Flight to New York

So, i guess this is blog Part II. I’m about 5 hours into my flight to New York and bored out of my mind, because the plane doesn’t have a little screen in the back of the seat in front. There are screens hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the plane, but I’ve got a window seat. I can’t see a 1/3^rd of the screen, because the overhead lockers are in the way. At the moment they’re showing some American cooking show called Top Chef Masters, so I’m not missing much.

I promised last time that I’d explain a bit more of my plans for the next few months. Unfortunately (or at least it feels that way at the moment) getting to New York isn’t the end of my travelling today. After clearing immigration at JFK, I have to head straight back to the departure lounge to get on an almost equally long flight to San Diego. I should get to the hostel by about 10pm local time, so I’m going to feel like it’s five in the morning.

After that, I’m pretty much taking things as they come. I’ve got three nights booked in San Diego to explore and get my bike put back together. At the moment it’s boxed up in the hold, thanks to Woodrups Cycles on Kirkstall Road (bit of free advertising there, but they have been good to me over the last couple of months). Wheeling a four foot long box around Manchester airport on a trolley this morning was fun. Particularly the spectacularly uneven pavements that had me diving in all directions to keep everything upright. Fingers crossed there won’t be any damage when I come to put it back together!

On Tuesday I set off north up the coast of California. I should be in LA for next weekend, which will be interesting. I’ve discovered that Far have reformed and are playing in LA next Friday. Always had them down as a band I was never going to get to see, so I’m really looking forward to it. Nada Surf are playing there next Wednesday, but, unless LA vastly exceeds my fairly low expectations, I have a feeling I’ll be gone by then.

From there I head on up to San Francisco, before turning inland through Nevada and Utah and climbing up into the Rockies in Colorado for some refreshing mountain air (and local beer). After that I turn north following the mountains up into Wyoming and Montana, which promises to be beautiful, before finally turning West again through Idaho and Oregon. I fly back from Portland in the middle of August, but that’s 1000s of miles and 90 days away.

As that probably wouldn't have meant anything to me until I started planning this trip, here it is on a (Paint edited) map.

In fact, it’s exactly 90 days, because that’s how long I’m allowed to be in the US without a visa. A fact that was pointed out to me (as if I’d chosen 90 days as a coincidence) during one of the seven different security checks I had to pass through to get on the plane this morning.

It was a strange feeling saying bye to Jess (my flatmate, for anyone who doesn’t know) this morning, because I’m not sure the idea of going away for three months has really hit me yet. I’ve spent so long preparing that it all just feels a bit unreal. Thanks very much to everyone for their good luck messages over the last couple of days.

Andy