Vacation

Alright! So I'm back from being on vacation for a week. Let's see what I can remember from my absence. We had a relatively late afternoon flight out of Memphis last Saturday. So had a somewhat rare leisurely pace at getting things ready. Boarded Horace at the vet. Yeah, then it's on the plane flying to Boston. The trip up went smoothly (in stark contrast to the trip back, of which there will be more on later...but I can't help throwing in a FUCK American Airlines, I'll say it again later but I guess right now I can't say it enough). We had a great sign when we first got to the Memphis airport. Almost right next to our terminal I found a goddamn Interstate Barbecue so we got some of that and ate that shit up. A nice note from the first leg of our trip, as we arrived in Charlotte, an older woman stopped by our seats to tell us she could tell Mary Beth and I like each other very much because we talked the whole flight. Oh, and getting on the plane to Boston, there was a girl who noticed my Moog shirt and talked about that (and Asheville) for a second.

Okay, so we arrive in Boston pretty late at night and pick up the rental car. There was just enough time to make it to the bar that Mary Beth wanted to go to: Drink. It's downtown pretty close to the airport so we went and found it and our first instinct was that we weren't gonna get in. There was a line, it was about an hour before closing, and we (really, I) were looking pretty schlubby. But we got on the list standing in the stairway and instead of being snobby and exclusive they were really nice and we did get in when there was an opening after not too long. At first we got a spot standing up near the back, but almost immediately a spot opened up at the actual bar and we got a seat there. Not only did we get a seat, but it ended up being right in front of where Mary Beth's bartender hero was working, the whole reason Mary Beth wanted to go to this particular establishment (she has a blog that Mary Beth loves and is probably her favorite bartender, I'd mention her name if I could remember it but I suck at names). Mary Beth wasn't even sure she'd be working when we were there, then when she saw her when we first came in was content to just see her from afar, but here we were right there in front of her. The bartender next to her was the one who ended up making our drinks (which were apparently good, my temperance drink was good but I'm easy). But then at the very end right as they were already closing and taking stuff down she asked Mary Beth if we wanted anything else so she did in fact get a drink from her! It was very exciting and I got to live through her excitement vicariously. And on the way out she was in the stairway and she got to even have a last special goodbye. Aw. Then off to find our hotel and sleep!

We got up early to have breakfast and do a little bit of Boston stuff before heading down to Cape Cod. So we ate a really good breakfast at this place called In House Cafe. Next we headed back downtown to go to the ICA museum. Finding a parking spot here was a bit of a bitch, but we eventually found a lot. It's right on the harbor so we hung outside for a bit and then went in. They're between exhibits in one half of the place so we didn't get the full experience, but there were two very excellent exhibits of these two artists. One was stuff by Liz Deschenes and it was all pretty damn amazing. Lots of painterly type stuff involving photochemical processes. Very minimal. Some monochromatic stuff, but some stuff with these dots in several layers of focus that's supposed to make your brain hurt and also I was sure was literally layered in multiple dimensions because I was sure it was changing as I moved, but it was all that optical illusion shit (but not quite what you'd think of when you think op-art, it was pretty awesome in a way that my descriptions could not do justice). The other exhibit was stuff by Nalini Malani. There was one time-lapse projection of a drawing being created on graph paper with each frame adding more and then going backwards with it disappearing again. The main attraction was an entire room exhibit with projections and sound and these paintings on these huge spinning plastic cylinders on the ceiling that cast shadows in the projections (and the projections were covering the entire room). It was pretty awesome and the music/sound was amazing. Since we got a partial view of the museum we were given free tickets to come back when it's fully open (too bad we won't be in Boston, but Mary Beth probably knows someone to give 'em to). So now that we had art taken care of, it was off to...record shop! The place I most wanted to see, Deep Thoughts, ended up being a dud. It was actually a corner in this hippieish flea market. It looked like they might have had some decent vinyl, but there wasn't much to be said for the cds. There's apparently another location and maybe that's a real store and it's better, I dunno. But it's right across the street from Cheapo Records so I went there. At first it didn't seem very good at all, but I eventually found the avant garde/experimental/noise section in a bunch of boxes below the shelf. So I went through them and found enough to satisfy my cravings: Aube: Cardiac Strain, The Hafler Trio: Masturbatorium, Merzbow: Tauromachine, Nurse with Wound: Automating Volume One, Nurse with Wound: Soliloquy for Lilith, Nurse with Wound: Rock'n Roll Station, Lee Ranaldo: Music for Stage and Screen, The Young Gods: L'eau Rouge, Harry Partch: The Harry Partch Collection Volume 4: The Bewitched, and Prurient: Black Vase. Had some other stores on my list, but figured I'd done well enough and we could get headed out on the road to Cape Cod!

Which we did. We ended up arriving at the house Mary Beth's parents rented earlier than expected. They were there and Judd and Jeanine and JR and Bailey (the usual crew, those other people being friends of the Magins from church, they babysit the kids a lot). Okay, so what do we do this first day on the cape? Not a whole lot. We probably went to the store and picked up a butt ton of Moxie. Our first full day on the cape would have been Monday. This was also a bit of a lazy, catch-up and relax day. We drove around a bit. Had some lobster rolls. Mary Beth made dinner for the whole family.

Tuesday was the first of our beach days. We had this plan of getting up real early (we actually did a lot of getting up real early this whole trip) so we could get to this beach we've always tried to go to and the lot is always full by the time we get to it. The beach was Nauset Light Beach. We ended up going to Nauset Beach and only realized our mistake too late. It was a good beach though. We got there plenty early as there was hardly anyone else there when we arrived. I enjoyed some waves and even saw a seal surface straight in front of me once. This beach visit did end up being the cause of much unpleasantness for me throughout the rest of the trip (and even still now). I got sunburned to fuck. Yes, I did slather sunscreen on myself several times. But I thought it'd be okay to be shirtless the whole time for some reason. We had a beach umbrella and I spent my time under that, lounging on a reclining lawn chair. The major damage was on my belly and I did get one side damaged worse as the sun moved and creeped in just a bit on my right side to singe it before I got up and followed the shade. But the shade I guess still didn't do that much. Anyway, ugh it was pretty bad and, as I said, I'm still burnt (though the damage is shrinking). Anwyway, it's post break-up time so I'll end here for the time being.

More Cod

Okay, so there I am starting to turn lobster red where my shirt usually is (the full color came on later that evening). Well, it was a good time at the beach. The waves were nice. We had clam fritters from the shack down the way. We were there a good while. I knew I was burnt by the end, but later back at the house was where I took a nap and then woke up to the bright red. Okay, I've drilled in that point enough. New subject.

On Wednesday we had planned a second beach day, but the weather was supposed to be not so good so we shifted plans and let that be the day we went with Mary Beth's parents to Wellfleet. First we went over to the dune/beach to walk around. Though Mary Beth's dad misread the parking sign and ended up with a ticket when we got back. Mary Beth and I walked onto a little sand island in the ocean. There were a few drops of rain but we were back in the car by the time it started to come down more. Then back into the town part we went to this restaurant called Pearl. It was good timing because then it really started to pour. We were on this patio area that was covered in a tent. I had a hamburger with fried oysters on it (Wellfleet oysters, from the dock just a few yards away) and it was spectacular. And it rained a good while while we were under there enjoying lunch. And then back to the house to spend the rest of the day pretty low key hanging out.

Thursday was a pretty big day with Mary Beth and me. We were up early again and we did make it to Nauset Light Beach. Mary Beth spent a good time in the water. I was still sun burnt of course so I stayed out of the water. I kept my shirt on (actually two shirts 'cuz I had on another special uv-something-or-other shirt on over my regular shirt). I will say this about my sun mishap on Tuesday, I was good about my legs, as I was laying down with them sticking out I kept a blanket covering them most of the time so they avoided burns. Well, I repeated that success again. I also wore a hat and made sure even more hardcore to stay in the shade of the umbrella. I did a much better job and no more burns were acquired. The day was predicted to be a scorcher and that turned out true. It was really hot. I lay on the beach reading most of the time. The beach wasn't QUITE as near-empty as the other day we went, but it wasn't too far off, you know, when we first got there and by the time we left I think the lot had gotten full. So our next step was to spend the rest of the day in Provincetown! It's probably my favorite part of the cape. So nice right there at the very end but it's almost like a city. First thing when we get there we notice Tim's Books, a used bookstore that I remember being pretty sweet from a previous visit. It was pretty sweltering and it was nice to get in out of the heat into ac. Well, I picked up a few books: Alphabetical Afridca by Walter Abish, A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr, Aké: the Years of Childhood by Wolfe Soyinka, The Pilgrim Hawk by Glenway Wescott, The Shadow-Line by Joseph Conrad, Castle to Castle by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, and The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson. Okay, gonna take another break right here!!!

The End, I Think

Okay, we're back out into the hot sun in Provincetown looking for a place to eat. We first try this place called Burger Queen mostly 'cuz Mary Beth had seen a picture of the sign and laughed at it 'cuz the titular logo held a milkshake in her hair. There was no indoor though, just picnic benches and it was mostly burgers anyway so we thought we'd find something a little more special. I found this place called The Canteen. Well, we ended up eating outside there too, but it was in the back, facing the sea with nice breezes and nice shade and it actually ended up being very nice back there. The food was pretty damn great. We both had cod bahn mis! I ended up getting a brilliant drink concoction: an arnold palmer with mint tea. It was very refreshing and delicious! A little walking around but not much. We went into an art gallery that had some nice stuff that we couldn't afford but enjoyed looking at. We also learned about a certain technique of Japanese woodblock printing called moku-hanga that we'd never heard of before (something to do with separate wood cuttings for each color...but I'm looking it up and it seems like moku-hanga is just the general term for woodblock in Japanese? I don't know...hm...). As we were leaving the parking lot, the woman taking our ticket noted that I must be hot (sweat was just cascading off my face, I'm pretty sure having sunscreen on my skin makes it sweat more and I can be pretty sweaty). While we were in the area we tried one last beach: Herring Cove (one Mary Beth enjoyed last time). She liked it before because it was really cold, it was also the first one we went to last time. This time we went later in the day and it was warmer. An observation from the trip, whichever beach we go to first in the day is probably going to seem coldest (of note because Mary Beth LOVES cold water, me less so but I can take it). This time I got another arnold palmer at the concession stand and stayed at a picnic table reading while she enjoyed the water. Okay, nice long and successful day now back to the house. Later at night I finished reading A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (which I started when we started the trip as I didn't want to drag along the book I was currently reading, that newish Burroughs biography, as it's a ginormous hardback that didn't feel particularly well-suited to travel). I'll say this was an excellent goddamn book.

So thus rounded out a pretty laid-back but eventful and successful trip to Cape Cod. We headed back to Boston Friday morning taking the scenic route. We made good time and got to the airport early and all that. Okay, we're going to wait for our flight. Good show. Then it's all happening, great. Get on the plane. Get ready to take off! Yeah! Let's go home! Some announcements about weather and rerouting. Okay. Set back a few minutes, fine. Taxi some. Get out on that runway. More announcements. More wait. More announcements. Bad news. Worse news. Much time is wasted out there. They said all flights to La Guardia (where our layover was to be) were cancelled because there was some rain somewhere. Well, we can't stay out in the runway any longer. Back to the airport. The pilot's telling us there might be delay and the flight will go out later, but fellow passengers are looking online and seeing the flight is flat-out cancelled. We get to the gate and yeah it's cancelled. We're all in line to figure out what to do. Many people are on their phones. I call American Airlines to see if talking to a rep that way is faster than waiting to talk to the person at the gate. It is but they're not helpful and borderline rude. I get transferred to the supervisor who just tells me she can't accommodate my hotel if I have to stay the night because it was cancelled because of "weather" (COMPLETELY OUT OF THEIR CONTROL!) and they don't do that and I'll have to talk to someone in person at the airport (the first of many toss-offs of responsibility to just get rid of having to deal with me). So a bit later I get up to the guy and express frustration that we'll have to wait a whole nother day to get home and try to see if there's something that can be done. Oh, and get this. They tell me that there's only ONE more AA flight leaving Boston that night (it's like 4-something, maybe 5 at this point or some shit) and of course that single flight left for a Friday night in Boston is full. Okay, anyway this guy tells me I can try getting put on standby as there's a flight that can connect in Charlotte and go to this certain gate and he's putting us on the standby list. He said the list is already long and I know it's a long-shot but we're stuck so why not try? We make it over there and when someone finally shows up at the gate and I talk to her I find out we were never even put on the list. I ask if she can do it, she takes our boarding passes and says to wait. She seemed really concerned that some other guy said he'd put us on this list but didn't. Well so we wait and yeah, still our names never even make it on the list. I'm sure it wouldn't've done any good as there were many names on the list that didn't make it (though actually there were quite a few that did), but just the principle of saying you're going to and then not even bothering. Just keeping us stuck there 'cuz we have to wait and you have our passes and you didn't do shit. So there were are at Logan airport, stuck. Now it's after 7 and our new flight leaves at 11 the next morning and we're still in fucking Boston. It was either find an expensive hotel last minute or just stay all fucking night at the airport (which we'd been at since a little after noon, which would make the whole stay almost 24 hours). I made some calls and we found an expensive hotel with a shuttle that was a little less expensive than others (including the one right next to the airport that was full anyway). So not only do we have to waste time, but we have to put down a good bit of money just to sleep because of stingy American fucking Airlines. The worst part wasn't even our plight. But I was scheduled to pick up Horace from the vet the next day and they close at noon (and are closed Sundays) so I was sure it'd mean he'd be stuck at the vet for two extra nights (which was breaking my heart for the poor boy, that didn't end up being a problem, but it could have been).

They had kept our checked-in luggage so we didn't have any toiletries, but we were able to get enough to get by from the hotel. The bed was comfortable and we were able to sleep. We were able to shower. Those were all pluses. I don't know if my sunburned body could have taken much sitting in the same clothes in an uncomfortable airport chair all night/day. So it sucked but the hotel was worth it (given the shit situation, shituation?). Well, we get up early and make it to the airport relatively early for the flight. Mary Beth tried to check in the night before online but got some weird shit with not being able to pick any seats. We get in and it seemed to go okay with the seats. We got assigned seats except the second leg of the trip Mary Beth had something on her ticket saying there was no seat assigned (mine had one). We're worried about the worst. We're boarding the first plane and I get stopped up with what seemed to be an issue with my ticket. The attendant kept going over something on her computer screen and then talking to the other attendants about it. I was getting ready to go off if they said I couldn't be on the flight. It ended up being a dumb thing where Mary Beth's and my seats were switched on the ticket from what they were in the computer. Anyway, that ended up being a briefly bit of meaningless confusion. The flight ended up going on time and we made it to the Philadelphia airport, took the shuttle to terminal F (which looks to be the original airport, servicing smaller planes and being older and smaller and quite charming) where our next flight was. Thankfully Mary Beth just showed her weird ticket and they had her new ticket with a real seat ready to go. We weren't sitting next to each other for this part of the journey, but we were just glad to fucking be making it home. And we did make it home! Our luggage had arrived ahead of us the night before. Oh, and earlier in the day I called the vet to let them know about my travel setback. She told me that I could do an after-hours pickup for an additional fee between 5 and 5:30 (which I'm sure was less than the cost of boarding him another whole day...really two days). We made good time and were home before 4. So I was able to get my wonderful Meow Man. He lived up to his name! So much to say in the car back and at home for a good while. Poor boy. But he's been very happy to see me and affectionate and he seems very healthy and in good shape so I'm pretty happy about that. He must have heard me typing about him. He literally just bounded into this room meowing at me. He's still meowing. I had a bit of mail waiting for me when I got home. I'd ordered this cd online while we were out of town trying to time it so it wouldn't get here before I did (which I seemed to time perfectly as it arrived today): The Body: All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood (especially excited 'cuz it's out of print and been kinda hard to track down and I think it was just last week that it popped up on discogs for like two or three hundred bucks, ugh, that shit makes you think there's no chance, but then it popped up maybe a week later for a normal price so I snagged it, well, after waiting a few days as I literally got THAT notification the day we left town). Anyway, good to be back home. And to see Trudy too. She had the house to herself and she seems to have been a pretty good girl. Alright, time to wrap this up. Oh, and I didn't even talk about the fight I got in with my dad over the phone while out of town. I'll save that for later. And anything else I may have missed in these gigantic chunks of logorrhea.