Eight hours till take-off and I’ve moved into that odd ‘travel space’ where all I want to do is be on my way.  Charles has us going out for an early dinner, which I’m sure will be terrific, but all I want is to be at the airport and doing what I can to finagle an empty seat beside mine.  If I can do that, I’ll be a happy person indeed. It’s amazing the difference that extra little bit of space makes. I’ll let you know how things turn out, when I get to the other side. I’m about 30 hours from home.  The next bed I sleep in will be my own, and I’m ready to be there.  I love coming to Locus, but you’re always the third wheel (it’s a place of business, after all, and they have a lot to do), so getting on and home seems even more desirable.

How was the trip? Well, I’ve only blogged half of it, but Manhattan was a ball, World Fantasy in Saratoga was one of the best cons ever, and I always have a good time in Oakland.  So, it was well worth it.  However, I think it’ll be a long time before I undertake a solo trip this long again.  Other priorities await.

Blogging on the back deck this morning.

Well, I meant to write every day. I meant to tell you everything, but it was busy. Last time I posted was in Manhattan. Since then there’ve been a lot of wonderful things. The train up from Manhattan was wonderful. The convention was one of the best ever. Even the plane trip to Oakland was good.  If I can tame my recollections through the torrent of sea breezes consumed (I did tell you they are *the* Aussie con drink), I’ll try to give you details on the great conversations with people like Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages, serving Aussie beer and wine to what seemed like four hundred people, hanging with Jay Lake, being smart enough to take Theo’s advice and not partake of the springs, and so on.  My sincerest thanks, though, to a a few people. WFC this year was a gift and a joy.  Without Garth, Trevor, and Deb (my Manhattan buddy and travelin’ pal), it would have been much, much less fun.

Dear blog

I was up too early today. I don’t think I’ve had enough sleep any night of the trip, and this was another morning when I ended up not sleeping in.  I had procedural ‘stuff’ to do – washing and ironing, and was eager to get that out of the way before doing that. Deb and I hadn’t made any plans together for the day, so I wasn’t really expecting to do anything, but I’d just finished doing the laundry when I saw her in the lobby. She was headed for the Met, but was up for breakfast.  Honestly, dear blog, the food near where we’re staying isn’t great, and I was trying to think of somewhere we could get something when a happy memory resurfaced.  During our honeymoon, Marianne and I had brunched at a great place called Sarahbeth’s.  M had found it in Zagat’s I think.

Anyway, I mentioned the name to Deb, who googled a bit, and found one of three Sarahbeth’s just near Central Park (M & I had gone to a different one).  We jumped in a cab, and headed uptown where we had a very civilized breakfast in relaxing surroundings. We then headed across Central Park, taking a long leisurely stroll, before doing the Met.  You might have noticed a lot of mention of walking, and my feet were beginning to feel a bit sore, and after an hour or so at the Met I left Deb to enjoy the museum and headed back to the hotel. I was feeling tired and bit dizzy, so I took the chance to crash, which proved the smart thing to do.

After a short nap, I went uptown to the Virgin Megastore to do a little shopping. I bought a few cds, met Rob, Cat and Alisa for coffee, then back to the hotel again to change for the Australian Party at the Consulate.  The whole event was a great success. Probably a 100 people or so came, and all seemed to have a great time. I got to meet a handful of people I’d really wanted to meet – especially Renee and Rome – and have some wonderful conversations, and everyone else seemed to have a great time too. Hats off to Trevor Stafford and Deb Biancotti, who did the bulk of the work.

After that, we had cocktails at the Campbell Apartments with Scott, Justine, and Garth, and back to the  hotel.  We missed dinner so, while Deb headed off to bed, Liza and I enjoyed some late night pizza. New York pizza. For Marianne.

Today is off to Saratoga.

Dear blog,

This is, as I knew it would end up being, a catch up post.  I do mean to keep you up to date with events, but I’m falling behind, so this will be a quick selected highlights thing.  I was up reasonably early on Monday. The plan was to go shopping for suits and prezzies, before heading out to Brooklyn.  Deb and I grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby diner, and then began walking uptown.  There’s something about this crazy place that makes you end up walking distances you never would have otherwise, so we walked the thirty blocks up towards Central Park and began shopping.  It didn’t go well, and we were tired and a little frustrated by lunch time, but we persevered.

In all honesty, lunch was so non-descript that I don’t really remember it, but we did stop in to the Apple Store and FAO Schwartz where I bought Jessica and Sophie a couple very small gifts. Not enough to be gifts, but something. Still need something for Marianne. I gave up on shopping at that point, and we decided to walk over to the Algonquin so Deb could get a tourist fix. What a brilliant idea, it was. We passed a cheap men’s store, I bought a serviceable jacket, and ended up sitting in the deep leather couches of the Algonquin’s Blue Bar drinking cocktails. The Hot Chili Raspberry Cosmopolitan was quite something.

I then headed over to Brooklyn Heights for a very rewarding meeting with Howard Morhaim, a stroll down the beautiful Brooklyn Promenade which has stunning views of the harbour and city, and then back on the subway to the hotel.  I met up with Deb again and headed down to Chelsea for an Aussie party at Scott and Justine’s.  We dined at  a small Italian place, Franks, just near where they live, and were joined by Liza from Locus.  After a nice dinner, where I had a terrific rosemary chicken dish, we headed upstairs for the party. All sorts of terrific people showed up. Rob, Cat, and Alisa arrived from home, I got to have a great conversation with Ellen and Delia, and got to meet some of Scott and Justine’s friends, who all seemed vibrant and funny and fascinating.

After a fine party, Deb, Liza and I headed back to the hotel for a late drink and then off to our respective rooms.  A good day, after all.

Best
J