Wanderlust Heaven!

Iain, Stephanie, and Matilda picked me up at the Adelaide airport.  Hadn’t seen them since I started this long journey, back in June 2006.  Far too long.  I always struggle with time, even when I have a lot of it.

We went straightaway to their house, which is now finished and is a tremendous place.  When I was last here I helped put up some steel beams and do a few other tasks – obviously my absence from Oz had only helped in completing this project.  It’s a modern, expansive house with a great pool out back – an important feature given that South Australia (and much of the country) had been sufferering from 40 degree weather the past two weeks.  Manila felt moderate compared with this.

It was already early evening by the time we got to this house – and given my provocative last night in Manila, I didn’t have much left in the tank.  We just ate out on the balcony – Stephanie is French and therefore is unable to put together a bad meal, and Iain uncorked (well, unscrewed) a fine bottle of local red.  I had nearly forgotten how epicurean Oz has become – the food, the wine, the music, the art – you’d never know that 20-30 years ago the place was known for meat pies and knee-high socks.

Next day, the heat was still on.  Spent much of the day in the pool, but decided to try to go running around sunset.  Bad idea – it was 43 degrees and I could hardly breathe.  After less than 10 minutes I downgraded my activity to a fast walk, and even that wasn’t easy.  Should have stayed indoors and practiced yoga instead.  At least I wasn’t making wine – I heard that lots of winemakers’ grapes were wiped out by this heat spell.

Iain and Stephanie had a small dinner party that night.  Iain’s old friend Shane came over – we’d met years ago in Byron Bay and we’ve seen each other whenever I’ve visited Iain.  Great guy – teaches yoga and does a bit of engineering consulting on the side.  Some other friends were also there – one fellow, Mike, a gringo, had survived a hellish bike crash in which he was (unofficially) pronounced dead on the scene.  Iain rides with him and a few others a couple mornings a week, at an hour when 99% of his countrymen are fast asleep in their beds.

Next day we took a ride down to McLaren Vale, one of the region’s top wine-making areas.  Stopped first at Blessed Cheese, had a coffee with the owner, a friend of Iain’s.  Then visited a few wineries – Fox Creek, Pertiringa, and Darenberg, where we had a very nice lunch, and quite a few of the reds on offer.  Can’t imagine a better way to spend a day – this, and snorkeling with whale sharks, are pretty hard to top.

At each stop Iain bought a case or more of the wines being sold.  He’s building up a very solid wine cellar – that’s something I aspire to one day, once I’ve got a place to settle into…

Took it easy after the McLaren trip.  Took a short nap…swam in the pool…then had dinner in the dining room.  Stephanie had cooked some brilliant beef for the previous night’s dinner party, and there was a bit left over, so we attacked that and had some salad and local shiraz.  For some reason we started talking about the Mason-Dixon Line, and eventually pulled up a couple websites on Stephanie’s Mac to learn more.  I had always though it ran south of Maryland, thus not including that state – but I was wrong, Maryland’s on the south side of the line.  Interesting.  And looking at the map, I was struck, as I’ve been in the past, by how close Washington and Richmond are.  The Confederates attacked Washington at least once, at Fort Stephens, and probably could have done so again if that had been part of their plan.  During that battle Abe Lincoln watched from on high and came under fire.  Imagine if a sniper’s bullet hit him…

Our discussion ventured into the realm of Indians (the native American sort) and Australian aborigines.  Who got the worst of it back in the day?  Who’s better off now?  And why?  The two situations were quite different, and we had a good talk about ‘em without really solving anything…

We watched the first half of Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole.  I wasn’t a huge fan – I thought O’Toole’s acting was odd, perhaps old Larry was a bizarre guy, but I doubted he was that twee.  We were tired so put off Part 2 till the following night.

The next morning I was awakened by screams – not screams coming from my own bed (a fairly normal occurrence), but screams from upstairs.  I ran up and found that Iain & Stephanie’s 2-year-old daughter Charlie had gotten stung by a bee.  Ugh.  I’ve never heard a human being scream quite as loudly – but I felt badly for her.  After some weak attempts at home medicine, we drove her over to a clinic.  Iain sat in the back with Charlie while I drove Iain’s monster Toyota SUV, which was a manual transmission – not usually a challenge, but Aussies drive on the left and it took a few blocks for me to get re-used to shifting and using the clutch with my other hand/foot.  We made it there in one piece, thankfully.  And the Aussie medical system made it simple from there on in – Iain whipped out his Medicare card, we saw a doc in 5 minutes, and he cleared Charlie – no stinger embedded in her thumb, no allergies, etc.  Quite painless (except, of course, for poor Charlie).  We really need nationalized medicine in America…you’ve heard this all from me many times before, so I won’t belabor the point here…

We got back to the house, Iain’s mother showed up to watch Charlie for a few hours, thereby allowing Iain, Stephanie and I to head into town to check out some art exhibits.  First up:  the Hans Heysen exhibit at the South Australia Art Gallery.  Heysen’s heyday was about 80 years ago, and he painted some terrific scenes of the Flinders Range and more ordinary sights around Adelaide.  One painting was entitled ‘The Three Sisters of Aroona,’ which reminded me a bit of anther set of three sisters (not people, not animals –there’s your clue) which Iain and I enjoyed one evening years ago…

Moved on to another gallery which showed paintings by local artist Steven Trebilcock.  Great name – good paintings, mostly still lifes – fruits, gardens, etc.  We ran into Iain’s sister Fiona and her fiancé David there – Adelaide is a small city.  After that, bought a new pair of Maui Jim shades, I was happy to strap these on and put away my mediocre Silhouettes.  Maui Jims are indispensable – they hold tight to your head and feel a part of you after a few minutes.

Hit one more gallery en route home – nothing special.  Got back to Iain’s, went for a swim.  Called Christine on Skype – her family’s house near Dumaguete had flooded from the rains and she wasn’t in a great mood.  The rains have been the worst in many years and people are getting slammed over there.

Iain and I took Charlie to the park out back for a bit of fun – it had cooled off significantly the previous evening and it was down to 22 or 23 degrees, actually slightly chilly when the wind blew in.  I decided to try a run and it went much better this time – I went around the river Torrens and the park for a half hour and came back feeling energized.

We brought in some pizza and red wine, talked for a while, and then watched the second part of Lawrence of Arabia.  Not much better than the first – Iain and Stephanie quit after 45 minutes and I powered on till the end.  Didn’t like the movie for several reasons – but I’d be happy to hear other’s opinions if you’ve got any…

Got up at 5 a.m. next morning, packed, said bye to Stephanie, and then Iain drove me to the airport.  I’d had a great 4 days or so with the Woods, and was sorry to head off.  Makes me feel good that Iain and I have managed to stay in touch and stay close friends over the many years…I’m trying to get him to come to our next b-school reunion a few years from now, and certainly want to hang out again with he and Stephanie soon, in Oz or elsewhere.

Threw my Tevas in the trash before leaving Iain’s.  Another pair bites the dust.  I should get some award for wearing down my Tevas…

Flew to Sydney.  Uneventful flight – but when disembarking I really noticed how relaxed Aussies are getting off a flight.  In most parts of Asia people go crazy getting off – they stand up while the plane’s still taxiing, elbow each other in the aisle, and run off the plane.  I don’t like that, it’s unnerving.  If there’s one place not to compete, it’s on an airplane.

Met a friend/former client, Guy, at his offices in Redfern.  We’d made plans to have lunch and talk a bit of biz, he and a couple friends started up a sleep apnea treatment company a couple years ago, and I might be able to help them out.  I won’t elaborate here, but stay tuned.  We had a few coffees and then went out for lunch – a typical working day for Guy, at least back in the day.  Now that he’s co-running a company, I’m fairly certain his nose is to the grindstone.  Anyway, we traded lots of old stories and had some laughs – I’m glad we’ve stayed in touch.  It’s not always easy to keep up your network, but I’ve found it’s always worth the effort.

Back to Sydney Airport.  Had a few hours before my flight to San Francisco/New York, found the VAT refund desk and got AU$35 back from my Maui Jims purchase.  That helped make the shades especially cheap – they’d probably be twice as much in the States.

Got on the plane – only a third full.  Like a ghost ship.  I had my entire row to myself and took full advantage.  Before nodding off (with the help of an Ambien 10mg, of course), I reviewed all the photos I’ve taken since my last US trip, last April.  Took nearly 4 hours – I do this in part to delete crappy photos, but I didn’t cut a single one this time, I guess I was good about doing so each week when writing my blog.  Such incredible memories floating back – this past 9 or so months was perhaps my most adventurous stretch yet, including Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, etc.  Gigabytes and gigabytes of photos and memories…

Slept for about 5 hours.  Got into SFO, got off and things were quick at Immigration & Customs.  Looks like they’ve put a bit of money into the process and the look/feel of the place, a bit more welcoming than it used to be.  And because there were so few people on my flight, I cleared Customs and got my bags right away.  Then re-checked in, for my NYC flight, and had a bit of time to charge my laptop and call Amtrak to book my NYC-Boston train for the following day.  Did I mention that after 3 years of traveling, I’m still not that great at relaxing??

The flight to JFK was also pretty empty, and I again got a row to myself.  Not sure that’s ever happened before, on 2 consecutive legs.  The economy must really be biting hard.  Landed in NYC, bags came fairly quickly – went out to get a cab, there was a bit of a line and no cabs in sight, then a bunch came at once, and off I went.

Was staying at university buddy Bryan’s place in Tribeca that night.  His birthday was the next day, so I was helping him celebrate.  He’d lined up a couple other friends, Dri (whom I’d last seen in Turkey) and Mitch, and we were meeting pretty soon at the Hideaway Pub.  Did I mention that I’m not that good at relaxing??

Got to Bryan’s – he opened the door and there he stood, with a particularly shaggy head of hair.  I was a bit jealous – although his gut was also sticking out a bit.  I considered giving him some shit about that but decided to wait till later.  He grabbed a couple Kingfisher beers (geez, the Indians really are spreading out) and we drank those before heading to meet Dri and Mitch.

Bryan and his wife Maggie just redid their Tribeca pad and it’s stunning.  A bit better than I’m accustomed to, let’s just say that.

Had a good time at Hideaway – it was a mini Tufts reunion.  Our 20^th reunion is this May, so I need to try and rally the larger gang so we get a minyan.  Not sure how that will turn out, but I can at least expect Bryan, Mitch and Dri to show up.  I’ve booked a hotel in Cambridge, so we have a place to park ourselves after we run out of cold tea in Chinatown…

Got up early with jet lag the next morning.  Showered and checked email, Bryan eventually rose – I think we both had medium-grade hangovers.  Grabbed some coffee and chatted for a bit, then took the subway to Penn Station to catch my Boston train.  I’d had a bit of anxiety about this – mostly because I had an AMEX coupon for the train, and I couldn’t use it online or over the phone booking system – I had to present it to an agent, meaning that I had to get to Penn Station early and wait in a potentially horrendous line.  But I got there with time to spare, the line was modest, the process not bad, and I got on my train without a hitch.  You’d think that I’d be amongst the world’s most cool travelers by now, but I still get uptight from time to time, maybe because I don’t have anything else to get uptight about…

Got to Boston smoothly.  Rented a car from Avis (this is not an advertisement – the car was a filthy Pontiac Xmobile), got a SIMcard from T-Mobile (this might be an advertisement – they make it very easy to get a prepaid card), and then drove to Newton, to Dad and Ellen’s townhouse.  Ellen was home – we hung out and caught up.  Dad came home pretty soon, I blew off my usual run, and Dad and I went out for a seafood dinner while Ellen had a meeting in Boston.  Dad and I consumed a huge amount of food – sushi, clams, salads, soups, and a main dish – and waddled out of there.  The place, Skipjack’s in Newton, was surprisingly full on a Tuesday night – I guess Newton may not (yet) be the epicenter of the recession.

Next morning, arose early with jet lag and used it to my advantage.  Read a few of my large backlog of magazines, then did a slew of errands.  Got a new International Drivers Permit – key for Goa, the cops there are corrupt but this is like a clove of garlic or a chunk of kryptonite to them.  Bought a new rolling suitcase in case work beckons.  Got some New Balance running sneaks at the factory outlet in Brighton – one of my favorite shops.  Finally, drove over to Microcenter in Cambridge and bought a couple 320 gig external hard drives, to replace the two smallish ones I now have.

While driving in Boston the old Morris Day song ‘Jungle Love’ came on.  Haven’t heard that in 20 years.  The bass was so strong that my rearview mirror was shaking.  Drove by Circle Cinemas in Cleveland Circle and saw that it had closed.  Too bad – it was around for ages and I’d seen many, many movies there, back when I lived in Boston and when I came back for visits.  Oh well…

After lunch I drove out to Holliston to my storage unit to get a few things.  That went fine, then I drove to Hopkinton to see my sis and her family.  Spent the night there, had fun finally meeting my 9-month-old niece Natalie, who’s cute as can be and kept looking at me strangely – but did not cry, at least.  Played with my nephew Jacob, who’s already 5, and he wore me out after a couple hours.  And talked with Bonnie and David for a while about the latest developments here – Dave and I wound up watching a grim documentary on rape in the Congo, and despite the compelling nature of the topic we both nodded off, and finally hit the sack partway through the docco.

Sister Bonnie and niece Natalie – guess who is who:

Slept that night in the guest bedroom, in the very bed that my parents once owned.  I think they bought it well after we were born, so there’s nothing particularly salacious/Oedipal/Electra-ic about it.  Slept for a few hours, then had to get up for yet another run of errands – first, got my teeth cleaned (always do this first thing, your day can only get better).  Recalled the places I’ve been since my last cleaning, and the various foods – shashlik in Kyrgyzstan and Russia, mutton dumplings in Mongolia, hummus in the Middle East.  Hygienist Annie said my teeth looked great and to keep flossing.  Easy enough.

Went to REI and did my usual stockup.  Bought a camp towel, finally replacing the one I bought for my Indian Himalayan trip back in ’92.  The old yellow camp towel was the final item left from that trip, and it was getting ancient and gnarly.  The new microfiber model is clearly superior – but also significantly more pricey.

Had lunch with Dad at a Chinese place we used to go to when we lived in Framingham.  Then drove to Newton, dropped off all my stuff, including my ski stuff (Dad and I are skiing tomorrow at Mt. Okemo in Vermont), and then dropped off the car in Boston.  And I think I’ll now drop off this entry, it’s getting late and we’re heading to Vermont tomorrow at 5 a.m. (not my idea).  Time to get some sleep, see you next week.  Over and out.

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