d u d e r n e t

Hello, Florida; Goodbye, Handful Of Southern States I Will Probably Never Visit Again

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A blissfully easy drive today, from Baton Rouge through the rest of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before crossing into my new state. Now all that's left is the 7 (or so)- hour journey to Hollywood and my home for now.

I sadly left Texas without partaking in the Taco Cabana, at which I planned to hugely over-order, so as to savor its goodness for many miles. Alas. My body thanks the Taco Cabana executives who stayed largely off the East Texas I-10 corridor.

The highlight of the trip was certainly my two days in Austin. One spent relaxing and another spent drinking with great people, listening to great music and eating great food. It was so much fun to see Laura again, and it was as if we'd gone out the day before... not let nine years pass without seeing each other.

By the way, if you find you find yourself in Austin, make it your duty to see whoever is playing at the Mohawk, which is, without doubt, the most fabulous bar I've ever set foot in, anywhere in this country of ours. Plus, Lone Star tall-boys. Just saying.

Anyhoo. I should get to bed, but as Borat is on the telly, that seems unlikely. Enjoy the crappy photo of Louisiana swampland/marshland/bay/ocean/whatever I snapped while driving yesterday. It's really a shame it's so hard to take good pictures while driving.

On the road again (and again, and again)

AUSTIN -- Well, a week later than planned, and after the big show has long since ended, here I am... the result of a grueling drive from El Paso that started this morning and ended only a few hours ago. (I shudder to think what kind of mess I'd be if I'd done the originally-planned Tucson-to-Austin drive last week.)

I'm staying an extra night here, to better absorb a little Austin nightlife on Saturday, and to have time to lunch and drink with my good buddy Laura, who I haven't seen since shortly after my San Antonio stint ended. Then it's off to New Orleans for a night (or probably two), and then, finally, Florida. Home sweet 3,300-miles-later  home.

A quick recap of the trip so far:

Day One: Drive from home to Palm Springs was surprisingly painless, as I hit the road early enough to avoid both Sacramento morning rush-hour traffic and L.A.-area afternoon rush-hour traffic.

Day Two: Shortest drive of the trip, a leisurely jaunt to Scottsdale, to see the Cubs play the Giants in a sold-out Spring Training game. (Cubs win! Cubs win!) Good times, but pretty crap crowd. Maybe that's typical of spring games; maybe not. Lots of Cubs fans, and a great, great seat (two rows behind Chicago dugout; to get an idea of how close that was, the above photo was taken while seated, with a short [85mm] lens).

Day Three: Longish, and full-of-nothing drive to El Paso, free of traffic 'til I actually hit El Paso itself. Of course my hotel was on the east side of town, so I sat through about an hour of stop-and-go after flying through Arizona and New Mexico. Cheapest gas of the trip came in Arizona: $3.09/gallon. Also most expensive cigarettes at a 7/Eleven: $5.59/pack.

Day Four: The aforementioned way-too-long drive here, and mostly I blame Google Maps for directing me to take what surely was not the fastest route by spending the last 110 miles on a teeny mostly-two-lane "highway" from I-10 to Austin. Cripes. But now I shall spend tomorrow nursing my driving-related shoulder injury by the pool and in bars.

Fire sale

Expect these low, low prices at the Monte Carlo to, er, come down a bit.

(Too soon?)

UPDATE: Clearly, Louie Anderson is to blame:

From high atop the MGM

Back home just long enough to catch my breath (and clear various and sundry camera memory cards), I'm off to Florida for a few days on Sunday.

But not before sharing a couple pictures of the happy birthday couple in Vegas. Enjoy! I shall post from the beach next week... Promise.

That's 1-800-522-4700

SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - In about an hour, I'll get on a plane bound for Las Vegas (well, actually, bound for San Francisco, where I'll then board a plane bound for Vegas), for Kevin's 30th birthday festivities. (You may know it was WendtFest or @vegas30. The cops may know it as That Night Those Losers Went to Jail or perhaps Just Another Day that Ends in "Y.")

Updates here aren't likely to be popping up during the trip, but the tweets will be flying from all involved. Good time to join up with the Twitter if you haven't already.

Nothing like going to Vegas when you're unemployed, that's what I always say!

Delaying the inevitable

LONDON STANSTED - As if the 5 a.m. wakeup wasn't painful enough, my Maxjet flight to LAX is delayed by three hours. (Here's hoping it stays just three hours...)

But, since my glass of vodka and tonic water is half full in the departure lounge right now, here are some photos of the beautiful sunrise I watched from the airport, while smoking my last cigarette 'til tonight (sigh).

One more day in an expensive paradise

LONDON - Well, just back from the theatre, where I saw an interesting (though not exactly riveting) play called The Giant at the Hampstead Theatre. (Hey, it included some spectacular male nudity, if nothing else.)

Tomorrow is probably my biggest day here, and I hesitate to write about it, in case it should turn out to be a complete disaster. But, hey, fingers crossed. I've scheduled two portrait shoots in a studio in East London -- my first time with studio lighting and my first time photographing people I don't know. It's terrifying in a way perhaps not many of you understand, and in a way it wouldn't be, probably, for most people.

But, I figure, if I'm going to overcome this gaping chasm in my photography portfolio, why not do it here, and in a big way? I've conversed a bit with both models, and I've been assured the studio staff are more than happy to show me the lighting ropes before we get started, so all should be well, but it's still more than a little nerve-wracking. I'll share the results here tomorrow. Think good thoughts.

The light at the end of the tunnel (in addition to, hopefully, some great photographs) is that I'll be home on Monday. Home, home. I can't wait. Really.

Scenes of exhaustion

LONDON - I'm taking a day "off" from my holiday, which sounds odd perhaps, but I've been going non-stop since landing here on Friday - and will be doing more of that tomorrow and Sunday. So, last day in my current hotel before moving to a hostel tomorrow, and I'm relaxing, re-packing, editing boatloads of photos from the past week, and catching up on the $30/day high-speed internets.

I depart for the U.S. on Monday, and land in L.A. that afternoon, with a connecting flight that'll put me in Sacramento Monday evening, not a moment too soon. I can't wait to stop living from a suitcase. I know I was actually living in Bangkok, but it really just feels like I've been traveling for the last four months. And I do love traveling, but I'm past my limit, I think.

Photo above is from a day out with the tilt/shift lens I rented for the trip. Fun! (But sadly could not bring it into Wembley, which is the whole reason I brought it. Not fun!) Will update Flickr soon, so check there for more London pics over the next few days.

Eleven hours and counting

Precisely 11 hours from when I'm starting this post, my plane will be taking off, bound (ultimately) for London. I'm enjoying my last night in Bangkok at the airport hotel (a fancy Novotel affair), since my hour journey from central Bangkok would take even longer in morning traffic. Cross your fingers for a smooth trip, and an airline employee's ability to overlook my overweight baggage.

A lot is going through my head, but I'll share with you the most trivial. As I'm flying Ethiad Air, with a connection in Abu Dhabi, everyone's favorite Siamese cat, Nermal (above), has been on the brain. Oh, Garfield. You can't ship Nermal to Abu Dhabi!

Progress, slow and steady

By trimming my wardrobe by more than half (I'd post a picture, but it's too painful to record), I've found a way to fit all my clothes in one giant suitcase.

That leaves the other giant suitcase for non-clothing items, which seems do-able. I've gotten rid of all my DVD and CD packaging, bringing home just the discs, and parted with many books I've already read, but had heretofore  refused to discard. That leaves a handful of travel guidebooks, several large photography books which wouldn't be easy to replace, and five pairs of shoes.

Hopefully, once I really pack everything for the trip tomorrow or Thursday, I'll be able to rescue some of the clothes I thought wouldn't fit. But in the meantime, at least it appears I won't be hauling an oversized garbage bag on the plane. The tricky part is, I want to leave a little space in my luggage for whatever I pick up on the London trip.

Sigh. It'll be so good to be home, once all this is over with.