p'zonee!!

so I got hungry, and we're room zoom zoomin' down the road, so I pulled out the ole bhaktiPhone, opened Maps, and searched for a pizza hut up the road a stretch, found one about 15 miles away, called them, and some 'za was a-waitin' for me when we got to williamsburg, kentucky. woo woo!!!


-- posted from the bhaktiPhone

miles of smiles

we are flying through kentucky, past horse farms and country music museums, rolling over green hills, always on the lookout for speed traps and bourbon distilleries.
we went through Cincinnati, it was the first time I have been there since that EPIC grateful dead show in April of 1989. I was on a road trip with ann and nancie and chris newt; our car broke down there and we got towed to Louisville, riding in the jacked-up car all the way. dropped the car off at a garage near Freedom Hall, saw another awesome dead show, picked up the car, and headed back to UF and classes the next day.
(as I write this, Freedom by George Michael is playing. freedom, freedom, hold on to my freedom)
next stop, Tennessee, Tennessee, ain't no place I'd rather be.



-- posted from the bhaktiPhone

some video of our wedding

This video was filmed and edited by our good friend Jenny Gago. Thanks, Jenny!!

riverboats in iowa, rain in michigan

we visited LeClaire, Iowa this morning, a sweet little town on the mississippi river where the riverboat history echoes like a steam whistle. we saw the buffalo bill museum, as colonel cody was born there, and climbed aboard what's left of the last working steam paddleboat. we drank coffee at a soda fountain while the mark twainy-looking 3rd generation proprietor regaled us with tales of the town's triumphs and turpitude and warned us about various tourist scams worldwide, including the one where someone gives you a baby to hold while her partner picks your pockets. we'll have to look out for that one.
then we broke bread with a FOH who lives in davenport. we showed her some video of the wedding and told the story of the running of the bulls. like all FsOH she was totally great.
now we're driving, getting close to our destination. it's raining a bit; first rain we've seen all trip. we'll stay in michigan a few days, and then head out for Florida. we leave for India in a fortnight.

I'm posting from my bhaktiPhone, sitting in the passenger seat of my car.

wednesday on the mississippi

woke up today in davenport iowa, on the illinois border, next to the mighty mississip. we've done almost 2000 miles in 2 days, which was a lot easier than it sounds, with 2 drivers. we're not stopping much. one detour to zion national park, otherwise we've eschewed such wonders as the world's largest frying pan and ball of twine. we're having lunch with a friend of heather (FOH), and before that we're going to find that river! it shouldn't be too hard, right? being so mighty and all...

we’re off (but not by much!)

plans are actualizing nicely. as of to-day, i no longer live in oakland, or anywhere really. I finished up my work at school, although i’ll always consider myself part of that community, and I’ll always do tech support for them. we put much of our stuff into storage, sold some of it in front of the house, and gave away some more. my blushing bride sold her car, and mine is packed with backpacks and clothes, mosquito nets and first aid kits, flashlights and sleep sacks and swiss army knives.
we made it down to LA fine, and we leave here sunday night, but right now i am crashing hard. we’ve had a wild few weeks, and while H has worked far harder than i, i’m exhausted, as much emotionally as physically. lotsa changes very quickly. I have so loved the bay area and the people and the music. but all things must end!
i don’t know if i mentioned it, but i got married the other day! pictures will trickle in, but it was an amazing, whirlwind, perfect day. thanks to all who came.
more soon!

tickets have been bought

woo woo! okay, plane tickets have officially been purchased, thank you Skyline Travel, leaving July 14th in the morning and arriving the next day at 9pm in Delhi. 19 hours in the air, 5 or 6 hours at airports, 12.5 hour time change. Air India most of the way, I love taking international carriers, it's more fun.
Next, to make reservations in Delhi for the first night or 2. We plan to stay long enough to get used to the time, then head out for the holy city of Varanasi, the city of lights. Although it sounds scripted, there happens to be a total solar eclipse on my birthday this year which passes right through the middle of India. Learning about this eclipse was one of the seeds of this trip. After all, that's a pretty blatant hint from the universe, as subtle as an ice cream cone. You can't argue with that kind of synchronicity. I actually saw this eclipse in India in '95:
It was in north India near Fatehpur Sikri, on October 24th. I didn't know it was happening until I was there, I heard rumblings about it from other travelers while I was in Agra, and I learned that Agra was going to get 98% coverage, so I went into the desert, to the deserted ancient mughal city and the small Indian village which grew next to it, where totality would be achieved. the small town was overrun with scientific expeditions, so I went on a hike out of town with a handful of other travelers. I can't tell you how we hooked up, we just all were sitting and talking, and decided to start exploring. We ended up spending the night on the roof of a deserted mughal-era building, a circular stone building three or four hundred years old, with the center collapsed so that it looked like a 4-story doughnut. We spent the night on the roof, shared warmth and food, and woke up with the sun the next day, the day of the eclipse. It took place about an hour after sunrise, and it was spectacular, magical. You can really see the movement of the whole solar system. Birds fly back home for the night, the temperature drops, time seems to stop. We could see the NASA folks looking through their telescopes, and the locals in the Indian village started banging pots and pans in the dusty streets to get the sun to come back. Amazing. Only in India.
I can really understand the people that go around the world following solar eclipses. And when I found out there was another one in India on my birthday this year, I got the message, I knew I had to go. And when my sweet buttercup told me we were moving out of the country, I knew that seeing the eclipse wasn't just a summer vacation, but the starting point of a permanent move.
Coming up: let's plan a wedding, too!