Happenings – Part One

What’s been happening in my life?

Well, quite a lot actually. I’ve been to America, I’ve been to Korea, I’m now in the UK, I’ve been to a funeral, I’ve got a new car, I’ve been having job interviews and I’ve been dealing with the aftermath (emotions wise) of my Mothers death.

I suppose I should start at the beginning. America. I went to America as instructed by my Mum. I knew when I left her on that Tuesday it would be the last time I saw her, but as my Auntie said just after I expressed my desire to cancel again, “if you stay you send two messages, You don’t care about her wishes and you are saying she’s sicker than she wants to be’. Anyway, I boarded Virgin Atlantic flight VF45 with tears in my eyes. They turned to tears as I finished ‘The Household Guide to Dying’ by Debra Adelaide whilst sat amongst forty odd 16-17 years old American girls returning from their fist trip abroad. If they enjoyed themselves, I’ll never know because all they did was say how much they were looking forward to … ketchup in glass bottles, hotdogs, cherry pie and a myriad of other silly things. Granted I do the same about the UK when in Aus, but I don’t fill seven hours of flight doing it.

I’m going to skip over all the gory details and funny stories of America in favour of a listette (minor details) of the things I saw and the places I went with Todd and without. So here goes, ready?

Wed 25th June first evening – New York : Dinner of stuffed prawns with champagne. A trip to the Greenwich Village to see sex shops followed by a drink in a GoGo bar with stripper before moving on with our new friends to Splash. More drinks, late night.

Thu 26th June – New York : hideous hangover muted by a stack of blueberry pancakes in a genuine NY Diner. A walk round MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) then a wander down 5th Avenue (saw Abercrombie and Finch, Tiffany’s, Harry Winston and Trump Tower). Another short walk saw us tip Central Park and the Time Warner centre. Then I experienced a street vendor hotdog with everything before paying a visit to Manolo Blahnik (I brought two pairs). Over to the Rockafella Centre and a lift trip to The Top of The Rock. Nice views to be had from here without the queues of the Empire State building. We went back to the hotel (Sheraton Four Points 160 West 25th St) to dump shopping before jumping on a subway to Battery Park. Here I could see the Statue of Liberty through the mist. A walk via ice cream took us to the site of the World Trade Centre development and I saw a genuine NY Rat, drinking Budweiser in the corner of a graveyard. Dinner called and walk/taxi combo took us to Little Italy. Time Square was just a short cab ride away for final drinks of the evening in the Marriott Marquis.

Fri 27th June – New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC : An early start (hangoverless) saw us scaling the Empire State Building before the crowds. Great views and a touch of vertigo. Afterwards we had a New York bagel (I hear it the water that make them so soft) before a quick wiz around the Museum of Sex, what a disappointment. We picked up Todds car before hitting the road (the New Jersey Turnpike and the I95) South about 11. A stop to experience a Cinnabon (Danish with cinnamon and cream icing) before reaching Philadelphia. We started in the old City with Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell before walking to see Benjamin Franklin’s grave site (he was a publisher before being President) then to Betsy Ross’ house (she designed the first US flag, it had 13 stars in a circle). We then walked some more through Society Hill to South Street. There I had a Cheese Steak (hot dog roll with wafer thin steak and cheese) and a local Beer. With rain looming we got back to the car quick and went down to see the hot rowers at the Boat Houses. Then moved to the Rocky Steps via Love Park. I can’t remember the name of the museum, because all I see is Rocky running up the damn steps. I had my picture taken with the Statue of Rocky before it started chucking it down and we got back on the road to Washington DC. States I travelled through that day: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

Sat 28th June - Washington DC (Bethesda) : A day of rest, but we still managed to go shoe shopping at DSW, craft shopping at Michaels. I crashed out in the afternoon but was woken for dinner and drinks near Dupont Circle in the evening at the pub of one of the guys we met the first night in NY. Todd got laid, I slept peacefully.

Sun 29th June - Washington DC : Back on the tourist trail we started by picking up Todd friend Tim and having lunch in Shirlington before going to Arlington National Cemetry. There we saw the graves of Jackie O, JFK and Bobbie as well as seeing the changing of the guard of the Unknown Soldier. Quick trip to the Marine Iwo Jima Memorial on the way to the White House, The Capitol Building and the Supreme Court before the sun went down. Dinner was a Todd’s house with his sister Lisa and her family. Night time saw us popping out to see the Washington Monument and Lincoln (better at night, pretty with lights and less tourists)

Mon 30th June – Pittsburgh (Mars and Cranberry) : We drove to Pittsburgh with a pittstop in Breezewood where I had my first ever TacoBell. It was OK. We went to Todd’s brother house then his Dad’s. We had lunch with Dad and Susan at The Quaker Steak and Lube (hot wings) before going to see Grandma at the family farm. We saw a school bus depot and I pretended to drive one. After seeing Grandma we pooped over to Maconnell Mill State Park and swathe mill and a covered bridge. It was very picturesque. We went back to Todd’s brother before staying the night at his Dad’s.

Tues 1st July – Pittsburgh and Baltimore: Todd’s Dad and wife Susan came to the Warhol Museum with us. This is Todd’s Mecca, he may hate Pittsburgh, but he loves Andy. We drove to the Duquesne Incline and took a ride up the side of the hill to lunch on Mount Washington. We left Pittsburgh with the intention of going straight back to Washington. We were knackered. But along the way we stopped at Phantom Fireworks were Todd brought the gayest firework possible for the 4th July celebrations. While we drove we decided to catch a game of Baseball in Baltimore. The Orioles were playing Kansas City at home and Todd being Todd, we had seat in the front row next to the away team. ‘I want to see the sweat on their arses’ indeed.

Wed 2nd July – Washington DC : I took the train into Dupont Circle on my own and pottered all day. I walked bloody miles without really seeing anything. I was lovely. I had a leisurely lunch of salad then later a dinner at Bangkok Joes. It was very relaxing.

Thur 3rd July – Washington DC : Another day of not much. Prep for the 4th commenced with shopping for food, packing and dinner with friends of Todd. I got the call. I made Chicken Liver Pate at 2 in the morning.

Fri 4th July – Washington DC (Bethesda) : The party. I played hostess with the mostest but really I wasn’t there. Do you think anyone noticed?

Sat 5th July - Washington DC (Bethesda) : Todd went out and left me at home with a clear table, two empty scrapbook album and plenty of paper, sticky stuff, photos, memorabilia and time. I ate leftovers, there was heaps.

Sun 6th July - Washington DC (Bethesda) : Todd family drove down from Pittsburgh for lunch and tea. After they left we went for a drive to Rockville Pike. We went to see F Scott Fitzgerald’s grave before having a beer at Hooters. In the evening we went to Cobalt again and partook of Karaoke. I sang ‘Down Under’ and ‘She’s Always a Woman’ while Todd belted out ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ and ‘9 to 5’. We tried a duet of ‘You’re the One That I Want’ but Todd was off chatting someone up, so I did the first part with a complete stranger. A fair bit was imbibed.

Mon 7th July Washington DC (Bethesda and Dulles Airport) : We dorised all day after I’d finished my packing. At 1640 I boarded VS22 and too my upgraded Premium Economy seat and flew back to the UK.