Ta

I'll let Ani Difranco tie things up here:

Thankyou for letting me stay here; Thankyou for taking me in; Thankyou for the beer and the food. Thankyou for loaning me bus fare; Thankyou for showing me round; that was a very kind thing to do. Thankyou for the use of the clean towel; thankyou for half of your bed...

Omaha I, Chicago I

Excuse the silence. The internet has seemed to become increasingly less worth the effort of leaving the hostel, roaming the streets, finding a place with computers, buying (more) coffee etc.

Anyway, I'm in an internet cafe at last and it's raining heavily outside (finally! feel like home) and thus I'm luxuriating in unneccesary writing because I have time. I have no plans for today, and I am justified in this by my not having got much sleep last night (greyhound greyhound greyhound) and therefore it's Understandable if I laze today. That plus rain, glorious rain. I might go to the baseball, though, the Chicago Whitesox (really. the 'cks' would be far too much effort), since the football (american) game I was promised turned out to be in Atlanta. Curse you, John. (excuse also all the brackets and all the meaningless waffling - I have no excuse nor need none).

So after the events incredibly briefly described in the last post which now seem too much sunk in the dank mud of time (who needs to remember what happened two days ago? The future stretches like a glorious golden slinky jigging down the red-carpeted steps of time) to bear recapping properly, I went to Omaha.

This took exactly overnight, and in fact I arrived well before sunup. After a little while sitting in greyhound station I set off bravely into the morning to find the visitors centre, and thence somewhere cheap to stay, hopefully. But oof, the visitors centre is shut, even though it should have opened at nine ay-emm. Nevermind, I'll sit in this pretty little park thing just down the road for half an hour. Still shut though - okay, I needed breakfast anyway. A bagel (I love bagels. They are little circular Gods with Cream Cheese) later and maybe the visitors centre isn't going to open because it's already 11 and Still No Sign. A little later, I gave the place one last chance before going to $100/night place cheapest in guidebook, and it's open, and the guy there says i can stay with him (in his 9th floor luxury penthouse suite) for free. I am, being naturally paranoid, wary, but he knows everybody and tells them all I'm staying with him so the chance of him killing me in my sleep seems much less. Also he is quite old. I assure him I am not 'into drugs and things' and he gets me a key to let myself in and out, offers run of the fridge, my own bathroom, pool on rooftop above, etc! etc!

He really is very kind and I cannot thank him enough, and, to move back to the appropriate tense, I settled in nicely here and everything I did in Omaha was covered over with the feeling that I'd managed to get to somewhere after a long journey. Of course this was literally true, but I didn't feel it anywhere else so much as here, and the various activities, seemingly boring to mortals like you, were really... good. So I won't explain them, except to say I went to a few gigs (including a free riverfront gig with the yardbirds, bizarrely enough. You have heard of them, it's Eric Clapton's old band. There, I thought that'd jog your memory), saw a few Omaha/Saddle Creek landmarks, talked to a few people, ate some beef, and so on.

Then next I got another overnight greyhound to Chicago, where I am now. I did go to the baseball in the end, it was good. Jenks failed to take the world record of retiring 42 batters in a row, but one can't have everything. I got back to the hostel, and, I think this deserves a new paragraph,

ran into John Emberey! A ping-pong ball is now far too big an object to describe the world. A marble may be fast becoming more accurate. Drinks were procured and a good time was had by all, until we got told off for singing The Redemption Song too loud. I think it was that, anyway.

And then yesterday i went + looked round chicago, the downtown of which is what I imagined New York to be like (and the rest of which is really really like london. Ask anyone), and saw the beach on lake michigan, the millenium park with the bean (wicked cool mirror bean) and the Sears tower. Which is the tallest building in America. Didn't know that, did you? You thought it was the Empire State building. Idiotic child.

Salt Lake City III, Boulder I, Denver I

Crazy catchup. This post will not be proper but this is the only brief moment in which I've come into contact with the internet in a while and probably last time for a while so here goes:

Got up at Salt Lake City; took bags etc to greyhound station; more street adventures with guitar+shouting with Emiko; library; shop called 'free speech zone - finally Joe Hill represented by huge banner 'Don't Mourn, Organise'; temple square and long winding good talk with two missionary sisters - mormons haven't practiced polygamy since 1890; beautiful tabernacle; greyhound station to discover had left my bag in an unlocked and indeed slighty ajar locker for five hours; untouched some reason; bus to boulder; three days in boulder consisting many many coffee at beautiful coffeeshop decortaed with typewriters and eerielovely music; poetry readings; free shakespeare (saved $34) - very good actually; 'harry and the potters'; cat riding on the back of a dog; teaching guitar to melanie from germany; what have I missed almost certainly something; pity to skimp on so much; now in denver where i'm held up all busses to omaha full until tomorrow; sorry excuse ranting rambling mess here pehaps I'll explain it to you someday properly - thankyou for your patience.

Salt Lake City II

After getting a lift to the hostel by (oddly) enough, one of the guys on the bus' mum (mom) it was about 10 in the evening and too late to do anything. Next day a different story, I walked downtown to the visitors centre to see if they had any information about Joe Hill; see if the city remembered him in any way. The city did not remember him; hadn't even heard of him, apparently. So I just found the courthouse and went and sat outside for a while a left a tiny tribute to my namesake.

After this I headed back toward downtown but feeling tired (it is hot Hot HOT down here) I stopped at a coffee shop a few blocks before my destination, Temple Square - this the biggest attraction in the area, the place with all the mormon stuff. Anyhow in the coffee shop I got talking to a young lady named Emiko, and consequently became distracted from Temple Square and instead roamed the steets until 10, occasionally with friend Cutler, more often with crazy million-mile-an-hour conversation.

So that accounts for yesterday, and today... I think I'll go see some gardens recommended to me, and then temple sq. and finally catch my greyhound to boulder, where the hostel may or may not be fully booked...

Vancouver I, Salt Lake City I

Vancouver and by some miracle correctly found the hostel by just getting off at a random busstop (happening to be the closest) and asking random people (happened to have a map with my hostel marked on). The hostel, the Samesun, was big and lively and so I bought pizza and then went and sat on the balcony and read a little and then talked to some people, including the woman I met in Portland. Did I mention her on the blog? Can't remember. Could I find out? Yes, easily. And will I? No. You will have to supply imaginary details if I did not.

Then I went to my bed and slept and then the next day I spent a good portion of on the phone to Orbitz trying to rearrange my flights and then rearranging my flights. My Only free time was spent hunting for a place to eat (no burger places! literally couldn't find one for half an hour. This is clearly not america) and then in the evening, visiting the free section ($8.50? you must be out of your incredibly sagacious minds) of the chinese garden and staring for ages at a hypnotic pond full of lillies underneath a willow tree. There was a little turtle swimming about - I was thrilled by this, enormously. AND THEN later later on there was an Open-mic night and I played a little guitar and earned a free beer. I talked to some excellent austalians all evening, and we sang along to big hits positively racously.

Okay and then the next day (this the third) I decided to move on due to time restrictions and money coming from my english account and lots of the money being spent on too-tempting beer and also Vancouver wasn't blowing me away. So actually the day became incredibly stressful when it turned out there was only one bus a day and that in less than three hours, I still needing to find somewhere to stay, check out, and my having no canadian money left (in order to de-stress I went book shopping but there were so many and so cheap I bought four more books and this became an additional cause of stress and self-reproach) eventually remedied by the hostel changing an american $5 kindly. Anyway it all somehow came together and I got the bus with about 90 seconds to spare and without leaving anything behind.

You do not need to hear the details of the 29 hour bus-journey I just enjoyed (I actually did. I read all of Naked Lunch by William Burroughs and watched a blossoming romance between two strangers, one of whom I knew had a boyfriend... this pretty exciting). Anyway I'm now in a small and tidy but unfun hostel in Salt Lake City (this is the world capital of Mormonism, as I've heard a hundred times already (I also have learned (against my will, courtesy of an old man on the bus who actually wept with passion during his explanations) Mormonism is more properly called 'the church of the latter day saints' and was founded when a boy (14) called Joseph Smith saw what is referred to as 'the first vision' in what is referred to as 'the sacred grove' in 1820. I did not wikipedia this, it is genuinely and worryingly stuck in my head) - noone seems to have mentioned the two things I know about Salt Lake: that Joe Hill lived and died here, and the world record for surviving underwater without breathing was set here by a baby).

There, that crazy parenthetic rant should keep you all occupied until I get round to blogging again.

Victoria II

I walked to my hostel. It seemed nice, and had a bar, where I had my first legal drink for two months. Then I walked down to a 'electronic music' festival some guy on the street had told me about, which turned about to be packed and lively with a pretty-good DJ on. I couldn't hang around too long, though, because I had somewhere else to be, namely a gig called 'Rock Lottery' at Logan's Pub.

So I went there, to see the 'Rock Lottery' which was 21 musicians grouped into random bands and given 8 hours to write and rehearse four songs, and then perform them, which was what I was going to see. I got there early enough to not have to pay, which meant that I could buy a couple more beers, and me and my new friends Stirling (is this a name?) and Chris, who I met at the place, as well as three other girls and two boys, the names of whom I forget, and anyway we bought pitchers of beer and were merry, especially since the bands were really good especially the band with this girl (myspace.com/heartofadog). This place evidently has a music scene of real musicians, and the idea of sheffield's excuse-for-a-scene made me cough.

So rolled in late that night (music went on until two! Sheffield?) and next day decided to spend all day with a nice new book and a big park. I had a very happy time wandering and reading and followed my ears to a stage where one of those bands that dress in red-and-white pinstripe waistcoats and play honkytonk piano and banjo and brass, and playing 'scotland the brave' and Louis Armstrong 'wonderful world' song, and I really enjoyed it despite being the only person there younger than 90.

Next I found a bench to sit at and eventually had my attention directed, by a string of people with fancy camaras, to a 'great blue' heron perching happily and majestically on a little tree about five feet away. I felt honoured, especially since the Hordes of Canadian (where am I?) Geese were very disrespectful, pecking at my socks and honking.

Then I unexpectedly came across a cute pebbly little beach and seafront to walk along as the sun lowered, before coming across a little cafe for tea and ice-cream. Then back to the hostel, or so I thought. Firstly I came across a christian rock band with a guy singing 'jesus, isn't he beautiful' leading me at first to think they were a gay pride type band but the people standing around with their arms raised to heaven explained otherwise.

Victoria wasn't done, though, and further on the way back I stumbled across a fortythousand strong crowd gathered for the annual 'symphony splash' with an orchestra playing from a barge in the bay in front of the beautifully lit-up and aforementioned government buildings. Then absurdly talented young soloists including a 16 year opera singer in a turquoise dress which blew in the wind and made her look like the statue of liberty. Then fireworks! Whoosh!

I got talking to a woman who turned out to be married to the trombonist in the band I'd seen earlier. Wierd and small (pingpong ball) world. Speaking of which I also met somebody I'd met in memphis at the hostel. The woman that liked films. So anyway I went home after the fireworks and the woman married to the trombonist, and spent a nice evening at the bar with Man and Wife (...) from England and He played me a song he'd written 'about the missus' which was actualyl very good. He was really nice.

Anyway next day I suddenly somehow found a bed in vancouver and so set off there on a bus then ferry then bus then bus route which was half the price of the expensive just coach route and so felt justified in the inordinate amount of money i'd spent on beer over the last few days. And so I arrived in Vancouver...

Victoria I

And so I got the ferry, which was nice, and pulled up two hours and forty-five minutes later in Victoria, opposite some incredible and grandiose buildings, which turned out to be the govnerment buildings, for victoria is the capital of British Columbia. Hmm, I'd never heard of it before yesterday.

Anyhow, I looked around, got some canadian money, was shocked to see a familiar face staring back at me from it, found my hostel.

With excitement I declare this the shortest post ever, as I grow bored incredibly quickly, distracted as I am by the chaotic octopus of flights-denmark-cancellations-rowan-money-time-space-america havoc.