Ninety-six hours ago Tami and I stood on the platform of the W. 4th and 6th Ave. subway station in New York City. It was 2:00 a.m. and we'd just left Rich Janda's apartment after capping off a great night with some friends. Sherry and Luigi, Kenny Ray and Sharon, Nick, Rich and Tracy all joined for dinner at an excellent veggie restaurant on Union Square. Despite the camraderie, I felt an underlying unease and sadness. I wasn't sure what it was. It could have been little of the ever-present financial concerns. It could have been apprehension of large, imminent changes. It wasn't until we held each other on that platform in the chill morning air that the weight of the moment hit me. With a trembling voice, Tami whispered that this was the last night we'd spend in the United States for some time. I felt like crying, too.
We just finished a 5,200 mile drive from San Francisco to Michigan. Almost the entire route was filled with amazing sights and, most importantly, punctuated by visits with friends. The last stop before NYC was a five-day stretch at Tom and Jo Kladzyk's in Manchester, the climax of which was a rowdy (and bit messy) going away party. On February 13th we got up at 3:30 a.m. and, despite NYC getting its largest recorded snowfall ever, landed in Newark eight hours later.
We dumped our stuff in Brooklyn and headed into Manhattan to take care of our last minute errands. Somehow we managed to fit in a stop at the skating rink at Rockefeller Center to surreptitiously drink a 22 oz. Lagunitas IPA that we ferried all the way from San Francisco. It was worth the effort. We went down to meet everyone for dinner, went for a nightcap then headed back to Brooklyn. A fond farewell, indeed.
Now were here in Barcelona. My, my. This city's been near the top of my to-do list for a long, long time. It's great to be here for so many self-evident reasons: food, wine, nightlife, walking, architecture...and on, and on. I didn't realize, though, how being in Spain was going to tie together so many of my past trips. The other night it was late and we were walking back to the hotel. For a moment, as I absent-mindedly read the shop signs, I forgot where I was. We could have been in Caracas or Cusco or Mexico City or Havana. It could have been Guatemala City or Tegucigalpa. The last five foreign countries I've visited have been former Spanish colonies and I went to two others years ago. Now I'm here seeing the other side,the destination for all that wealth. It's odd that the only mention I've seen of ANY of them is posters at travel agencies.
More to come later. We miss you.
1 comment:
Hey Darin...
I'm feelin that last post. I think Tam hit it on the head. Went through some of the same emotions moving up to OR and away from so many wonderful folks. Stepping toward risk & unkown tends to have that effect.
We have been meeting some great people up here and making a place for ourselves. Owen is doing great. Really coming into his own. He's beautiful. Aura is doing great and looks like is going to be opening a small retail clothing store here in town. Very exciting.
Miss you so much and think of you often.
Hello to Tami and the rest of the world..... :)
-Will
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