Who would have ever thought that I would be entitling a post, ‘Bible Thoughts’? That was a rhetorical question, I’m quite sure no one bothers to spare thoughts on what I might title my blog posts. Frankly I’m rather surprised when anyone claims to have even read it. I’m downright flabbergasted when they’re telling the truth. But onto the good book.
So I’m about 10 days into my month-long bible-thon. Before I address my thoughts on the bible itself (and yes I will have audacity to critique the Bible at some point), I wanted to talke about my personal experience so far reading it.
First of all, let me say it has been grueling. To try and read the entire thing in one month I have been trying to go at about fifty pages a day. That’s really hard. My best guess is that I have been spending about three and a half hours a day reading. It’s been hard to fit it in. Since leaving Dunedin my days have been filled with a lot of driving and a lot of hiking. I’ve done a few two day hikes and some other walks. The Southern Alps of New Zealand is an amazing place and I continue to be struck by the contrasts I find in the scenery; Rainforest to cascading waterfalls, black sand beach to Alpine Glaciers. It is difficult for my to read in the car because I’m often driving, the drives are scenic and there are distractions abound, and the roads are windy and I’ve never had a strong stomach so it’s rare that I get much done in the car. This all means that vast majority of my spare time has been spent reading.
Also it ain’t exactly Harry Potter, the pages don’t just fly by. Don’t let anyone tell you that the Old Testament is a bunch of sexy fire and brimstone stuff. In fact I haven’t even come across the work Brimstone and I’m about half the way through the OT. The first five books, often know as the Torah or the Law was downright brutal. Virtually devoid of story except for the first half of Exodus and some of Deuteronomy it is mostly Geneologies (i.e. blah son of blah had these sons…) the Law, and censuses. The Law is just as bad most of the time. Although it has the commandments and some other interesting things it is mostly very specific instructions on how to make sacrifices to God, hold celebrations, and make yourself clean. It was dull and repetitive and difficult to get through.
Since then it has gotten better, the histories came after that and they were come and go okay. It was interesting reading about David and Solomon because they are referenced so often even today. So it was better and there were some legitimate stories. Still it was at times very repetitive, with even the same verbatim passages being repeated in different books. Getting through fifty pages (were not talking Dr. Seuss pages either, they pack the words in this thing, no pictures either) was still a challenge. Only recently has it been easier as I got into Psalms. However, I think that is mostly attributed to the fact that the verse style writing uses less words per page.
Also I find that I have never been more conscious of other people while reading than I have ever been before. There are few books as evocative as the Bible and I can’t help but wonder what people think when they see me reading it. It has forced me to be realistic about what I would expect of the type of person I saw reading a Bible mid-day on a park bench. Mostly I try to avoid notice; read off by myself, place it face down when I’m not reading it. This is partly because I don’t really have much interest in hearing people talk about the Bible. I don’t enjoy discussing faith unless it is with someone I know well and I have found myself drawn into ‘conversations’ where I am forced to listen to some self-righteous twenty-something tell me that Mother Theresa and the Pope should be held accountable for genocide because of their stance on contraception. I make a point not to go out of my way to say that I am not religious, but if someone asks why I am reading it I explain that it is an act of scholarship. Some people find it admirable, others are simply baffled that I would bother.
Still as much as I would like to believe I separate myself purely to avoid distraction or annoyance, if I’m honest there is something else. I’m kind of embarrassed. Although I have done my best to disabuse myself of contempt and marginalizing of organized religion and it’s devotees I find I still don’t like the idea of someone assuming I’m a devout Christian. I’ve had people think I was seventeen, gay, or even Canadian and none of those bothered me. It would appear I am not as devoid of that prejudice as I may have thought.
It’s not all negative though. There are some moments when reading the Bible evokes of a feeling to match the uniqueness of it’s place in the history of the world. For so many people it was the only book they owned or even the only one they would ever read and that means something. There are times like when I was by myself in my tent. It was a bit cold and rainy, and although I was in the tent because I wanted the solitude, I’ve always been comfortable in the company of my own thoughts, my mind started drifting to people I missed. I was a bit bored and not quite tired yet and knew that I didn’t do myself any good thinking of people I wished were there. So I pulled out my Bible. It’s not as if I went to some favorite passage or a section that I knew was appropriate, I just picked up where I left off. In that moment I was forced to wonder how many people had found themselves maybe a little cold, a little lonely, a little in need of comfort (if only comfort from boredom as in my case) and the only thing they could think to do was pick up there Bible. Maybe I’m forcing the issue but I felt on some level greater connected to humanity’s past at that moment in a way I haven’t from reading Shakespeare or Chaucer or Homer.
There’s something there.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Dunedin and the written word
Just left the city of Dunedin, one of the southern most cities in the world. A pleasant place with a rich Scottish heritage. I was there for about four days and other than an amazing night trip to see little blue penguins (the smallest penguin in the world) up close and it the wild my time there was mostly focused around the written word, either mine own or others.
I have been traveling with 1-4 other people for a while now. Recently it has been at least three or four. I love my friends and value them more than I can express right now. Still, for me being with people all the time is trying. I don't know why, I can do it and enjoy it, but every once in a while I simply need a break. Dunedin afforded this. Generally the other four stayed together and I sort of did my own thing for most of the days. Aside from some minor site seeing and a trip to the Otago museum (quality for a city of under 150,000) that mostly meant either things related to reading or writing.
I appreciate New Zealand more than any country save the one of my birth. Still most of it is in serious want of a good used-book store. I happen to have a healthy appreciation for a good used-book store. Even an average one for that matter. So far though, since I have left Wellington I have been unimpressed. Most of the places I run into are filled 80% with paperback trash. Most of it either romance novels or unsaleable crap. Gems can be found, at least in fiction. I tracked down a nice little copy of 'Gulliver's Travels' (Swift), which I rather unfortunately lost part the way through. I then found and made reasonable work of a nice hardback copy of 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' (Dickens). Since I finished that about a week ago I was without a book of my own and had been borrowing others. I read a clever little paperback call 'Lamb' (Moore) which reminded my of an old ambition (we'll get to that). Mostly I have been dying to read some non-fiction, something I haven't done in a while. Non-fiction is really hard to find in used-bookstores.
I was excited to learn that Dunedin had a reputation for having quality book shops and had a couple recomended to me by a book store owner in a small town I had recently been in. I stopped in a few and bought three books at one of the shops, a proper book-shop called Scribes. It was perhaps the most disparate three books I've ever bought.
First was The History of Europe by J.M. Roberts the author of the single volume history of the world I read a little over a year ago.
Second was 'The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things' (Mackler) a generally critically aclaimed work of fiction ... aimed at adolescent girls. I love Young Adult literature and as I hope to write a YA novel, its 1 part research, 1 part fun.
Third is The Bible (God?). I've been meaning to do this one for a little while now. Since I bought it a number of people have asked me why. I'm not religious, though to be fair I have long since disaubused myself of my teenage angst anti-organized religion condescension. No this isn't an act of faith by of scholarship. It is important to me that I continue to learn and become a well rounded person academically, even outside of school (where I never learned much anyway). So why the Bible? Well regardless of your personally feelings on it's contents the Jewish/Christian Bible is the most influencial book, most influencial thing ever written. I could expand on why that is but I couldn't effectively tackle the subject in 1,000 or even 10,000 words. Instead I will leave it one statement: The Bible is overwhelmingly the most read book in the history of the world. If for now other reason that demands that it be read by anyone wishing to better understand our world.
But I'm going one step further. The copy of the bible that I purchased had amongst other helpful bits a guide reading the Bible in one year. If went day by day with 365 check boxes along with passages, in order that you would need to read each day to finish it in a years time. I scoffed, a year. Who needs a year to read the Bible. I know it's long, but come on. So one of my friends asked me how long I thought it would take me. I said I didn't know exactly, but I bet I could do it in a month if I really wanted to. The topic was discussed, they said I wouldn't do it. Too much time, too boring. Never one to back to down from a challenge (often as not to my detriment) I said I'd do it. So that's the plan, the entire Bible in a month. I'm on day three. It's already harder than I thought it would be but I'm ahead of pace. Still it will be tough to keep up. To do this I have to spend around 3 hours a day reading it. I've read Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus so far, I'm on Numbers. Unfortunately aside from the first half of exodus this isn't exactly the most fun part to read. Theres virutally no story most of the time and it lacks the poetry of some of the later works. Still, I persevere. I think it's good that I am doing it this way. By reading it in a month I won't be too far removed from Genesis by the time I'm reading Revalations. It should help get the whole scope of the thing. At least for short time. I'm not going to save any thoughts on the material for now.
When I wasn't buying books or reading them I was writing. I spent a few hours writing that travel piece below and the rest of the time finishing the first draft of my first Novella. I think I've mentioned it here in the past but not for a long time. It is about a seventeen year old that gets a job washing dishes at an Italian restaraunt in San Francisco. It is inspired by my experience working at a restaraunt and some of the people I worked with. It is however by no means autobiographical, it is very much a work of ficiton. When it started it was supposed to be a short stort, about 7500 words, but I quickly realized that I would need something much larger for the scope of what was in my head. My expectations changed enough times that I stopped trying to predict the lenght and and just let it go. At the end of the first draft it's just over 35,000 words, but will likely get a little longer in revision. I had taken a break at around 22,000 words because I was traveling around a lot, but also because I had lost sense of where it was going and didn't know how to end it. Dunedin seemed to be the muse I needed. I wrote for hours a day over the next few days and surprised even myself by competing it. I'm generally pretty happy with the ending. I'm also proud of myself. I've worked hard on this and it's a big stepping stone for me as a writer. It is the longest, most fictional thing I have ever written. It also contained a great deal of dialogue, something I had been struggling with but am now a great deal more comfortable writing. It is still amatuerish even to myself when I read over it, but I can also see that I am getting better. When I look back to what I was writing in October and November it feels awful and that can only be a good thing.
I have been traveling with 1-4 other people for a while now. Recently it has been at least three or four. I love my friends and value them more than I can express right now. Still, for me being with people all the time is trying. I don't know why, I can do it and enjoy it, but every once in a while I simply need a break. Dunedin afforded this. Generally the other four stayed together and I sort of did my own thing for most of the days. Aside from some minor site seeing and a trip to the Otago museum (quality for a city of under 150,000) that mostly meant either things related to reading or writing.
I appreciate New Zealand more than any country save the one of my birth. Still most of it is in serious want of a good used-book store. I happen to have a healthy appreciation for a good used-book store. Even an average one for that matter. So far though, since I have left Wellington I have been unimpressed. Most of the places I run into are filled 80% with paperback trash. Most of it either romance novels or unsaleable crap. Gems can be found, at least in fiction. I tracked down a nice little copy of 'Gulliver's Travels' (Swift), which I rather unfortunately lost part the way through. I then found and made reasonable work of a nice hardback copy of 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' (Dickens). Since I finished that about a week ago I was without a book of my own and had been borrowing others. I read a clever little paperback call 'Lamb' (Moore) which reminded my of an old ambition (we'll get to that). Mostly I have been dying to read some non-fiction, something I haven't done in a while. Non-fiction is really hard to find in used-bookstores.
I was excited to learn that Dunedin had a reputation for having quality book shops and had a couple recomended to me by a book store owner in a small town I had recently been in. I stopped in a few and bought three books at one of the shops, a proper book-shop called Scribes. It was perhaps the most disparate three books I've ever bought.
First was The History of Europe by J.M. Roberts the author of the single volume history of the world I read a little over a year ago.
Second was 'The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things' (Mackler) a generally critically aclaimed work of fiction ... aimed at adolescent girls. I love Young Adult literature and as I hope to write a YA novel, its 1 part research, 1 part fun.
Third is The Bible (God?). I've been meaning to do this one for a little while now. Since I bought it a number of people have asked me why. I'm not religious, though to be fair I have long since disaubused myself of my teenage angst anti-organized religion condescension. No this isn't an act of faith by of scholarship. It is important to me that I continue to learn and become a well rounded person academically, even outside of school (where I never learned much anyway). So why the Bible? Well regardless of your personally feelings on it's contents the Jewish/Christian Bible is the most influencial book, most influencial thing ever written. I could expand on why that is but I couldn't effectively tackle the subject in 1,000 or even 10,000 words. Instead I will leave it one statement: The Bible is overwhelmingly the most read book in the history of the world. If for now other reason that demands that it be read by anyone wishing to better understand our world.
But I'm going one step further. The copy of the bible that I purchased had amongst other helpful bits a guide reading the Bible in one year. If went day by day with 365 check boxes along with passages, in order that you would need to read each day to finish it in a years time. I scoffed, a year. Who needs a year to read the Bible. I know it's long, but come on. So one of my friends asked me how long I thought it would take me. I said I didn't know exactly, but I bet I could do it in a month if I really wanted to. The topic was discussed, they said I wouldn't do it. Too much time, too boring. Never one to back to down from a challenge (often as not to my detriment) I said I'd do it. So that's the plan, the entire Bible in a month. I'm on day three. It's already harder than I thought it would be but I'm ahead of pace. Still it will be tough to keep up. To do this I have to spend around 3 hours a day reading it. I've read Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus so far, I'm on Numbers. Unfortunately aside from the first half of exodus this isn't exactly the most fun part to read. Theres virutally no story most of the time and it lacks the poetry of some of the later works. Still, I persevere. I think it's good that I am doing it this way. By reading it in a month I won't be too far removed from Genesis by the time I'm reading Revalations. It should help get the whole scope of the thing. At least for short time. I'm not going to save any thoughts on the material for now.
When I wasn't buying books or reading them I was writing. I spent a few hours writing that travel piece below and the rest of the time finishing the first draft of my first Novella. I think I've mentioned it here in the past but not for a long time. It is about a seventeen year old that gets a job washing dishes at an Italian restaraunt in San Francisco. It is inspired by my experience working at a restaraunt and some of the people I worked with. It is however by no means autobiographical, it is very much a work of ficiton. When it started it was supposed to be a short stort, about 7500 words, but I quickly realized that I would need something much larger for the scope of what was in my head. My expectations changed enough times that I stopped trying to predict the lenght and and just let it go. At the end of the first draft it's just over 35,000 words, but will likely get a little longer in revision. I had taken a break at around 22,000 words because I was traveling around a lot, but also because I had lost sense of where it was going and didn't know how to end it. Dunedin seemed to be the muse I needed. I wrote for hours a day over the next few days and surprised even myself by competing it. I'm generally pretty happy with the ending. I'm also proud of myself. I've worked hard on this and it's a big stepping stone for me as a writer. It is the longest, most fictional thing I have ever written. It also contained a great deal of dialogue, something I had been struggling with but am now a great deal more comfortable writing. It is still amatuerish even to myself when I read over it, but I can also see that I am getting better. When I look back to what I was writing in October and November it feels awful and that can only be a good thing.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
One month Stateside
This was actually written for the camp staff facebook group, but I thought it might be of interest here. It's my version of the perfect one month trip around the states for an international staff member after the summer is over (many international staff travel around after camp is over). Unfortunately the footnotes don't transfer from the original word file. It looked way prettier before.
So reading this thread about travel seems to have evoked primarily two pieces of advice. First that you shouldn’t plan anything until you are at camp, which is I think good advice and secondly, that Timpson thinks you should go to the South, which is perhaps somewhat more dubious advice. It did however get me thinking about the many times over the years I have been solicited for advice from international staff about where they should go. Usually I just give an off the cuff answer most of which is to say that the west rules and they should go there. Thinking more about it though it has become an interesting question to me. What would be my version of the ideal American trip?
I decided I am going to try to answer it. I don’t know if it will help anyone, it was really just for me to see what I thought on the subject. Still it might be of some help. For the sake of the exercise I assumed I am dealing with the following situation.
-A group of four people traveling together.
-30 days to spend before their flight out of New York.
-They each have US$1250 dollars saved from home and US$1250 dollars saved up at camp for a total of US$2500.
I tried to include a few different regions and a good mix of entertainment, outdoors, and cultural/historical opportunities. Above all I tried to make this as American an experience as possible and focused on some of those things that I think are most unique in my country. I tried to make transport economical but also practical, using buses/trains when it made sense but accepting that a car is a necessity in certain parts of the states and only flying from/to airports where you can get cheap flights. There are also footnotes. Yep footnotes.
I’ve divided the trip up into four regions; Upper Midwest, California, Southwest and Northeast with each of the regions taking about a week. I left a couple days extra in case someone wanted to add something in. With all that in mind, away we go.
Upper Midwest
So it may seem strange to some Americans that in a one- month trip of the States I would garner a week on this area. My reasoning is that John Q Staffmember will have just finished a summer working at a tiny part of this region of the country but won’t really know it. I think it would be a worthwhile time to get to know this area that (s)he has called home for three months. I also think it is one of the most pleasant parts of the country and would afford a good opportunity to get off the tourist beaten path.
2 Nights- Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Minnesota
The Twin Cities. You’ve just spent your summer working just three hours away but likely have seen little of the cities. Spend a couple days here getting your bearings straight before you start traveling and enjoy one of America’s most under-appreciated cities. If the Minnesota State Fair is still going it is a must. It is one of the best State Fairs in the country and will be the best chance for this unique slice of Americana . Go to the Walker modern art museum with the awesome and free sculpture garden across the street and consider the free Minneapolis Institute of Art as well. Check out the wide selection of international eateries on Nicollet’s ‘Eat Street’. Check out the University of Minnesota campus and walk across the Mississippi river. And if you must, go to Mall of America.
1-2 Nights – Madison, Wisconsin
Grab a bus and head to America’s best University town . Live the life of an American Uni student and enjoy the nice accessibility of the only American city to lie on an ismuth . Walk down State St. to the state capital building, which includes the classiest drinking fountains I’ve ever seen. If the timing is just right and you can get tickets catch a University of Wisconsin Football game.
1-2 Nights – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Another bus to Milwaukee and enter maybe the coolest working class city in the States. To me this is the quintessential Upper- Midwest city. The place you find the casual friendliness and good nature this part of the country is known for. A city with a strong German heritage which influenced both the beer and the sausage it is known for. If you’re looking for excitement, well, this isn’t the place, but there is plenty of time for that soon. Catch a Milwaukee Brewer’s baseball game, check out the coolest modern building in the United States , and don’t leave without eating cheese and sausage.
2 Nights- Chicago, Illinois
One last bus gets you to America’ s ‘Second City’ but arguably it’s best. There is no shortage of things to do here and it is easily worth a third day if you like. Avoid paying fifteen bucks to go up the Sears Tower and instead take the free elevator to the lounge at the top of the Hancock Building which provides better views of the cityscape . Check out the theater scene with all of the quality and half the price of New York’s. For natural history nerds the Field Museum is world class. The art museum is also spectacular. Skip silly, touristy Navy Pier. If possible catch a Chicago Cubs baseball game at America’s arguably most venerated still in operation sports complex, Wrigley Field. Eat deep dish pizza and Italian Beef Sandwiches with extra hot peppers . Check out a Blues show at night. Then, catch a flight out west.
California
It’s been said that California has it all and although that isn’t quite true there is more worthwhile to see and do here then probably in any other three states. You could spend a month here and not see everything. If it were a nation it’s economy would be the tenth largest in the world . It has beautiful mountains and roaming deserts but this trip will focus on what California is truly famous for, the coast.
3 Nights – San Francisco, California.
It’s been called the Paris of North America by some and the modern Gomorrah by others; welcome to America’s most liberal city. Check out one of the United State’s most attractive cities and walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Eat clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl with the tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf then leave them behind to check out the indie art scene. The Alcatraz tour is admittedly cool, if a tad expensive . Hire a car and head out to Napa Valley/Sonoma to see what has become one of the most important wine producing areas in the world.
1 Night – The Pacific Coast Highway, California
Keep the car and start on one of the true pastimes of this Nation; the Great American Roadtrip. The western U.S. was the first place in the world truly designed around the automobile and it remains the only way to see it as it was meant to be seen. Drive down the famous HWY 1 or Pacific Coast Highway as it is known (PCH) and take stops wherever you feel like it. Take you’re time, stop at a beach that looks nice on the way. Check out upscale, and attractive Santa Barbara and camp nearby.
2 Nights- Los Angeles, California
My least favorite city in the entire country makes it onto the itinerary somehow. Love it or hate it this is the city that started the Orange Country revolution and made the American West what it has become in the last 75 years. No city is more evocative to foreigners of America except New York. It is the city of the freeway and the suburb, of Hollywood and Mickey Mouse, of the fast food phenomenon and ten million dollar homes, welcome to the aptly nicknamed ‘lala land’. Check out a movie studio and Hollywood boulevard, and see how your hands compare to Harrison Ford’s. Window shop on Rodeo Drive and forget about the arm and a leg that it costs and go to Disneyland. Save the beaches for our next stop where they are nicer and the water is incrementally warmer. Sure there is cultural stuff to do in L.A. , and the mountains are a reasonably drive, but who are you kidding anyway, that isn’t why you’re in this town. Get the best fast food hamburger America has to offer at In-N-Out Burger.
2 Nights- San Diego, California
Drive down to L.A.’s smaller, prettier, and all around superior little brother, San Diego. Check out Mission Beach and head to either Coronado or La Jolla to look at the places you will now wish you lived. The San Diego Zoo is the largest traditional zoo in the world and some would say the best . If the season is right head to Torrey Pines and check out the races at one of the best thoroughbred racing venues in the country and perhaps the only one with an ocean view. You’re a stones throw from Mexico and there is a large immigrant population; eat Mexican food. Drop the car off and a grab a short plane flight.
The Southwest
I said this trip was about things that were uniquely American and that’s defiantly what you are going to find here. Starting off with a city truly like no other and then heading to what I think is the most physically unique place in the 48 contiguous states; Northern Arizona/ Southern Utah . It is an area of raw physical beauty that is very accessible.
2 Nights- Las Vegas, Nevada
I always say, you haven’t really been to America until you’ve been to Vegas. This is the best and worst of America on display. It is American Capitalist ingenuity and American excess. A man made oasis in the desert where anything is possible. Vegas has nothing if not options and I wouldn’t even know where to start in telling you how to spend your time. I only have three tips. Don’t spend the money to go up in the fake Eifel tower. If you want to splurge on one meal during your trip you could do worse then dropping $40 to go the Rio Seafood buffet and eat unlimited lobster for maybe the only time in your life. The Bellagio fountain show is really really neat.
1 Night – Grand Canyon, Arizona
Although I would love to tell you to spend more time in my home state I am only going to allot a single night to go and see the one thing that everyone else does. Camp nearby the night before and get a crack of dawn start. You can make it to the bottom, dunk you’re head into the Colorado River , and go back up in a day if you keep a reasonable pace. Bring enough water or pay $8 per small bottle at the bottom. You are in one of the seven wonders of the natural world, don’t forget to take a look around.
3 nights – Moab, Utah
Drive to the small town of Moab and camp. Welcome to Southern Utah, often called ‘National Park Country’ . Go to Arches National Park and marvel at the rock formations nature has created. Take lots of pictures, these will be the most impressive ones when you show your friends pack home. Do a day hike in Canyonlands. Hire a mountain bike and go on a trail of some of the best slick rock mountain biking in the world . Eat … cheap. This is the part of the trip where spending money isn’t going to help you have fun, almost everything worth doing is free.
2 Nights- Bryce Canyon, Utah
Drive west with a brief stop at Capital Reef National Park. Look at the Native American art on the rock face. Read the information and try to understand why this is such an important geological spot . Keep going. Camp in Bryce Canyon National Park. Spend the next day leisurely driving and walking through the most striking views of the trip. Camp again the next night and then drive back to Vegas to drop off the car and fly east.
The Northeast
The northeast is the most densely populated area of the States and the corridor from Washington D.C. to New York City is practically one huge urban area . Not known for the good nature of Midwesterners or the laid back attitude of the West, the North East has a reputation as being the more severe part of the country. It does have unquestionably the most quality cities of any region of its size, and is ripe with culture and history. For this itinerary I am limiting it to two cities but a trip to Boston or Philadelphia would be well worth it time permitting.
3 Nights- Washington, D.C.
Washington is different from the capitals of many other nations in that it was designed for that exact purpose. It was a city built to be the capital for the new nation situated at what was at the time was more or less the middle. Government is pervasive and everywhere in Washington. Visit Obama’s new home and check out the many well-known memorials . Take a tour of the treasury, the supreme court, or the capital building, whatever interests you. Don’t miss the museums. The Smithsonian system of museums is most of what gives D.C. probably the second best group of museums of any city in the world . The Holocaust museum is generally considered one of the two best in the world along with the one in Isreal. At night go to a jazz club. Take a cheap bus or a somewhat more expensive but much faster train to…
3 Nights- New York, New York
I wouldn’t live there for all bialys in Brooklyn , but the fact of the matter is New York is a truly great city and there is an extraordinary amount of things to do and see. Go up to the Empire State Building or take a harbor cruise. Go to the theater or walk Central Park. Hit up a world class museum or MTV studios. Do whatever you want, it doesn’t really matter. You’re in the city of Rockefeller and Carnegie, of Madison Avenue and Wall Street, thin crust pizza an bagel and lox, Broadway and The Yankees, Chinatown and Little Italy, the Waldorf- Astoria and Hell’s Kitchen, Seinfeld and Spiderman, the Statue of Liberty and the erstwhile World Trade Center. You’re in the Big Apple, Metropolis incarnate, the city that never sleeps. If the world had a capital this would be it and I can’t imagine a better place to finish your trip. Just make sure you find a few moments to take a seat and reflect, because you are about to end what has just been the four best months of your life.
So reading this thread about travel seems to have evoked primarily two pieces of advice. First that you shouldn’t plan anything until you are at camp, which is I think good advice and secondly, that Timpson thinks you should go to the South, which is perhaps somewhat more dubious advice. It did however get me thinking about the many times over the years I have been solicited for advice from international staff about where they should go. Usually I just give an off the cuff answer most of which is to say that the west rules and they should go there. Thinking more about it though it has become an interesting question to me. What would be my version of the ideal American trip?
I decided I am going to try to answer it. I don’t know if it will help anyone, it was really just for me to see what I thought on the subject. Still it might be of some help. For the sake of the exercise I assumed I am dealing with the following situation.
-A group of four people traveling together.
-30 days to spend before their flight out of New York.
-They each have US$1250 dollars saved from home and US$1250 dollars saved up at camp for a total of US$2500.
I tried to include a few different regions and a good mix of entertainment, outdoors, and cultural/historical opportunities. Above all I tried to make this as American an experience as possible and focused on some of those things that I think are most unique in my country. I tried to make transport economical but also practical, using buses/trains when it made sense but accepting that a car is a necessity in certain parts of the states and only flying from/to airports where you can get cheap flights. There are also footnotes. Yep footnotes.
I’ve divided the trip up into four regions; Upper Midwest, California, Southwest and Northeast with each of the regions taking about a week. I left a couple days extra in case someone wanted to add something in. With all that in mind, away we go.
Upper Midwest
So it may seem strange to some Americans that in a one- month trip of the States I would garner a week on this area. My reasoning is that John Q Staffmember will have just finished a summer working at a tiny part of this region of the country but won’t really know it. I think it would be a worthwhile time to get to know this area that (s)he has called home for three months. I also think it is one of the most pleasant parts of the country and would afford a good opportunity to get off the tourist beaten path.
2 Nights- Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Minnesota
The Twin Cities. You’ve just spent your summer working just three hours away but likely have seen little of the cities. Spend a couple days here getting your bearings straight before you start traveling and enjoy one of America’s most under-appreciated cities. If the Minnesota State Fair is still going it is a must. It is one of the best State Fairs in the country and will be the best chance for this unique slice of Americana . Go to the Walker modern art museum with the awesome and free sculpture garden across the street and consider the free Minneapolis Institute of Art as well. Check out the wide selection of international eateries on Nicollet’s ‘Eat Street’. Check out the University of Minnesota campus and walk across the Mississippi river. And if you must, go to Mall of America.
1-2 Nights – Madison, Wisconsin
Grab a bus and head to America’s best University town . Live the life of an American Uni student and enjoy the nice accessibility of the only American city to lie on an ismuth . Walk down State St. to the state capital building, which includes the classiest drinking fountains I’ve ever seen. If the timing is just right and you can get tickets catch a University of Wisconsin Football game.
1-2 Nights – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Another bus to Milwaukee and enter maybe the coolest working class city in the States. To me this is the quintessential Upper- Midwest city. The place you find the casual friendliness and good nature this part of the country is known for. A city with a strong German heritage which influenced both the beer and the sausage it is known for. If you’re looking for excitement, well, this isn’t the place, but there is plenty of time for that soon. Catch a Milwaukee Brewer’s baseball game, check out the coolest modern building in the United States , and don’t leave without eating cheese and sausage.
2 Nights- Chicago, Illinois
One last bus gets you to America’ s ‘Second City’ but arguably it’s best. There is no shortage of things to do here and it is easily worth a third day if you like. Avoid paying fifteen bucks to go up the Sears Tower and instead take the free elevator to the lounge at the top of the Hancock Building which provides better views of the cityscape . Check out the theater scene with all of the quality and half the price of New York’s. For natural history nerds the Field Museum is world class. The art museum is also spectacular. Skip silly, touristy Navy Pier. If possible catch a Chicago Cubs baseball game at America’s arguably most venerated still in operation sports complex, Wrigley Field. Eat deep dish pizza and Italian Beef Sandwiches with extra hot peppers . Check out a Blues show at night. Then, catch a flight out west.
California
It’s been said that California has it all and although that isn’t quite true there is more worthwhile to see and do here then probably in any other three states. You could spend a month here and not see everything. If it were a nation it’s economy would be the tenth largest in the world . It has beautiful mountains and roaming deserts but this trip will focus on what California is truly famous for, the coast.
3 Nights – San Francisco, California.
It’s been called the Paris of North America by some and the modern Gomorrah by others; welcome to America’s most liberal city. Check out one of the United State’s most attractive cities and walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Eat clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl with the tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf then leave them behind to check out the indie art scene. The Alcatraz tour is admittedly cool, if a tad expensive . Hire a car and head out to Napa Valley/Sonoma to see what has become one of the most important wine producing areas in the world.
1 Night – The Pacific Coast Highway, California
Keep the car and start on one of the true pastimes of this Nation; the Great American Roadtrip. The western U.S. was the first place in the world truly designed around the automobile and it remains the only way to see it as it was meant to be seen. Drive down the famous HWY 1 or Pacific Coast Highway as it is known (PCH) and take stops wherever you feel like it. Take you’re time, stop at a beach that looks nice on the way. Check out upscale, and attractive Santa Barbara and camp nearby.
2 Nights- Los Angeles, California
My least favorite city in the entire country makes it onto the itinerary somehow. Love it or hate it this is the city that started the Orange Country revolution and made the American West what it has become in the last 75 years. No city is more evocative to foreigners of America except New York. It is the city of the freeway and the suburb, of Hollywood and Mickey Mouse, of the fast food phenomenon and ten million dollar homes, welcome to the aptly nicknamed ‘lala land’. Check out a movie studio and Hollywood boulevard, and see how your hands compare to Harrison Ford’s. Window shop on Rodeo Drive and forget about the arm and a leg that it costs and go to Disneyland. Save the beaches for our next stop where they are nicer and the water is incrementally warmer. Sure there is cultural stuff to do in L.A. , and the mountains are a reasonably drive, but who are you kidding anyway, that isn’t why you’re in this town. Get the best fast food hamburger America has to offer at In-N-Out Burger.
2 Nights- San Diego, California
Drive down to L.A.’s smaller, prettier, and all around superior little brother, San Diego. Check out Mission Beach and head to either Coronado or La Jolla to look at the places you will now wish you lived. The San Diego Zoo is the largest traditional zoo in the world and some would say the best . If the season is right head to Torrey Pines and check out the races at one of the best thoroughbred racing venues in the country and perhaps the only one with an ocean view. You’re a stones throw from Mexico and there is a large immigrant population; eat Mexican food. Drop the car off and a grab a short plane flight.
The Southwest
I said this trip was about things that were uniquely American and that’s defiantly what you are going to find here. Starting off with a city truly like no other and then heading to what I think is the most physically unique place in the 48 contiguous states; Northern Arizona/ Southern Utah . It is an area of raw physical beauty that is very accessible.
2 Nights- Las Vegas, Nevada
I always say, you haven’t really been to America until you’ve been to Vegas. This is the best and worst of America on display. It is American Capitalist ingenuity and American excess. A man made oasis in the desert where anything is possible. Vegas has nothing if not options and I wouldn’t even know where to start in telling you how to spend your time. I only have three tips. Don’t spend the money to go up in the fake Eifel tower. If you want to splurge on one meal during your trip you could do worse then dropping $40 to go the Rio Seafood buffet and eat unlimited lobster for maybe the only time in your life. The Bellagio fountain show is really really neat.
1 Night – Grand Canyon, Arizona
Although I would love to tell you to spend more time in my home state I am only going to allot a single night to go and see the one thing that everyone else does. Camp nearby the night before and get a crack of dawn start. You can make it to the bottom, dunk you’re head into the Colorado River , and go back up in a day if you keep a reasonable pace. Bring enough water or pay $8 per small bottle at the bottom. You are in one of the seven wonders of the natural world, don’t forget to take a look around.
3 nights – Moab, Utah
Drive to the small town of Moab and camp. Welcome to Southern Utah, often called ‘National Park Country’ . Go to Arches National Park and marvel at the rock formations nature has created. Take lots of pictures, these will be the most impressive ones when you show your friends pack home. Do a day hike in Canyonlands. Hire a mountain bike and go on a trail of some of the best slick rock mountain biking in the world . Eat … cheap. This is the part of the trip where spending money isn’t going to help you have fun, almost everything worth doing is free.
2 Nights- Bryce Canyon, Utah
Drive west with a brief stop at Capital Reef National Park. Look at the Native American art on the rock face. Read the information and try to understand why this is such an important geological spot . Keep going. Camp in Bryce Canyon National Park. Spend the next day leisurely driving and walking through the most striking views of the trip. Camp again the next night and then drive back to Vegas to drop off the car and fly east.
The Northeast
The northeast is the most densely populated area of the States and the corridor from Washington D.C. to New York City is practically one huge urban area . Not known for the good nature of Midwesterners or the laid back attitude of the West, the North East has a reputation as being the more severe part of the country. It does have unquestionably the most quality cities of any region of its size, and is ripe with culture and history. For this itinerary I am limiting it to two cities but a trip to Boston or Philadelphia would be well worth it time permitting.
3 Nights- Washington, D.C.
Washington is different from the capitals of many other nations in that it was designed for that exact purpose. It was a city built to be the capital for the new nation situated at what was at the time was more or less the middle. Government is pervasive and everywhere in Washington. Visit Obama’s new home and check out the many well-known memorials . Take a tour of the treasury, the supreme court, or the capital building, whatever interests you. Don’t miss the museums. The Smithsonian system of museums is most of what gives D.C. probably the second best group of museums of any city in the world . The Holocaust museum is generally considered one of the two best in the world along with the one in Isreal. At night go to a jazz club. Take a cheap bus or a somewhat more expensive but much faster train to…
3 Nights- New York, New York
I wouldn’t live there for all bialys in Brooklyn , but the fact of the matter is New York is a truly great city and there is an extraordinary amount of things to do and see. Go up to the Empire State Building or take a harbor cruise. Go to the theater or walk Central Park. Hit up a world class museum or MTV studios. Do whatever you want, it doesn’t really matter. You’re in the city of Rockefeller and Carnegie, of Madison Avenue and Wall Street, thin crust pizza an bagel and lox, Broadway and The Yankees, Chinatown and Little Italy, the Waldorf- Astoria and Hell’s Kitchen, Seinfeld and Spiderman, the Statue of Liberty and the erstwhile World Trade Center. You’re in the Big Apple, Metropolis incarnate, the city that never sleeps. If the world had a capital this would be it and I can’t imagine a better place to finish your trip. Just make sure you find a few moments to take a seat and reflect, because you are about to end what has just been the four best months of your life.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Milford Track
Made it to South Island
Drove all the way to Milford (about 15 hours)
Did 4 day Milford Track Hike.
Unbelivable. One of the best two hikes I've ever done.
Rain forests.
Alpine Mountains.
Ridiculous Waterfalls.
Hurt My Knee.
It will be fine.
But not by Saturday.
No Marathon.
I take the good with the bad.
Drove all the way to Milford (about 15 hours)
Did 4 day Milford Track Hike.
Unbelivable. One of the best two hikes I've ever done.
Rain forests.
Alpine Mountains.
Ridiculous Waterfalls.
Hurt My Knee.
It will be fine.
But not by Saturday.
No Marathon.
I take the good with the bad.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Finally?
So we have continued to have issues with the car and getting back. There was a delay with getting the new motor and we didn't know when it would be finished. It has been at times stressful but Henry and I have worked hard to not let ourselves get down. The part arrived today which means it will be done tomorrow. This is clutch. One more day and we wouldn't have gotten to the south island in time to get to a reservation we have to hike the Milford Sound; one of the great walks of NZ and the toughest to get a booking for. If we didn't go now we would not only lose out on a good deal of money but would not have a chance to see one of NZ most treasured sites. Instead tomorrow I take a bus from Wanaganui where I am now to Owhango (pronounced Oh-Fahn-Go) where the car has been for over two weeks now.
I will pick it up and Henry and I will drive to Wellington tomorrow night. Saturday morning we hop on the ferry to the south Island and will meet Ben and Shep in Christchurch by the evening. On Monday we start the 4 day hike though the Sound after which I will immediately run my marathon. Due to circumstances some my fault others not I am not really what I would called prepared to run a marathon much less such a hard one. So I'm just gonna do my best. I'm not going to worry about time which I originally intended to. I may not ever check my time at the end. I just want to finish. After that I will continue to travel the Island for some time.
I am so excited about getting to the South Island. I have been waiting for this for months and it has been delayed now for some time which was hard despite enjoying other things in the meantime. It should be great.
I will pick it up and Henry and I will drive to Wellington tomorrow night. Saturday morning we hop on the ferry to the south Island and will meet Ben and Shep in Christchurch by the evening. On Monday we start the 4 day hike though the Sound after which I will immediately run my marathon. Due to circumstances some my fault others not I am not really what I would called prepared to run a marathon much less such a hard one. So I'm just gonna do my best. I'm not going to worry about time which I originally intended to. I may not ever check my time at the end. I just want to finish. After that I will continue to travel the Island for some time.
I am so excited about getting to the South Island. I have been waiting for this for months and it has been delayed now for some time which was hard despite enjoying other things in the meantime. It should be great.
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