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Seventh Wheel

Day: 73

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This morning I wanted to do my first big bicycle ride of my training for my PCH tour. I got on my bike and headed down PCH from Balboa to Lauguna, had breakfast, and rode back. It was a hilly ride and the roughly 30 miles put a slight(sarcasm; slightly more than slight) strain my legs. I got back exhausted around ten and settled in with Josh to watch Super Troopers while we waited for Aaron and his girlfriend, Nadine, to get here so we could all go out to lunch.

When Aaron and Nadine arrived we all (Mom&Mike, Josh&Sarah, Aaron&Nadine and myself) went over to a Newport Landing and enjoyed a spectacular meal overlooking the bay. This seems to happen to me all the time, the whole family goes out and I am always the loner, not that I mind, but once in every so often…

After lunch, Christine called and I headed over to her house (she lives about a block from the restaurant). We caught up on old times, played some Scrabble, listened to music and talked about my future travel plans. She had plans with her roommate so around seven I went back to the house on the beach and spent the rest of the night with the family.

Errands

Day: 72

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Up again with the sun, I woke up Daniel, and we got on our bikes for a ride up to Huntington Beach for breakfast at the Sugar Shack (a great local restaurant). We rode back and Dan had to take off to get to work and I just prepared myself for another lazy day. I spent the morning reading and taking in all the beach go-ers walking by on the beach in front of our rented house. Mike(my step dad) brought us chicken teriyaki for lunch and I headed to my bed for an afternoon nap.

I got up around five in the afternoon, my sister and her husband were heading out for a evening out, and I didn’t really feel like spending the night with two screaming girls (who wouldn’t take naps today) I borrowed a car and headed out to run some errands. I stop at the books store and read up on my upcoming trip up the coast, then headed over to REI to shop around for some more bike gear I am going to need. It was still early after my shopping, I went over to South Coast Plaza to see what movies were playing. I watched Sentinal, and headed back to crash around eleven.

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Life Like a Dog

Day: 71

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Vito, says my life here on the beach is just like the life of a dog. Get up, eat, lay around, eat, drink, take a walk, take a nap, eat, drink, sleep. Now while things might not be exactly like that, I can see the comparison makes some sense.

This morning I woke up early, a little prior to seven, and still excited about my new bike I decided to go for a ride to start getting myself in shape. I rode about 15 miles, from Balboa Pier to Huntington Pier and back again. The only thing this made me realize is exactly how out of shape I am. My goal that I have set for myself is to be able to ride 50 miles a day, with my bike fully loaded, by the 29th of this month. That gives me roughly two and half weeks.

I got back from my ride, ate breakfast, took a nap, read a book (The Shipping News, which I found in a closet here), ate lunch, had a drink (Goose Cape Cod, finally some Goose Nellie!), sat on the patio watching the world go by, had another drink, read some more, took another little ride with my friend Daniel, had another drink, ate dinner with the family, and went to sleep. I think Vito is right, my life is extremely similar to the amount of responsibilities of a dog.

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Brand New Bike

Day: 70


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Getting ready for my 1300 mile bike ride up Pacific Coast Highway, I headed over to REI and threw down the credit card for my brand new $650 touring bicycle complete with generated headlight (sweet!). That was the most excitement of my day, the rest was spent having cocktails with my sister on the patio overlooking the Pacific and heading out to dinner with the famiy. I don’t know how much writing I’ll be doing in the next couple of weeks, life is just to relaxing, but I will keep bringing you tidbits of my life.

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A Day With Old Friends

Day: 69

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Today was a rather chill day at the beach. The weather was cool and wasn’t quite right for swimming or hanging out on the beach. Joanna, one of my great So. Cal. friends (and future Phillipines travel companion) had decided to come out and spend the day with me. She arrived just after one and we instantly had drinks in our hands and smiles on our faces. She and I headed over to have lunch, a few more cocktails, and to play pool for a couple of hours. Around four we decided to head over to another bar that has 2-for-1 happy hour, but first we had to go see if Christine (another great friend and future New Zealand travel companion) was home.

Christine had no idea that I was in town or that she would see me before New Zealand, so when she open her front door she screamed and quickly got some clothes on to come and join us. I was suddenly at a reunion with a pair of my best friends. We went over and had a few drinks and some nachos at the cantina, where my sister even joined us for a round after pawning her daughters off on my mother. After a couple of hours Christine had to leave and get to class and Jo and I headed back to the house to watch a movie. We started King Kong, then had to stop it when we decided it was to scary for Madalyn who had came over and joined us on the couch. We let the TV run for a while and before I knew it J and I were passed out on the couch, my mom woke us up as she went off to bed around 9:30.

Joanna had class tomorrow, so she grabbed her things and I walked her to her car where she promised to come back again soon. I just headed off to bed early, still sort of messed up from all the time zones and flights I have been through in the last 4 days.

Surprising Mom

Day: 68

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Up at 3:30am to get on the E train towards Queens where I had to change trains to get the Airtrain to JFK. I arrived at JFK just after 5am where I checked my bag and had a breakfast burrito. After a couple hours of waiting, just after boarding the plane I realized I still had two more of Akbar’s magic pills, so I popped those for a little sleep on the plane and soon was out cold. I arrived in Long Beach where friend and previous blog guest, Vito, picked me up and took me out to a Sunday morning Champagne brunch. I called my little brother, Aaron, and he came to meet up with us just after brunch. The house which my family rented on the beach wasn’t ours until 3 pm so I had too wait that long until I could surprise my mom with my homecoming visit. Vito, Aaron and I decided to head over and see Mission Impossible 3 to kill a few hours before we made our way to the next two weeks of my world tour. We made Aaron drive because Vito and I had been drinking mimosa’s for the last hour and a half.

After the movie, we took Vito back to his car and he followed us to Balboa so we could find the house and my family. The instant I walked up to the front gate my two favorite girls ran up and hugged me and I said hi to my sister and everyone else that was there. My mom and step-dad weren’t there yet so when they arrived I was in my room and opened the door to my moms face.

She stared at me, dumbfounded, for a solid three second. Then the questions started to flow. “How’d I get here?” “What am I doing here?” etc, etc…

Needless to say the afternoon passed quickly, just having drinks and catching up with what everyone has been up to in the last 10 weeks.

We all headed out for pizza around 8 but the wait at BJ’s was too long and the girls were fussing so we ordered to go andJosh, Aaron, Vito, Mike and I went to the bar next door for a beer while we waited for the pizza to be ready. After our beers we grabbed our pizzas, walked the couple of blocks back to the house and enjoyed our dinner. The night passed quickly and I, having had the day begin 22 hours ago I just crash around 10:30.

Going to the Theatre

Day: 67

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What’s New York without musicals?! Jandiz and I woke up late and thought about going and getting brunch, but we first wanted to see what kind of Theatre tickets we could find for today. She wanted to see “The Drowsy Chaperone”, a new musical that has a lot of buzz going around it. Some of the New York theatres run a lottery for front row tickets about an hour and half, you put your name in a drawing and if you win you get $110 tickets for $25. So Jandiz and I showed up on time and got our names in and wandered around for the half an hour until the drawing. If we weren’t able to get tickets for an afternoon matinee we were just going to head into Brooklyn for brunch. After our little walk we got back to the theatre a couple of minutes before the drawing and waited for it to start. They had 20 seats to lottery and each person could get two tickets, so that meant 10 winners but to make a long story short they drew my name 4th and Jandiz’ 10th, so we could get extra tickets if we wanted them. Jandiz made a few quick calls and another college friend, Megan Maes, who lived a few blocks away was excited to join us. We had an hour before the show so we grabbed a quick lunch at a deli and looked around to see what kind of cheap tickets we could find for a show at night. We found “standing room only” (which basically means you get to stand in the back of the theatre and lean on a little wall) for “Spamalot” (a Monty Python show) for $21, Seats cost $120.

After the show, which was funny as hell, Joel called and we set up dinner in Brooklyn near where he lives between our shows. We jumped on the L and headed off to one of the five burrows. Were we meant Joel for kick ass Turkish dinner, a couple bottles of Spanish wine and lots of good college memories. After dinner we still had a while before we had to get our train back to town, so Joel showed us around his little area of the world and we went over to his place. We hung out there for a little while and had a smoke, after which the three of us (Joel was going to see a different show with his boyfriend tonight) wandered to the L and giggled our way back to Manhattan. We said goodbye to Joel and Jandiz and I made it just in time to take our spots standing at the back of the theatre. The standing only lasted half the show and we found a two empty seats after intermission.

By the end of “Spamalot” I was really tired and we just headed back to Jandiz’ place so I could catch a few hours of sleep before I had to be up at three-thirty for my plane to California.

Hot New York May

Day: 66

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I was expecting New York to be much colder, especially after spending so much time in Europe I had sort of become accustom to the cold, today the sun was shining and it was up it the 80’s, I think I even got a little sunburnt. After getting up around ten-thirty, my NY tour guide and I set out to see as much of Manhattan as we could before she had to go to work at 3:30pm. We started off with an obligatory stop at B&H camera store, where I buy all my gear at online, because I wanted to get a slim polarizer for my 24-105 lens so I would stop getting the vignetting (the dark corners in some of my pictures) that came with using the polarizer I have on that lens. B&H was like a giant toy store for photo geeks and I could have spent hours there if my time in the city wasn’t limited to two days, as it was I ran in got what I was looking for and we grabbed the subway to the hole in the ground where the World Trade Center was. It was all fenced off so didn’t spend long there, and I didn’t even get one picture that I like so I can share.

We started to work our way up the island, stopping to look at anything of interest, which included every two dollar jewelry stand so Jandiz could find all kinds of cute necklaces and earrings. After a few blocks the sun was getting to me and I took out my Table 67*(see below for story) sunglasses which Jandiz thought looked ugly and made it her new mission to find me some badass $5 sunglasses. We found a street fair, ate Falafel, and I must have tried on a dozen pair of glasses, but none of them live up to what she had in mind. We countinued our way through China Town, where we finally found a pair of D&G knockoffs that pleased both her and I, and Little Italy, where sat in a cafe and enjoyed some afternoon dessert. It was just passed 2:30 so we began to head in the direction of her work (where she cocktail serves 3 nights a week) through Soho and some other parts of Manhattan. After powering through 30 blocks we had her to her bar at 46th street only ten minutes late.

During the day, I had contacted a couple other college friends, Joel and Brooke, who also both live in NY. Brooke is a really good friend of Jandiz’, and who had arranged for her to come into town and party with me while Jandiz was at work. After I had gone back to the apartment, showered, cleaned up and went out to grab something to eat, Brooke came over at six-thirty and we had a couple of cocktails before jumping in a cab and heading to the yuppie bar (where I was the only one not wearing slacks, a button down shirt and nice shoes) where Jandiz works. The drinks and snacks at the bar were pricey (I don’t know about the drinks but they sold a basket of fries for $10) but after a few rounds of beer, a couple of shots and a Cape Cod I never saw a bill. I love my friend Jandiz. Brooke and I tipped and left, we started walking and Brooke showed me Times Square and Rockefeller Center at night before we headed back to the apartment where my friend Joel (who I haven’t seen since he moved out here last July) and his boyfriend were coming to meet us.

The four of us (me, Brooke, Joel and his boyfriend Aaron) sat around for a couple hours having a few more Cape Cods and a smoke and talking about college and our lives since. After traveling alone for such a long time I forgot how nice it was not to have to re-explain your entire life story each time you meant someone new. Just hanging out like old times. After a while Aaron and Joel had to leave to head to another commitment, and Brooke and I just zoned out until Jandiz came home a little while later. We all hung out for another hour or so, until Brooke and I were to exhausted to stay awake any longer and just headed off to bed.

*Table 67: Once upon a time, in the far off land of Islands, I was serving burgers and fries to a table of seventeen year old guys. These guy seemed cool but when it came time at the end of the meal to take care of Rob’s fiduciary needs they failed. Slightly disgruntled at the $2 tip on a $90 bill I set to cleaning up their baskets and what do I find? A brand new pair of Electric sunglasses (they go for about $90 at Pacific Sunwear). These guys left me the perfect tip, I don’t even know how they knew that I was at the time without UV eye protection. The glasses got dropped in my apron and ever since whenever someone comments about my ugly sunglasses I just tell this story and I get the respect I deserve. The only problem is that the sunglasses have been bumping around in my bag for the last 9 weeks and been scratched somewhat. The scratches being the only reason I let Jandiz talk me into a new pair of eyewear, or else I would keep wearing my ugly Table 67 glasses on a matter of principal.

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The New Plan

Day: 65

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Surprise! I’m in NYC

So, I lied about taking a tour through Ireland in order to surprise my family on their vacation in California. When Jake, who was supposed to spend the summer with me in Africa, canceled on me and my sister started telling me about the four bedroom house that the family had rented on Newport beach for two weeks I got to thinking about rearranging the elements of my trip. When Jasper was started telling me, while we were in Turkey, about his bicycle trip around the US I was sprung on the idea. So don’t you all worry out there I am not done traveling by any means, just redirecting my trip slightly.

The new, and Uber-tentative, plan is three night is New York, followed by in Newport for two weeks chilling out with my family and a few friends (Hey it’s my trip, and who wouldn’t want to spend two weeks on the beach somewhere with some damn cute girls?) until May 21. Then spend one week at home(during which I probably won’t blog; this being a travel blog I can’t justify time at home) for three reasons, Aaron graduates college on the 27th, my birthday is the 28th and my Dad’s two week vacation doesn’t start until the 29th. Then on May 29th (the day after my 27th birthday, so I’ll be hungover) Dad and I are going to set out from Santa Monica, heading north on bicycles along PCH, to camp and ride the coast. Dad has two weeks off then he’ll head back while I spend the better part of another month after that working my way up the coast to Canada. From Canada I may take a train across the country and make my way to the east coast, for a possible visit to Maine. I’ll get back to California somehow in the middle of the summer, and spend a few days at home.

Probably early August I’ll book a ticket to Costa Rica and spend at least a month, possibly six weeks in Central America learning to scuba dive and hiking the rain forests. After Central America I still haven’t made any definite plans but I will still be traveling and have made a promise to be in the Philippines in December and New Zealand in January. Please don’t fret about your favorite traveller stopping, half the fun of a trip like this is to change what I feel like doing at any moment, that is why I didn’t book the around the world airfare in the first place, even if it would have saved me money.

This morning I had to make my way to the airport for my flight to NYC where I am going to spend the next three night with my friend from college, Jandiz, and her roommate (and my sisters 7th grade boyfriend) Hector. I had 27.10 euros left and since I was leaving the continent I didn’t want to withdraw any more, so I had to budget so I could eat, get to the airport, and still have enough for a few pre-flight Guinnesses (Is Guinnesses a word?).

I started with a little internet (2.15 euro) to get yesterdays blog up and the day before’s fixed.

I ate a big Irish breakfast; sausage, bacon, white blood pudding, black blood pudding, a fried egg, mushrooms, roast tomatoes, and toast(10.45 euro).

I had a couple of bus options to get to the airport, I could take the special air bus, which was fast and comfortable but costs 5 euro more, or take the local bus which was 2 euro. Which was for Rob seeing he had plenty of time? You bet your ass! (2 euro)

I arrived at the airport, stuffed, with twelve and a half euros in my pocket. As long as the beers were 4.15 euro, or less I could enjoy three, then constantly get up to pee for my seven hour plane ride to New York. The plan sounded great. I got in line to check my big bag and a nice middle aged Irish man came up and let me know he was going to do a complete random search of my bags for safety reasons. I don’t think he realized I had important drinking to do or he would have never picked me (he is Irish after all), but I went along with him and told him all about The World Tour, where I was going and doing, and all about my blog. He completely unpacked my bag, having me show inside of all my lenses,checking out my computer, rummaged about my clothes and then when he was completely satisfied he helped me repack everything, took me to the front of the check-in line and asked for my blog address! I was impressed, at home they would have spread everything across the airport, all the time telling me not to talk, then left me to repack and wait in line all over. I grant Irish airport security two points!

After my big bag was settled I still had about three and a half hours until my flight, it had been raining so there wasn’t anywhere to hang out outside and kill time today before the airport, so I headed into a coffee shop to get this entry about the revised plan written up before I started in on my Guinness mission.

Guinness Mission:

Shit!

They cost 4.20euro a pint!

F

I’m short 0.10 cents

Two pints later (and about 40 minutes) I am still short 0.10 cents for my next pint, but I remember I still have some change from and assortment of countries in my daypack. I go a rummaging and what do I find? My perfect ten cent coin. The world is revolving around me today. Now if only my flight is this easy…. Oh, yeah I still have a couple of Akbar’s magic sleeping pills! The flight will be simple and come New York I should be ready for anything.

After a couple of Akbar’s magic pills, the flight was uneventful and I landed a mere six hours later at JFK. My friend from college, Jandiz, is letting me crash at her apartment for a few days and she had given me google worthy directions on how to make it from JFK to here house near 52nd st. and 9th ave. I took the Airtrain from JFK to Jamaica station then switched to the E train and headed into Manhattan. When I got to her place,no one was home so I gave her a call. Turns out she was still at work but another friend of mine from college, Megan, had a set a few blocks away. I hiked over there and hiked back, got into Jandiz’ place put my stuff down and showered.

It was only 10:30 and since Jandiz wasn’t supposed to be home until midnight, I went out to walk around and see whats so big about The Big Apple. After about 20 blocks I settled into a Thai restaurant for some noodles and salad and headed back to the apartment, exhausted, but excited to see my friend who  haven’t see in like 3 years. I sat on her couch and checked my email and bank accounts then just passed out. 30 minutes later I am woken up as the front door unlocks and Jandiz comes in to find me asleep on her couch. I wake up and we get to talking (and watching the Lakers game) about her job, my trip, pictures, the world, New York, and what we have each been up to for the last half decade. The night flew by and before I realized it, it was three in the morning and I was going to sleep.

It was a long ass day, and going from and Irish Breakfast to Security Checks, to Budgeting for Pints, to Flying across the ocean, to figuring out the New York train system, to wandering the Big Apple at night, to falling asleep to conversation with an old friend, really kind of takes it out of you.

Coming Down With Something

Day: 64

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This morning, to the sound of the kegs of Guinness being thrown into the pub basements, I awoke feeling like I was starting to come down with a little cold/headache. I had felt it creeping up on me for the last few days and I had been hoping it would just pass. I really don’t want to get any worse, so I decided to take it easy today and not try anything heavy. I started my morning of by writing and downloading pictures followed up by a little time on the internet and an early Irish lunch, that included the normal four types of potato (mashed, roasted, fries, boiled), cabbage and pork. Oh, and I even found the reason Ireland is so badass.

I had seen a movie theatre on the way to my hostel yesterday, so after lunch I headed over to see something. I ended up watching 16 Blocks (in a giant theater), then meandering back to my hostel to take a short nap. I was feeling better when I woke up, so I booked a tour for the next few days around the coast of Ireland and headed out to have a couple of pints and watch some live Irish music. The music and Guinness was great but after a couple of hours I set about trying to get some night shots of the River Liffey, Haypenny Bridge, and the Temple Bar area. I went back to the hostel and called it an early night around 10:30pm, hoping that tommorow I would feel better.

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robertpaetz

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