Friday, 23 October 2009
Road Trip Day 65
Now, strictly speaking the "Road Trip" is over since I have handed back the rental, but I'll stick with the numbering as day 65 on the road as I am still setting my own schedule.
Scales
When I travelled over from England initially I had very clear set of guidelines for how many bags and of what weight and size I could take with me on the TrekAmerica journey. I managed to bend the rules a little bit, but essentially I was well below my baggage allowance for the flight.
This is no longer the case.
Over the course of 90 days I have accrued a great deal of extra junk in my luggage. This includes T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, caps, assorted Prince related magazines and posters (thanks Melissa), CDs, books, sports equipment and volcanic rock.
This collection of additional baggage weight was going to be a potential issue, but I couldn't find out how bad without the use of weighing scales.
And if I hadn't needed weighing scales I may not have got to meet Matthew the doorman at my hotel. I'll tell you about him in a moment, but for now, the long story cut short on my baggage is that by putting all the magazines and books in my "carry on" bag, the rest of my stuff came in at just about OK. Both my cases were over-weight, but the check-in guy didn't charge me so yippee.
More on the Kindness of Strangers
In many ways Matt the doorman at my hotel today is the perfect example of the kindness and warmth of the vast majority of Americans I have met on my travels. He was busy with many duties and people calling on him to check bags and so on, but he made sure to help me, weigh my bags, give advice and reassurance for repacking and all with a fantastic New York roguish charm.
We shared stories, joked around and made an instant connection at a time when I was in danger of becoming stressed and nervous over something as silly as an overstuffed bag.
During the repacking process I had to find a few ways to save weight and one item that had to go was an unopened jar of Jif Peanut Butter. I'd bought it a few weeks ago intending to make packed lunches, but a series of hotels with no refrigerators made keeping butter and other stuff impractical so it had never been opened.
Thus was born the most unique tip a doorman has ever received; five bucks and a jar of crunchy peanut butter. This gift caused no end of hilarity for reasons way to complicated to explain here, but suffice to say I'll always remember that Choosey Moms Choose Jif!
MoMa
After the time spent repacking my overflowing bags I was running late. I had already decided not to go back up the Empire State Building. I had intended to make it both the first and the last thing I did on my trip, but it was cold today and I can go up it again next time if I want to.
So, as it was getting chilly and because "Art" is my new thing, I went to the Museum of Modern Art up on 5th and 52nd. It's only a half hour walk from the hotel and was a good way to spend my last day here.
It's a huge museum so I had to choose what I could spend most time on. I chose to start with the main galleries covering 1900 to 1970 and saw some lovely pieces.
The colourful picture above is "Map" by Jasper Johns and felt very appropriate with it's depiction of the USA, delineated by states. A striking piece and one which my little photo does absolutely no justice at all.
This sculpture (or is it an installation?) is called Serial Project, 1 (ABCD) and really pressed all my symmetry and pattern recognition buttons. Though possibly blocky and still at first glance, closer inspection reveals very methodical progressions of size, shape and form. In short, I thought it was excellent and wish I'd thought of it.
A couple of works by Gino Severini also cought my eye as well as another Magritte, "The Empire of Light".
Last Stroll
So, with my fill of art, I made my weary way back to the hotel. As I may have mentioned, wandering around art galleries is very tiring and my legs felt pretty heavy on the way back to get my ride to the airport.
Here, by the way, is the last photo I took on my American Adventure.
I've Loved, I've Laughed and Cried
As I said, I really hit it off with Matt the Doorman and when I got back to the hotel we chatted and shared some frankly quite bawdy conversation. But then my ride arrived and it was time to pack my heavy bags into the van and head off to JFK airport. My new friend gave me a big hug and that's when the tears started.
At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, this big hug almost felt like America hugging me goodbye. I don't know how to express it really, but I couldn't help but cry a little.
Family Tradition
My Grandfather has a special talent. A super-power if you will. He is able to coincidentally bump into someone he knows wherever he goes. He'll be walking through a housing estate in some suburb of London when out of nowhere a voice will say "Jim?" and lo-and-behold he's met someone he went to Scouts with 70 years ago or worked with in 1967.
Today, after 3 months in America I finally managed to bump into someone I know. 3 people actually. Sandie, Leslie and Martina whom I worked with for several years and we were all in the same lottery syndicate. They had been in New York for a short break and were booked on the same shuttle van as me and are, even as I type this, on the same plane as me.
So, my skills are not as finely tuned as my Granddad, but it's nice to know I can meet people I know in the silliest places too.
Inevitable Delay
Do ALL planes leave late? Are any actually on time? Or do I just have bad luck?
We boarded an hour late then sat on the Taxiway for over an hour.
It Ain't Over
So, strictly speaking, based on New York time it is bedtime and I may get a little sleep on this flight. However, before I go, I do intend to make at least a few more entries to my blog. I've some thoughts about the USA that I haven't really crystallised. I've really enjoyed writing this and hope that it's been informative, enlightening and entertaining to read. I hope too that you'll continue to read as my adventure moves from America to back to England.
Goodnight.
Stats - Day Ninety-One
Final State count - 40 + DC + B.C.
Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18, 262, 216, 208, 430, 216, 59, 226, 115 / 110*, 309, 30, 8, 255, 428, 209, "Spare", 105, 207, 227, 126, 112, 4, 16, 229, 115, 108, 106, 522, 1201
*room switch
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