and then we were driving on shore drive seeing things we'd seen before

straight driving to halifax. sixteen hours. four hours on. four hours off. four hours on. four hours off. then rolling into home. laughing. and it felt strange. and there are no jobs yet. the van is for sale. thank-you.

montreal

after toronto was montreal. jamie campbell came with us. first was the three subway one bus ride to scarborough for the van. my aunt met us with a box lunch and muffins and cookies. incredible. we drove straight. jamie front seat. one gas station stop and then into montreal.

we stayed with john dempsey. first night beer and nachos and pizza and poutine. a strange bar filled with very young girls and boys. next morning met with claire and sarah at concordia. jamie and i went on a class gallery trip then a coffee shop. jamie fell in love with every local girl. that night we all went to a bar drank large beers and had more nachos. donald wore dempsey's big city bests for photos before bed.

next morning 6am departure for halifax with a dozen bagels.

whitecastle

we wanted whitecastle. through maine into massachusetts. in new york city. in sweaty south carolina. but we didn't find it until kentucky. we waited so long it seemed like the best idea ever to order the #4. twenty whitecastles. four crinkle fries. and a giant lemonade.

a white castle is a tiny burger. bun the size of a dinner roll. a slice of meat-- looks like spam. one pickle. slice of cheese (ten cents extra) and onion gravy wetness. not sure what it was. but it soaked out of the bun into the little cardboard package. they smelled bad and looked bad but tasted good. we enjoyed them plain and with dusseldorf mustard.

we are in toronto now. the van is in scarborough at my mom's sister's house. we have been eating a lot. sneeky dees twice. utopia for burgers. crepes. saving grace breakfast. maggie's breakfast. frans. ghandi's. eating and eating. donald and i both got high-tops. catching up. jamie. paul. amy. pat. fred. elisa. marika. cheryl. andrew.

tomorrow morning we are leaving for montreal.

pittsburgh

on the way to toronto we stopped in pittsburgh. it was a very clean city. very old in places with narrow and tall brick houses. the city is on a river. the pirates play in one large stadium and the steelers play in another both right along the river. there was a nice walkway sort of along the water.

donald looked around and had lunch and i went to the andy warhol museum. most interesting- andy warhol kept several hundred uniform cardboard boxes he called time capsules. he started one after another and filled them with whatever materials seemed to have importance. most were filled with correspondence. letters and envelopes. sometimes sheets of stamps and books and pamphlets. in others apparently clothing and shoes. anything really. the museum had maybe half of the boxes on display stacked neatly on shelves going up one wall. and in the middle of the room one of the boxes contents on display. the museum puts a new box on display each month. if lived there i would see every box.

there was also a bruce neuman show. with a bright green room.

mammoth cave national park

after ohio we headed back south to kentucky. in louisville we went to the louisville slugger factory. i swung in the batting cages with a ted williams original. we went on a tour of the factory floor. it takes 30 seconds to make a minor league bat. up to 1 minute 30 seconds for a major league bat. plus finishing. plus painting.

mammoth cave national park was incredible. we stayed the night in the park and went on a 2 mile tour of the caves. there are nearly 300 miles of cave. the americans mined salt peter in the caves during the war of 1812.

cincinnati bengals

after the mountains we headed to cincinnati ohio and saw the bengals play the steelers. it was a great game. cincinnati and pittsburgh are big rivals. football is huge in cincinnati. we didn't really know that. when we arrived the entire city was orange. the stadium was right downtown on the ohio river. we paid a lot for our tickets but had great seats. there was a man in front of us taking pictures of the the cheerleaders with a large camera lens. the steelers won 24 13.

appalachian mountains

after north carolina was south carolina and myrtle beach. we pulled in late and headed to the beach. there were hotels everywhere. we found a small public beach and with no shoes walked in the sand and into the water up to knees. the water was very warm. felt like a small lake in the summer. it was warm and windy. eventually it started to rain. we slept in a walmart parking lot. the nicest one we've seen.

the next morning it was pouring rain and windy so we headed in land and north to the mountains. we took a scenic roadway through the beginnings of the smokey and appalachian mountains. there were high elevations. 4000 feet and more. sharp turns in the road. we travelled slowly our front tires were covered in brake dust by the end. there were delicious club house sandwhiches. it was incredibly beautiful we drove in and out of the fog. all the trees were the brightest reds and oranges and yellows.

cheap cigarettes

here's me smoking my favorite brand of menthols. we are in west virginia in the mountains right now. at a public library running out of time. north carolina was a while ago. i will catch up soon.

and then north carolina

in north carolina we took coastal roads along the cape hatteras national seashore. the road follows a series of off shore sandbar islands. many times the islands were minimally wider then the road. we took another long causeway to get out to the first island. and a small car ferry from one island to another. we stayed the night in a state park on the second island. it was hot and muggy. it rained all night and blew hard. it felt like a hurricane but i'm sure it wasn't close. there were funny little crabs that lived in holes not particularly close to the water and in the middle of the camp ground. we took a longer ferry to get from the second island back to the main land. on this last ferry we saw dolphins. green water. the air was hot.

all the way from delware the houses were built on stilts suspended a storey above the ground. in north carolina the homes were all large and beautiful. big homes still built off the ground on stilts. many had metal shutters to cover the windows for hurricane season. recreational fishing was life everywhere along this coast. every truck was a 4x4 lifted with large sand tires and ellaborate fishing rod racks mounted to the front or rear bumpers. everywhere there were marinas with beautiful fishing boats. large motors. all brand new. and no sailboats.

and virginia

chesapeake bay first. we stayed the night in pocomoke river state park. had warm showers. the bay was beautiful. roads always along the water. beach everywhere. very small towns far apart.

at the southern tip of the chesapeake bay we took a twenty mile causeway to virginia beach. the causeways was incredible. at two points the roadway goes under the sea floor for ship traffic. the views were incredible the water was bright green. the air was warm.

and maryland

in maryland was the assateague national sea shore. and gems like ocean city. palm trees and hotels and ihop and mini golf courses. and the big dunes and the beach.

delaware

i don't think there were high expectations for delaware. but it was quite and beautiful. there are no interstate highways. we were on two lane roads. always near the water and marsh. no trees had turned. everything was green and lush. and warm. and our first nuclear power plant.

bedford ave pizza

last night night in new york. stephanie and mimi and brian and donald and i went walking then pizza then late night conversations. it was nice being here. thank-you.

today we are leaving for delaware chesapeake bay and virginia beach.

giants 33, 49ers 15

today was the game. donald is ready to go home now. we got tickets for ten bucks a piece. amazing! getting there was no hassle. i bought cheap nyc film on the way. we ate steamed hot dogs. good day. tonight hanging out with stephanie and mimi for the last time. tomorrow we continue south.

ground zero

brooklyn bridge

manhattan yesterday. central park. times square. fifth avenue. fao schwartz toy store. nike town. it was beautiful in the morning but it started to pour and we were on foot with no coats. so we stuck it out and saw as much as we could. we went to the museum of modern art in the evening. it was free and packed. then we took subway back to Brooklyn with mimi and hung out at her place for a while. she went on a near date and we went to meet my friend Vanessa in the east village.

she took us to a hookah bar. they blasted persian and arab dance anthems and also sean paul and missy elliot. then we went to a bar called motor city where the beer taps were pistons and connecting rods and the bar was ornamentally trimmed with car hood ornaments and badges. then dance bars. then getting home at quarter to five am.

today is the lower east side. chinatown. wall street. empire state building.

tomorrow is ny giants vs. san fran 49ers.

waiting in the rain for the moma

central park, new york city

gloucester camp site

walmart accommodations again after rhode island. somewhere before new haven connecticut. then we bombed into new york. we stopped in the bronx for mcdonalds. then down through queens to get to brooklyn. the driving wasn’t bad it seemed a lot worse in boston. we got a little lost but ended up parked around the corner from my friend mimi cabell’s house at 8pm. we are now staying with my friend stephanie and today we are going into manhatten. our plan is to see the giants play on sunday and then continue south monday.



pictures tomorrow.

we headed to providence rhode island after boston. we got stuck in traffic going into the city but it was worth waiting. providence was a really neat city. three rivers intersect in the middle of the city so the down town core is broken up by canals in three different directions. we were there on a good night because the city was demonstrating river fire which is a city wide art project. they had over 100 large metal baskets suspended above the water in perfect formation in each of the canals and in a large circle where the three canals met in front of the state house. periodically they fill the baskets with fire wood and light them. it was really very beautiful. the whole downtown smelled like burning wood and the sounds of so many wood fires burning simultaneously was impressive.

there was no sleeping in driveways in boston. there was just driving, getting lost, recognizing a lack of options for accomodations, and leaving. it was disappointing to leave but it was the best thing to do.

cape elizabeth, me

portland, me

we left bedford early monday morning and slept in a walmart parking lot in brunswick maine. we drove almost 1000 km. yesterday was freeport and portland. and last night was almost boston but the only walmart we could find was in a not so nice looking area. so we opted to backtrack to gloucester massachusetts where we stayed in a really nice campground with hot showers and wireless internet right in the van.

we are going to head into boston today and hopefully meet up with a girl celeste i met in arles who goes to tufts. maybe we can sleep in her driveway?

first rule. 100 skips minimum at every stop.

this is my van. once i owned a part of it. but now it is in my driveway. my sister mended the curtains. i changed the oil. installed a radio. had a fuel line replaced at the shop behind robie foods. in the top drawer there are dollar store forks and spoons. in the bottom drawer a battery powered fm radio and a floating flash light. extra batteries. a fire extinguisher. vice grips. health insurance forms. everything. we're leaving this week.

drawing by jamie campbell