Monday 24/11/14

Strange sleep deprived state somewhere over the pacific ocean…
5 o’clock uk time. I have only managed snatches of near-sleep since my last full night saturday night.

I left my flat in a taxi at 2am, knowing that on my return Spring would be well on her way, the purple crocuses exploding though the lawn providing hope of warmth soon to come.

I photographed a friend’s wedding on saturday, as her official photographer. I intended to complete editing the images before leaving but was only halfway through when I realised that if I didn’t stop and actually pack my bags it would actually be too late. I put to good use the waiting time to check in at Manchester airport, the several hour wait for a connecting flight from Heathrow and also some of the flight time and can now declare the photographs fully edited. Done and dusted at 30,000 feet.

Looking out the window to my right i can see a warm haze at horizon level and what appears to be an expanse of frozen ice below, marked with rivulets, tributaries and texture. It is impossible to judge scale.

A slightly quirky synchronicity…the woman sitting on the other side of the empty seat to my left is returning home to California. She is reading ‘The Two Towers’ by J.R.R. Tolkien. I met Tolkien’s grandson at my friend’s wedding on Saturday. True story. He was standing in for his brother who was the best man yet too ill to make it on the the day. How bizarre. In a lovely gesture of kindness she asked for my contact details saying that there will definitely be people she knows from her church who would love to host Emma and I for Thanksgiving if we have no plans…bless.

I realise that when I land it will be mid-afternoon so I will have several more hours of awake time before I can right my body-clock with a nice long sleep. To be fair, I reckon the excitement of being in San Francisco alone will serve as a natural stimulant…

Happily, I got away with bungeeing my A3 Art folder to my smaller rucksack & checking them in as one piece of luggage. Meant I just carried on my little guitar in it’s rucksack case as hand luggage. Had to leave the Shamanic drum at home…there’s only so much one can carry! Make sense to have the guitar with me as it will encourage me to practice and learn.

I meet up with Emma – my travel partner for the foreseeable – at the airport. She is flying in today from Salt Lake CIty, Utah where she has been for a week painting a mural for a friend. It is somehow simultaneously surreal and amazing yet feels completely natural to see her here. When we first met at the end of summer last year I got an unusually vivid ‘knowing’ that we would travel together. I could just feel it, almost ‘see’ it…us road-tripping somewhere, the freedom of the open road and wide horizons. At the time I knew not where or when, but just that it was an indisputable fact that it would happen. Fourteen months later it is happening *grin*.

We travel on the airtrain at the airport, missing our stop so go around again in a loop. It gives a great perspective of the city. It’s so beautiful here. People are so friendly too. We are staying at the Fisherman’s Wharf hostel right on the harbour. It is surrounded by a large green area with trees, some large mature pines…one of which I climb on the return from our mission out for delicious Thai food. Now we are turning in after a long day of travelling….looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings…waking up in San Francisco, yes!