11/9/14 - Washington to LA

Long day today so I packed up and checked out at leisure. I caught the bus to 12th Street, where I'd spotted a Barnes and Noble the day before. I bought a Grateful Dead live triple CD, a biography of Franklin Rooslevelt, and two magazines. After lunch I made my way back to Georgetown and caught the Super Shuttle to Dulles International at 16:30. The end of three really great days in Washington, which expunged the memories of losing my wallet on my previous visit.

At the airport I had supper and a beer and attempted to write an email. However I had problems accessing the Wi-Fi in the airport, and then Microsoft decided to disable my email account, something that happens from time to time if they decide that there's some suspicious activity - like me trying to use it ! - on there. (Postscript - as of Friday 12th the problem seems to have sorted itself out).

The five-hour flight was fine, and I divided my time between dozing and reading The Middle Ground. The only disturbing factor was someone behind me coughing, sneezing, and snuffling the entire way. I don't seem to have caught anything yet so fingers crossed. However that was nothing compared to the hassles I had with Alamo - firstly their shuttle was late, leaving us standing around outside the terminal for 40 mins. Then, having arrived at the car rental point, there was a long queue and only two Agents serving. So I didn't pick up my car until well after midnight  (3 AM to my body clock).

Having got the car I had a bit of a tussle getting the Satnav set up, but set off just after half-twelve and reached my hotel in Anaheim ok. I got to bed at about 2 AM.   

10/9/14 - Washington

Took me a while this morning to sort out my lift to the airport tomorrow. So I didn't leave the hotel until after 10:00. I walked to the "hop on/off" pick-up point in Georgetown and then caught the bus into the middle of town. I got off at the Smithsonian Museum of American History and then walked round there for an hour. The examples of the development of American transport were fascinating, but I was most affected by the section on the War for Independence. Going round this section I got a very clear sense of the development of that conflict and how it was resolved.

I then had lunch outside and walked to the Jefferson memorial. The sun had come out and it was a lovely afternoon, the best patch of weather so far. The Jefferson memorial has four quotes on the walls inside it, all of which are stirring. I have so much respect for that man.

I then walked on a bit and sat and read for a while by the lake. The view here was amazing - right back towards Washington Mall. I then visited the memorials of Roosevelt (FDR), Martin Luther King, and Lincoln. I have visited these before (in 2012) but was stirred anew by the inspiring quotes displayed. The long wall upon which the various sayings of MLK are displayed is awe-inspiring. An incredibly great man who stood up for love in the widest sense as the only way to overcome darkness and conflict. 

Following that I had a long bus journey back to Georgetown via the evening traffic, stopping for hal-an-hour at Union Station. Musically I started the day with Ty Segall's "Sleeper" and then played the Byrds' classic "Ÿounger Than Yesterday" on the return back. I particularly enjoyed the great David Crosby songs on the latter.

      

9/9/14 - Washington

Woke at 3:30 and got off again c. 4. Got up at 6:45, sorted some stuff out for the day, and went to breakfast c. 7:30. The food was delicious - eggs "sunny side up" and crispy bacon - and set me up well for the day. I bought a 48-hour "drop on/off" bus ticket in the hotel shop and set off on the 20-minute walk to the bus stop. I changed in the centre for another route which took me across the Potomac to the Arlington Cemetry.

Once there I walked through the cemetry to John Kennedy's grave with the eternal flame on top. I found it very peaceful and moving there; JFK's assassination affected not only the US nation but millions of people throughout the world, for whom he symbolised the positive hopes of the 1960s. I also found some of the sayings of Robert Kennedy which were by his grave to be very affecting. I then went to see the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and read Margaret Drabble's "The Middle Ground" for a while.

I then took the bus to the Pentagon and then Pentagon City. Amazingly they had a huge shopping Mall here including a Fashion Mall which proved very interesting. I had lunch and then took the bus back to the Washington Mall, where I walked along to the Capitol building. More reading here, then back again. Dropped my MP3 player on the steps surrounding the Capitol, which could have been very annoying - luckily there was no damage done. While walking I listened to "Hooker'n'Heat" - it felt appropriate to hear this great blues album in this most quintessentially American of settings. Blues is the most honest of music forms and John Lee Hooker and Al Wilson were two of its finest practitioners.

From there I got the bus back, and very much appreciated the Dupont Circle with all its attractive-looking shops. Also the architecture as we came through the domestic area between there and Georgetown was fascinating, with a great variety of styles including one house which was only nine feet wide. From there it was a quick stop at the Supermarket and back to the room.

The weather has been cloudy, muggy, and dry today and I took full advantage. Tomorrow is due to bring some rain, so I have many more indoor activities lined up.               

8/9/14 - Flight to Washington

This is the first day of my latest - and almost certainly last - solo US trip. I got up at 5:45 and left the flat at 6:45. The traffic on the M25 was horrendous, and I only got to Terminal 3 at 8:30. The taxi driver was extremely garrulous, telling me all about his plans for various business ventures. I shall look out for flyers for "The Amazing Curry Company" next year - be interesting to see if it materialises.  

After going through Security I had Eggs Benedict for breakast and stocked up with reading matter and food for the plane. The flight itself was quite turbulent in the 2nd half, but I was absorbed in Margaret Drabble's "The Realms Of Gold" which I finished. Had a very nice Chilli - unusually edible for Virgin food - and also read The Times. I heard two great albums on my MP3 player. The first was "Argus" by Wishbone Ash, which I hadn't played for ages and really enjoyed. The twin-guitar work is always arresting, the songs have some very original riffs and structures, and I noticed more of the lyrics. Then I moved on to "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" which is, of course, an all-time classic. It features McGuinn's sonic experimentation at its absolute peak, and there are no remotely weak moments on the album. 

We landed at 15:00 but I didn't get to the hotel until just before 18:00. When we got off the plane we had to wait to be transported to the Immigration area and then the queues were horrendous. I didn't get out of the airport until 16:45, and then there was a lot of traffic driving into Georgetown. The taxi fare was a bit of a shock - $75 ! But then I quickly got into my room and then nipped out for some supplies before writing this at 19:20 US time. Since for me it is 00:20 the next morning, I will be having an early night. 

Tomorrow the plan is to go down to the Capitol and Washington Mall. There's loads of awesome history to soak up there. 

September 2nd 2014

Just trying out the Blog facility on the Tablet prior to taking it to the US. Life is so much better than I ever dreamed possible at the start of the year ! So while I'm looking forward to the trip, what I'm looking forward to even more is life back in England when I return. At the start of the year I felt a bit of "bounce" come back, and now I've been rewarded big time ! I'm just feeling thankful tonight.   
 

World Cup

What a great World Cup it's been ! The Group stages were full of thrilling matches, the most memorable being Holland's games against Spain and Australia. Then, in the last 16, Brazil escaped elimination against Chile by the width of a goalpost, and Costa Rica v Greece was packed with incident, especially after Costa Rica went down to 10 men. Columbia scored two fine goals against a toothless Uruguay.
Most memorable of all was Belgium v USA. Both teams went for all-out attack, and Tim Howard pulled off loads of great saves. In the second period of extra time the USA started two down, yet pulled one back and found the stamina to keep on pressing. Their courage was amazing and they deserved to reach penalties.
The quarter-finals were disappointing apart from Costa Rica's bravery against Holland. The antics of the Dutch keeper in the shoot-out were a disgrace. But the semis were the real deal. Last night Holland and Argentina played 120 mins of gripping technical football, unsulllied by anything as vulgar as a shot on target . Argentina deserved to win as they were the more positive side. On Tuesday, by contrast, Brazil became the tragic heroes of the tournament. Their act of conceding 4 goals in 6 minutes symbolised so many things - by falling apart so completely and utterly they played out the drama of the collapse of western capitalism and also the trainwreck which my own life has been in the past three years. From the heights of 1970 and 1982 to the utter disintegration of Tuesday  - it was truly cathartic to witness. Socrates would have been proud.
It's been a horrible year - domestic hassles, legal nonsense, and problems with my eyes. The World Cup has been a brief glimmer a light for me. I trust that the remaining two matches will provide a suitable ending to a truly historic tournament.

2014

I'm writing this on the Sunday evening prior to returning to work on January 6th. I'm a bit apprehensive about the New Year as there's a new storage heater waiting to be fitted, and my bathroom is going to be re-done on Jan 13th. I'm hoping that it all goes ok and that further hassles do not arise.

Apart from my amazing US and Paris trips, the last three years have been sheer hell. I've lost nearly everything - my wife, my house, 58% of my pension, and a lot of money besides. Winter is a very hard time when you're stuck on your own in a Studio Flat without friends. I'm not a practical man and find many aspects of living alone frightening. I will probably need to resort to Valium to get through the winter.

However over the last few months I have found a bit of the old "bounce" returning. I want to find one or two social things to get involved in, and will be having some golf lessons in the Spring. I do need to do something about all the CDs I've got in the place - there are simply too many for a one-room flat. I plan to have a comprehensive "spring-clean" done on the place and then maybe have a Cleaner in for a few hours a week to get the place a bit better. I do have the occasional cleaning spurt but what with a full-time job and my natural laziness I really do not keep up.

Most of my music listening at the moment derives from my September US trip. In particularly I'm really into Minneapolis bands like The Replacements and Husker Du. In the mid-eighties these were probably the best bands in the world. It was such an experience to stay in Minneapolis and drive round Minnesota. The weather was nice and sunny then, especially when I visited Duluth - but it will be very wintry at the moment.

So what do I want to happen this year ? Basically I just want to do my best at work and look for something to change in my personal life. The isolated life I've been living for the last three years is grinding me down.