2183 miles down. 1149 miles to go.

last night was great. i got to spend some time with ted and yara. we went to a pub in des moines which has a poster on the wall from the kilowatt, sf so that was exciting, obviously. we played pool and my game was so not on. i discovered the simple joy of old style lager. also, the music in the place was the bartender's ipod and he had a load of big star on there. i don't think i've ever heard big star in a bar before...

later, ted taught me how to pick a lock. he had 4 padlocks to practice on and i managed to pick them all in about 30 minutes. a career as a high-society cat burglar beckons? move over raffles.

i drove past this train today in wyoming or perhaps nebraska. the pic doesn't really do it justice but i swear it was over a mile long. tonight i am enjoying a discount rate at a marriot in cheyenne (thanks stacey :) ).

i have been listening to 'under the banner of heaven' for the last day or so. my timing could not be better. tomorrow - salt lake city.

1553 miles down. 1779 miles to go.

another uneventful day. i'm taking a couple more days on the return journey so i am driving fewer miles each day and i am also driving more slowly than i did on the way out. it's much more relaxing.

last night in chicago was great - stayed with matt, stacy, posey and poppy. tomorrow: cheyenne

1219 miles down. 2003 miles to go.

this is pretty much what i saw today. it basically rained all the way from niagara falls to indianpolis. a very grey day indeed.

on the way back into the u.s. at buffalo, the immigration guy asked me if i owned my own home or i rented. i thought that was a bit of an odd question.

tonight i got to meet two bluelighters who have been on my to-meet list: rogue robot and tathra. as ever, we will have less time together than i might like.

tomorrow - chicago.

695 miles down. 2637 miles to go.

it's hard to imagine that, last time i visited niagara falls, i wasn't too impressed. looking at the falls today (albeit from the canadian side) i was very impressed. i must have been very jaded the last time i did this. it's hard to capture in words the full experience. even a snap shot doesn't really do it. you just have to see it.

today's drive was mostly uneventful. i am listening to the new dan brown novel 'the lost symbol' during my drive. yes, it's airport fiction. yes, it's badly written but when you have to drive 500 miles, it's the best thing.

tomorrow - indianapolis.

226 miles down. 3106 miles to go.

i arrived in boston last night and it was great to be back. it's all very familiar and very much as i left it 12 years ago. spent last night with jocelyn and jennifer and their beautiful new daughter, chloe. she is, if not the calmest, quietest, best behaved child on the planet, one of the calmest, quietest, best behaved children on the planet.

as with every stop on the trip, it's over before it really begins. today - heading to niagara falls.

0 miles down. 3332 miles to go.

working at a restaurant all day every day has made it tough to maintain a blog. i blinked and summer is gone. i'm leaving locust valley, ny today for boston, ma. from there, i'm westward bound and expect to roll into san francisco, ca in about 9 days.

updates here along the way.

there is hope

looks like we'll finally have fast internet installed at the house next monday. i have never been this disconnected for this long... soon with the posting more regularly.

setting

it struck me today that the place settings used by the brass rail in the restaurant are very simple yet elegant. i've never worked in a restaurant but i have eaten at a few and place settings can get a bit busy.

on the logistic side, the simplicity of the place setting makes busing tables and getting them reset fast and easy.

the weather here has taken a turn for the grim - it's oddly dark and portentous today. i am off for the rest of the evening and tomorrow morning so wednesday at this time - around 5:00pm - is my favourite time of the week.

ground zero

i went into manhattan today to catch up, all too briefly, with ali j and phil who were visiting ny. we didn't have much time but we stopped by the world financial center where ali's friend heidi was rehearsing for a performance she's working on: women's project.

i stopped to look at the building work. it's still hard to imagine the full extent of what 9/11 must have been like to those in the city, especially today as the weather in the city was beautiful and people seemed in the kind of upbeat space that summer weather often brings.

i'm enjoying my day off but, as is often the case, the time just vanishes...

angels & demons

saw angels & demons on monday then had indian food. the movie was good - not nearly as good as the da vinci code but i suppose that was to be expected from what is pretty much little more than a cash-in. ewan macgregor's accent was a bit silly but, overall it was perfect matinee material.

afterwards, we had indian food near the mall. the restaurant was called 'akbar' and both the food and decor were awesome.

going to the movies on monday afternoon could easily become a habit. here's hoping...

pun

i saw this business in the town of glen cove today - it's a real estate business called 'sherlock homes'. i have always enjoyed a good pun...

little to report today. last night a customer told me i mix "a mean margarita" and another reported that my chocolate martini was excellent so my mixing skills are getting there.

today the kitchen made me a huge plate of blue cheese mashed potatoes for lunch and so i'm in a bit of a starch haze. not the most healthy lunch but it was worth it as it was so delicious.

i've been trying all kinds of different wines (for reasons of professionalism, obviously). many of the staff here are very fond of the gruner veltliner we have by the glass. i had never heard of gruner before i got here but i recommend it if you are looking for something crisp and refreshing and want a change, on a summer day, from sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio.

the sneakers are dead...

long live the sneakers! my sneakers finally died and i bought a new pair, pictured here. it seems like an age since i've bought any new clothes so a trip to marshalls to rake through their stuff was a welcome treat.

went to see the new star trek and it was great - definitely one to see on the big screen. i was disappointed that it took them so long to get to simon pegg (as scotty) but the whole thing is a load of fun, big-budget nonsense. aside, zachary quinto is a cool name.

i usually work lunch (and, sometimes, a double through the whole evening) at the resaurant but today i have the morning off and i'm just working this evening. the wave of business generated by the very positive review in the times has not yet subsided and we're still generally busy at lunch and very busy most evenings. i'm told that the new york times food reviewer had not rated a restaurant 'excellent' in over three years until she reviewed the brass rail.

so, this morning, i'm doing all the annoying yet necessary things one does on a day off.

gly

aside from the local library, i have found a cafe here - called 'the gly cafe' - which offers free, fast internet. i mostly come here to drink a latte and download episodes of 'the office' and my guilty pleasure 'american idol'. i found out yesterday that 'gly is not pronounced glee, it's an acronym for 'god loves you'. well, if he exists, he must because the latte is pretty good and they have excellent glazed scones.

i'm here now and, interestingly, they are playing thrash metal. i have the evening off tonight. i like double shifts as they can be pretty lucrative - the dinner crowd and the bar drinkers are more numerous and generous than the lunch crowd.

at the risk of reverting to type, the weather here is finally turning. i am looking forward to some golf soon...

offline

no picture today.

it's proving a challenge to get online. no internet at the house and very limited wireless options in town make for a disconnected me. it's probably a goot thing that i'm online less...

i'm trying hard not to smoke too much but i still appreciate a cigarette after a long shift. a pack here costs $8.50 and, i'm told, in manhattan the average is $10. a godo incentive to smoke less, if not stop.

cosmopolitan

the times review came out a little ahead of time in the home delivery version and also online. you can read it here: "The Bar’s Gorgeous; The Food’s Even Better"

it's a great review and, as a result, the phone was ringing off the hook for reservations today. we were already superbooked for tomorrow - mother's day - and hopefully we will ride this wave for a while.

we had a private party for lunch today, 11-5. it was a communion an all the kids were drinking shirley temples which was kind of cute. a lady said my cosmopolitan was "excellent" which made my day because, as previously discussed, people can be pretty fussy about their martinis. i also made a mohito and the smell of the mint lingers - it's a great drink to make and to drink.

apple martinis

i have started work in the bar at the restaurant. it's been a long time since i worked behind a bar - about 23 years more precisely - and, as ever, it's an interesting place from which to view the world.

the restaurant is in locust valley, ny and is called 'the brass rail'. the shot to the left here is from the front door looking past the bar and into the main body of the restaurant which is in the back. we're open for lunch and dinner. my first couple of days were double shifts to familiarise myself with the menu, cocktails, procedures, etc. there's a menu on the web site and you should check it out - one of the first things i learned first hand is that the food is exceptionally good.

it's a long day and i'm on my feet the whole time but it's very customer-facing, obviously, and the clientele is a good mixture of regular locals and tourists. the new york times recently reviewed the restaurant and the review will appear in this sunday's times (may 11th).

i've never really understood the appeal of a martini but we do a good trade in them. people are very particular about their martini's and. so far nobody has sent one of mine back. also, i have not yet spilled a drink on anybody :)

the internet situation at the house is bleak and i don't have many other options. more updates to follow when i can.

ny spring

it is spring here. it's warm - at least it seems warm to me - and it has been raining pretty much non stop since i got here. not a complaint. everything is unbelievably green. i'm living in a fecund wonderland.

like tahoe, it's very dark and quiet here at night. we're a fair distance from the road and there is no traffic noise at night. i actually don't mind traffic noise as any white noise like that generally helps rather than hinders my sleep. that said, there is a railway line about 150 yards from the house and a train comes lumbering by and the house shakes a little. i think i've already managed to tune that out.

achievements today include getting my hair cut and buying some 'work' clothes. looks like i'll be starting tomorrow. right now, my plan is to catch up on the episodes of 'the office' and 'american idol' i bittorrented before i left california.

2490 miles down. 0 miles to go.

i'm here. emerging from the lincoln tunnel and driving through manhattan is pretty special. the traffic doesn't move very fast, obviously, but there's the ever-present sense that i'm in one of the great capitals of the world. it's raining and i'm tired so i'm going to put my feet up, drink a cup of tea and have a nap. let's see what tomorrow brings.

2731 miles down. 209 miles to go.

yesterday was tiring so no blog update. i stopped off in iowa to visit ted. in common with so many stops this trip, i really wish i had more time but we did to spend an hour in downtown des moines and we got to drink scottish beer in a pub so, small victories.

last night i spent in chicago with matt, stacey, posey and poppy. so good to see them and, again, so brief. the kids, like everybody's kids these days, are growing up super fast.

tonight i am in camp hill, pa visiting my friend reed. i had a buffalo chicken sandwich, onion rings and two beers for dinner and i am fit to sleep for a week. after a few days of driving through the endless horizon that is utah, wyoming & nebraska, pennsylvania is a joy to the eyes. it's a very green state and the rolling hills are beautiful. also, there are tunnels - i can't recall the last time i drive through a tunnel but i expect it was vicariously in a bond movie. tunnels always look good in movies.

tomorrow i have only 200 miles left and i'll have driven the best part of 3000 miles. this is the second time i've driven across the us and, one of these days, i'd like to take a little longer and stop along the way to enjoy some of the sights and experiences.

big shout out to the state of iowa for providing free wireless internet connection at rest stops along the i-80.

1671 miles down. 1269 miles to go.

i drove 927 miles today. i'm not doing that again any time soon. there's not a lot to see in the middle of wyoming and western nebraska. i'm reminded of the little bill quote from unforgiven: "Hell, I even thought I was dead 'til I found out it was just that I was in Nebraska." (nebraska pictured here on the left)

last night, bryan and i went out to the urban lounge to see 'starfucker' play. the urban lounge is a hip bar in utah - it was a forest of skinny jeans. unlike the state-owned boozemporium we visited yesterday, the drinks at the urban lounge were inexpensive. they have a tap for jack daniels on the bar. i noted that 'blue turtle seduction' played there last week. a corner of a foreign field...tahoe...etc.

there were a couple of support acts. the only name i caught was for a raucus two-piece called 'guidance counselor' who made an awful lot of noise for two guys. don't get me wrong - it was a wonderful noise. starfucker (named, one assumes, for the stones song) came on last and, after the world's longest soundcheck, played their set. it was the beach boys meets teenage fanclub courtesy of phil spector's wall of sound. check them out.

743 miles down. 2197 miles to go.

i am in utah. salt lake city more specifically.

ok, so - jb - you get the first "i told you so" as i scored my first speeding ticket today. 81 in a 65. of all the states in which i could have got a ticket, i had to choose nevada. i will return to nevada. oh well, it's $107 which is, of course, about $50 less than the radar detector i tried to buy in san francisco the day before i left.

the picture on the left here is utah. i'm amazed that i caught a truck in this shot as there were periods of great time where i didn't pass another thing on the road. that said, the scale of the bleakness is beautiful and thought-provoking.

my listening today was mostly the new ricky gervais shorts on the arts, medicine, etc. very funny. also, plenty of russell brand to wile away the hours.

i'm staying in utah with bryan. the next picture will probably only make sense to kj, michael and claudia. here's our psytribe friend in his new habitat of bryan's back yard. he looks pretty happy, dontchathink?

we went to buy beer at the state-owned liquor store. that was different. also, the beer is more expensive. this will be the socialism everybody's talking about? if so, the dems can have arlen spector, i'm defecting to the republicans in search of a free market. and cheaper beer.

189 miles down. 2751 miles to go.

i'm still in south lake tahoe. feeling a bit tummy sore yesterday so had a lazy day. packed up the last of my belongings and put them in storage. everything i own fits in a 4 * 8 space. i'd like to tell people that it's my ecogoal to maintain the smallest footprint possible. still, net effect.

the picture is carson avenue where i lived, this winter season. something tells me this won't be the last time i'll share a house with eric. tahoe is beautiful in the summer time. i should spend a summer here at some point.

so it begins

i'm driving to new york. today i am leaving san francisco for davis, ca to say goodbye to kj. mixed feelings mostly. i'm excited about the adventure ahead but i'm sad to leave california. a big part of me knows i'll be back.