in the belly of the whale

the following chronicles a recent journey from the shores of the pacific ocean to the shores of the atlantic with many stops in between in just 12 days… some names and happenings have been changed/omitted.

february 12th
we woke up next to each other. if i can say one thing, it’s that she liked to cuddle, in fact, she gave me probably the strongest hugs i can remember getting. almost more of a desperate death squeeze, except i didn’t care cause she was naked. anyhow, eventually we coaxed ourselves out of bed and out into the world to see about renting a car for a trip to the coast. after a quick stop at voodoo donuts one was secured, and we were soon driving off down highway 26, the pacific ocean in our sights.

we had no agenda for going there, she just wanted to go. we ended up at canon beach, where we walked through the town a little ways before going down to the actual beach. we walked along, cold, but enjoying the halfway decent weather. looping back up to where we had parked, we scouted out a brewpub to have lunch in before going up to seaside to check out the scene up there. the light was starting to fade on us, so after a quick walk along the boardwalk there, we hit up the outlet mall for some light shopping before heading back to portland.

after a long day driving to the oregon coast and back in a rented car, she and i go back to her hotel room to drink a bottle of chianti [the second one that night counting the one we'd just polished off during dinner]. on a dare, she throws a leftover can of coors from the night before off the balcony and i watch it float seven flights down. it bounces off the edge of the pool in the hotel courtyard and into the water. score.

we finish the bottle of wine and make out. lights fade to black.

february 13th
wake up. we shower together, gather our things, and check out. back to my place to do laundry and pack. we get mexican take-out for lunch and eat while i finish packing for the trip, then back downtown to get to the train station. by this time calls had been received stating that we would be forced to take a bus to spokane, there’s a risk of avalanches in this weather. we had arrived at the train station early, so we hike up the street for pre-trip coffees and snacks and make it back to the train station in plenty of time to board the bus.

the bus ride is foul and cramped. there’s a guy on board who smelled like he shat himself, died, and then was puked on, and the driver kept scaring everyone on board by driving over the lines on the road. we can tell because of the sound of the wheels running over those bumps on the side of the road that are meant for drivers such as him. it gets late. we stop at some highway rest stop for a smoke and bathroom break. i try to stick close to the bus while i smoke so i don’t get left behind. i don’t.

we arrive in spokane, only before the bus pulls into the station, they drop the bomb on us: oh yeah, the train you’re supposed to be on killed someone on its way here, so it will be late. over 8 hours late, so just sit your asses down in our shithole bus station until it gets here.

she and i decide to go out and drink at a crummy chinese [but not crummy because of the chinese] dive bar a block away. i drink one or two whiskey/cokes before switching to jaeger bombs. i drink about 4 of those but can’t get drunk for some reason, so i give up. she’s wasted by this point, but wants more booze, so we go to 7/11 and buy a 4-pack of those single-serving wine bottles.

we stumble back to the train station for the remainder of our 8+ hour wait for our train to show up. she drinks some more and becomes thoroughly sloshed. on our way back she asks me something personal… probably something about my family. i don’t remember what it is, but i remember glossing over it so as to not waste my breath with someone so drunk. by the time we reach the station, she’s ready to pass out, and i’m stuck alone, pacing the terminal and babysitting both her and our bags from the vagrants who start showing up when the adjoining bus terminal starts its business day.

the train eventually shows after the amtrak people ignore our repeated requests for information for hours on end. i have to wake her up and almost carry her to the boarding area, where she finally rouses. by the time we get on the train, she seems fully awake and i’m ready to collapse. the trip from eastern washington through the northern tip of idaho and into western montana was great scenery for sleeping, even starting at around 8am. naturally she’s full of energy, and she heads off into the lounge car. i do what i can to get some sleep, and eventually join up with her for a hot lunch in the dining car.

february 14th & 15th
the rest of the train ride goes well, except everyone is anxious to arrive at their destinations[the train is still running at least 8 hours behind schedule] and i’ve acquired a bad cold since the time of that foul bus trip. the best part about this was the bartender/lounge cafe server who i seem to recall was named dan. he was always very friendly and gave me probably a dozen cups of tea without charge to help nurse my newfound cold. i would have been a very mean-spirited travel companion without his help, and he likely knew it.

she, on the other hand, was on her way home from vacation and transitioning back to life without me. more and more of her time was spent in the lounge car, while i tried catching up on some much needed sleep. it wasn’t until that night that we really spent some time together, and of course by that point she was drunk again and we ended up sitting and making out in the almost vacant lounge car well after the rest of the train was asleep. not a bad way to end valentine’s day, if i do say so.

the next morning i wake before she does and head straight down to see dan about some breakfast and more of the free tea. i get some work done on my laptop and eventually she comes down to get some food as well. we try for conversation but it’s small talk at best.

finally the afternoon rolls around and the train arrives in minneapolis. my journey on this train is ending but hers isn’t quite. i invite her out onto the platform at minneapolis to join me for a smoke. she declines, and i’m sort of glad. i walked straight off the train and found my brother in law frank waiting for me in the lobby. we walked to the car and as we drove off i wasn’t even thinking about her, just about how beautiful my sister’s family looked, especially getting to see my little nephew for the first time.

february 16th, and the night before
it had been a quiet evening at home with my sisters, frank, and niece and nephews, when right around bedtime marci announces the contractions kicking in. frank ends up taking her to the hospital, leaving me in charge to watch my baby nephew. i take the job seriously, but my sleeplessness gets the best of me and when i wake up at 1am to see i had missed responding to a text from him at 10pm asking how everything was going, i felt like an absolute failure. i sent an immediate response, hoping they hadn’t yet resorted to panic.

of course all ended well and my sister gave birth to their new, healthy baby girl shortly after 3am. later that afternoon, frank drove us all out to see her and the new baby at the hospital, where i was able to get my favorite pictures of the whole trip - portraits of all my nieces and nephews and both sisters and of course frank holding his new daughter. i couldn’t have been prouder, although he certainly had me beat. almost everything he said that day was preceded or followed by him mentioning how great of a day it was and he had just been given a new baby girl.

after the hospital we ate at the global marketplace, where no indigenous postcards could be found to send back to my best friend/adopted family back in portland, so i bought some that had pictures from iowa and islands up in washington state. ridiculous, yes, but i wanted to send some love their way that day. also, carrying my other niece [my younger sister lisa's daughter] around the marketplace while watching my nephews play in the play area made me happy.

february 18th or so
by this time, the news of the new baby and the pictures i had taken had circulated around to all the extended family living in other states. i received an email from our dad that day as well, which incited almost endless dialogue among my sisters and i, with frank inputting his opinions when we’d allow for a break in our own.

he ended up taking me out that night for some on-the-town drinking, pool-playing, and bowling. we went to one bar first where we were to meet his friend who was participating in a darts tournament. the conversation between frank and i veered back to the family situation and my sisters’ and my own relationship with our parents. it was here i was almost strong-armed into realizing my views on the matter had been left in a state of absolute despair. his comments were all very heart-felt and well-meaning, of course, but by the end i was feeling very emotional, not that i blame him though. frank is something of a rare breed, someone who cares enough to speak up when he sees injustice, someone who cares deeply about his family and the things that affect/hurt them.

nonetheless, by the time we walked out of the pub to head to the bowling alley, i was speechless, heartbroken, and on the verge of a definite emotional breakdown. at the bowling alley, i re-focused my energies into playing the game and drinking, and i ended up bowling what would have been a close-to-perfect game if the bowling alley hadn’t shut us down so unceremoniously at closing time. it’s amazing what a pitcher of beer and some shots will do.

when we got back home, i couldn’t sleep, and stayed up until about 4am writing a long, bitter email to my father that i decided to wait for a while before sending. the next day i decided against speaking to him, and the email still sits in my outbox folder.

february 19th-22nd
from there i just tried to enjoy my family’s company the rest of my stay in minnesota. of my entire trip, i’m most happy for the time i got to spend with them, like being re-acquainted with family who had become strangers… i loved seeing them and seeing them living well.

still, two sisters, a brother in law, 2 nieces and 2 nephews all under one roof is enough to make anyone start to go a little crazy after a week. of course, i was sad to have to leave though, even when i was exhausted by all the kids’ almost non-stop noise and my plane to NYC got canceled/delayed for a day due to a snowstorm.

february 23rd
i arrived at la guardia airport after a stop-over in chicago, glad to be on a new adventure, and yet already feeling exhausted and ready to be home. still, i was in for even more traveling from here. a quick drive to pick up a friend in queens, then to my friend’s place in brooklyn where i’d be staying for a brief packing-up of the car before our drive to… philadelphia.

that night we had scheduled a party with a small group of fellow artists from the art conspiracy at the loews hotel in philadelphia. of course, this was a great time, with maybe a dozen of us piled into two adjoining hotel rooms, with all the booze we could drink and games like charades and poker and operation. yes, the old board game operation. any suspicions you might have about that game being more fun while intoxicated are definitely confirmed here by me.

the night was very enjoyable - not like many booze-fueled parties one could attend. no major drama, no shenanigans, just a bunch of down-to-earth creative types enjoying each other’s company. yeah, it was a little weird waking up the next morning looking around at a room full of people i’d only really met in person the night before, but really, many of us had known each other or known of each other through our art from as far back as 2001, so it was more like meeting new old friends… a refreshing experience to be sure.

february 24th
one by one everyone got up and checked out of the hotel. a few of us decided to walk around philadelphia a bit to see some of the things to see around downtown. of course, authentic philly cheese steaks were acquired and consumed. i said hi to almost every person i saw walking by on the sidewalks. it was fun. i felt like a tourist.

that night we drove back to brooklyn, stopping over at coney island for a walk along the boardwalk after dark and a stop for the requisite hot dog at nathan’s. there, i’d made it from coast to coast, from the pacific to the atlantic[and many points in between] with my feet standing in the sand on both shores, in just about 12 days.

february 25th
i slept in a little before my friend monica was to take me on a tour of manhattan island. we ended up leaving brooklyn shortly before noon, and arrived in the financial district via my first ever ride on the new york subway system shortly thereafter. we took a little time walking around battery park, then up through the financial district along where ground zero is. after walking by there, we took the subway up into the village, got some food, and then went to strand, the famous NY bookstore. of course, my first observation there was that even if it was in new york, it didn’t come close to comparing to portland’s powells bookstore.

anyhow, the village was cool. we made our way up into times square, walking around the sidewalks there and taking pictures of people walking by. we hiked up to central park from there, our feet and energy levels definitely starting to suffer.

by the time we got back to my friend’s place, i was so tired from the whole trip i passed out before i could finish checking my email.

february 26th
i wake up and rush to re-pack my things before driving to the airport to catch my early flight. monica’s ever the gracious host, making me some coffee and a bagel for the road, yet even after two and a half days of driving around with her, i’m still not used to her driving[she drives like all new yorkers drive, which is, from my observations, like no one in portland drives] but we make it to JFK in time to catch my flight.

my flight back to portland includes a stop-over in phoenix, where the gods of wi-fi smile upon me. FINALLY, free wi-fi in an airport! i make some calls and check email. i buy a shitty personal pan pizza from the pizza hut stand. i call my friend clint about some business and he offers me a ride home from the airport. yet one more reason to be grateful to come home.

that evening in the belly of the flying whale, as the plane was finally banking to fly over the columbia river gorge to land at pdx airport, i grinned. i survived america.

-h

Filed under: Images, Thoughts, Writings by stephen h @ 2:57 am on March 29, 2008
TAGS: [Images | minneapolis | new york | philadelphia | photography | portland | stephen h | travel]