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22 November 2009
The Journey So Far
For a brief summary of our global circling to date, we departed from Boston for Montreal on the 4th of November after a knuckle-whitening drive from Narragansett thanks to Shirley. It was not she who was driving but I who was convinced that we were going to miss our flight. Shirley drove the vehicle back to Rhode Island, and, as it turned out, we were the only ones checking into Air Canada and almost the only ones going through airport security and, consequently, had a good hour's wait at the departure gate.
Montreal had its chilly moments but is beautiful and we had a round of culinary delights night after night – even though we were convinced we had been exposed to the flu. This last, however, did not deter us or slow us much down. We had a lovely evening at Restaurant Torque (one of my long-standing favourites) with Wendy and Doug, and a succession of other cuisine moments with friends and loved ones. The American Academy of Religions meeting itself was a good one, and in particular the Contemporary Pagan Studies sessions were well attended, generated good discussion and confirmed yet again that we have come of age. And the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a total treat. We visited it twice. The sumptuous, mythic Waterhouse paintings are incredible.
One additional delight out of many was our dinner at Laloux. After a prolonged saga of frightening illness and tortuous but eventual recovery, Chickie and Paul drove up from their get-away in Vermont for a reunion. She is looking great, and it was a wonderful moment. (Also a great restaurant).
And of course, all good thing must come to an end – but not before a fun Chairs' Reception where we hassle to find another Section, Group or Consultation with which to organize a joint session the following year. But as spouses come along – whether the official intention or not – Richard and Doug joined us, and Kurt brought up nostalgic memories of China and our escape there from the pyramid.
And then we found ourselves in San Francisco and a succession of lovely times with Iana & Mechelle and our granddaughters Piper Kincaid and Dylan Rose – visiting the California Academy of Sciences, with Don & Robert, with Richard (indulging on a Friday the 13th in an old favourite shamanic tour of our beloved City by the Bay), with Gary & Stef (Aqua, and brunch & more Golden Gate Park with Ron & Roger) and Becky's in Oakland for a fabulous meal with Liz, Leonard, Carol, Peter & Jason, Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista Café, Don & Robert again (Fringale's – a great treat) and then finally Rosalie came home from Japan, and we shared her lovely bamboo-surrounded townhouse with her until we left on Friday the 20th but not before an evening with our beloved Saint Lynne and meeting her Sally and a final evening at Perbacco's with Rosie and three rounds of Chip's outstanding negronis. We also had short but fine moments with Wylie and Eric.
The plane from EssEff to LAX was over three hours delayed, but thanks to Swamiji's intervention and Laxmi's self-sacrifice, we were able still to visit Lois (lpaganus) at the Del Amo Gardens and end up with Marlowe (no green bananas) in San Diego. Ricardo's phone call at 05:00 was most unexpected. At first I thought it was Marlowe's phone, but when I realized it was mine I then could not find it until it was too late. The message concerning the work on the house in Amsterdam was that it has proceeded surprisingly well, and even my neighbour Pierre (whom we encountered as last time in San Francisco once again most by surprise there) has been surprised by the restoration and improvements. Another surprise has been that I can access email purely wirelessly here in San Diego, so I was also able to phone Ricardo back and, in the process, also got to talk to Chantal on her birthday.
Today has been low-key. Richard and I swam laps in the pool, we talked to John in Glasgow, and later Marlowe took us to Mission Beach. Like most of California, even if it is sinking into bankruptcy, San Diego is beautiful. We are here now through the weekend and then transfer to Palm Springs to celebrate Thanksgiving. The 'big flight' (to Melbourne) is Saturday, a week from today. We hope to visit once again with Lois and then have a kick-off time with Paul and Jonne-Marie.
Needless to say, it has been exhausting and most likely will continue to be so, but I feel utterly privileged to have this opportunity to visit and explore our world, to have time with so many truly lovely people, to have the supporting partnership I do, and, as Liz put it, to have my dreams fulfilled. The adventure continues; stay tuned.
With love,
Michael