pleasantries were speedily substituted for pleasant spices as we tucked in to our delicious family style feast.
We spent the next few days exploring San Francisco alone: wandering down Haight Street where the 60s live on and a vibrant, colourful demeanour reigns; taking the cable car (a tram really) up to the Coit Tower for panoramic views of the city among other delights.
On Friday, Vivian drove us over the Golden Gate Bridge for a quick stroll through the Muir Woods National Monument, where we passed through groves of towering redwoods and felt that rush of insignificance usually found while gazing up at the rafters of a gothic cathedral. We had a lunch appointment to make so we sped back along the 101 discussing morality and the legal system. What a barrel o’ laughs we are.
We met the inimitable Melissa Ford at Star India restaurant for buffet curries and a catch-up session. I’d first come into contact with Miss Ford while she was working with my mother to co-ordinate a group of Canadian students living in Charlbury for three months. She’d just arrived in San Francisco and was looking for a place to live for the next year or so. We parted wishing each other all the best with the future and happily went on our way.
After packing all our stuff up the next day (Tessa spent her life savings at Amoeba Music) we headed out to Concord on the BART train to meet up with Psyrixx again for his birthday. The next day, we’d be hitching a ride drove down to Los Angeles where the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) was taking place; an annual game industry trade show where legions of my online pals would be gathering for the next few days. Tessa and I had plans to stay in Santa Monica with the Scott’s, film-maker friends of the Caldecott’s and we’d liaise with the lads (and lady) over the course of our stay.
Final Run
Well that takes us to the final week of our trip, which I’ll probably talk about later. I’ll also be adding photos when I get the chance so check back with this update for linked pictorial annotations.
Phew, well that wasn’t ideal and I’m so sorry for the massive delay but there we go, I’m on holiday! Hope all is well wherever you are and I’ll be seeing some of you very soon. <3