Feeling Better, Moving On

I’ve been taking it easy in Cornwall and after a few days of feeling particularly lousy, due to a cold, I’m now starting to come around. Today I went for a nice walk along the coast. There’s an actual trail that follows the Southwest coast for approximately 500 miles. I was going to walk the 200 mile section through Cornwall but have since decided I’d prefer to move on. However, as I day walked along the coast today I wondered if I should reconsider? Jet lag followed by getting sick clouds the decision making process. The upside to everything is that the weather has been absolutely fabulous with non stop sun. Cool nights and warm days. The locals say it's hot but it's nowhere near hot compared to where I come from.

Deb and her father left for home this morning. Tonight will be my 4th night camped in my tent at St Ives. Tomorrow I definitely want to move on. I just wanted to feel better before doing so. The plan as of now is to move on to France in a couple of days. Although I plan to be in Europe for awhile I only have so much time. I’ve purchased a Lonely Planet guidebook to France and have my French phrase book in hand. I plan to take a ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff.

I started my trip to Europe a week ago with a very loose plan and at this point I think it’s even looser. Not really sure where I’m going or what I’m doing. Torn between wanting to hike and simply just floating around. This may sound good and in a lot of ways it is but it can also be a bit disorienting. I always travel on a loose plan but I generally have a much better direction with certain goals in mind. This time things are starting out much differently…. Maybe I just need to go on a long walk. Can’t really go wrong with that…..

A Few Images From Cornwall, England

Camped Above St. Ives - Cornwall England

Houston to London. Arrived on a Sunday morning exhausted but not too tired to enjoy pints with fellow Bayou City Road runner Lauren at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. She just happened to be in London for work. Monday walkabout London and a visit to the British Museum. Tuesday morning the tube to Paddington then a five hour train ride to Penzance in the Cornwall region to meet up with Debs who I last saw in Bangkok 6 months ago. She immediately had me backpacking along the Cornwall coast. More pints and a world cup game in a Porthleven. More backpacking and a late camp. All of this and more in 4 days since leaving Houston. Fifth day, today, woke up with a pesky cold and sore throat. Time to stop. I just got too run down with jet lag and all. This time I didn’t get away with it.

I’m currently camped at a campground above St. Ives. Today I walked around town with a nose similar to a leaky faucet. Fortunately the weather is fabulous. Sunny with temps in the low 70’s. St. Ives is a lovely old fishing village turned beach resort. It has a lot to offer. Nice sandy white beaches, crystal clear water, charming shops, buildings and cobbled streets but also plenty of tourists. However, it’s not too overrun with people right now. The campground I’m staying at is very nice with 5 star toilets. It set me back 10 pounds ($15 USD) for a night but its summer in a touristy area. Needless to say, after traveling Asia all last fall, England seems exorbitantly high priced. Well, I guess all of Europe is going to seem that way unless I head over to the eastern bloc countries.

England is a lovely place, especially when the weather is nice, but this time around I feel like I’ve already spent enough time here during past travels. It’s now all quite familiar and I crave the unfamiliar when I travel. I’ll likely move on to another country quite soon. My French is really bad so the language issues with France should keep things interesting. However, right now I need to shake this cold and catch up on some rest before I do much more. The next country I plan to visit is France. I’ve spent some time there but very little. Part of me wants to do some extensive hiking but another part of me just wants to look around and check things out. I originally thought I’d want to do a long walk here in England but now it’s clear I’d rather move on.

Where’s Debs? Well, she left me with her cell phone number and said she and her father would return on Saturday later in the morning. She’s somewhere marching along the Cornish coast with her dog Jake. Not sure how much more of her I’ll see while in Europe but it’s nice to cross paths and catch up since our travels through Asia last fall. Had I not caught this cold I’d be marching along the coast right now as well. Nothing is much fun when you’re not feeling well.

London - Long Trip - In My Favor

I arrived Sunday morning in London after a very long trip. It was a 3 ½ hour commuter flight to New York then a 6 hour turned 9 layover before catching my flight to the Big Smoke. However, it all brilliantly worked out in my favor. Whenever flying out of the country I always look for the best deals, use airline miles, etc. For my recent flight I was a little short of the necessary 50,000 miles for a free flight to Europe. I noticed the air carrier, Delta, was have a sale on miles. Whatever I bought I received the same amount for free. Basically miles were on sale for ½ price. I purchased the extra miles to gain the required 50,000 and called Delta. They informed me that things had changed and that I needed 65,000 but none of those tickets were available so I'd need 75,000. With a little investegation I found 15,000 expired miles on an old lost account and had them reinstated for $50. I then purchased some more 2 for 1 miles. By time I got my ticket I had spent close to $500 USD for my flight to London. Not too bad considering the going rate right now is around $1,200!!!! With budget ticket in hand and an economy seat I was good to go. My first flight was on time and fine but not the most comfortable. I was tucked in the back of a small sized commuter jet near the engines. It was very loud and my Mp3 player with volume turned all the way up didn't help. I was happy to get off at JFK, New York. Then began the anticipated 6 hour layover. Time passed reasonably fast but it was clear the flight would not be leaving on time when I stood at the gate window around departure time and there was no plane. I also noticed that there were a heck of a lot of passengers and the flight was likely over overbooked. I then found out there was a later flight in a little over 2 hours.  I put 2 and 2 together saw an opportunity. Usually when passengers are bumped off an overbooked flight they are given some kind of compensation. Since my flight was going to leave late anyway it got me thinking. I approached the gate ticket counter and informed an agent that I'd like to be bumped if compensated. The compensation offered was a $600 travel voucher for a future ticket. A couple of other people got the same idea and we were put on a list. About an hour later the plane arrived ready for boarding. The original ticket agent, who took names, disappeared but I remained attentive. I waited until the plane was just about totally full and approaced a different agent taking tickets. I told him I was prepared to give up my seat in exchange for a $600 voucher. He appeared surprised and relieved as he was anxiously trying to find a seat for someone else. Apparently the other agent hadn't passed on the list.  In the end it was me and one other passenger who gave up our seats. Boarding for the original flight closed and I was passed over to a supervisor. The supervisor immediately booked me on the next flight, handed over a $600 voucher, a meal coupon for while I waited, and told me that my boarding pass would be issued right before the plane was being loaded. I could see that the supervisor was having one of those days but I seemed to take the edge off with a little humor and thanked her for her help. I had good rapport with her. Well, the second plane was late as well but I was very patient and stood by the ticket counter not to loose sight of the supervisor in case I had any kind of problem. Just as the plane was about to board I tactfully inquired about my seat. A few moments later I was given a boarding pass. After a 9 hour layover and a bit of juggling I couldn't wipe the giddy grin off my face as I took a seat in First Class……… $500 ticket minus $600 voucher plus a first class seat in exchange for one long trip to London…. Well, this trip appears to be getting off to a good start. After a couple of nights in London it's a train ride to Penzance in the Cornwall region of England. Once there I'll start to formulate a plan. Naturally I'll be doing a lot of walking.

A Different Kind of Post - Deadline to Creativity

It's been almost 6 months since I've returned from SE Asia and I'm preparing for another outing. My plans are quite loose at this point. I'm hoping my approach will inspire good topics for the blog as I've been drifting through a creative wasteland for a while now. For the few that actually follow my blog its been noticeably sparse. Amidst it all I find myself in a state of flux and transition. I will use this upcoming adventure as a catalyst for a different approach towards the in between. The in between is the time I spend in the gaps that divide travels.

Although I've devised a creative existence I feel like I'm falling short in the area of using my gifts. Recently I plowed through writings, photos, music recordings and actual films of what I was doing around the time of college. A good friend remarked, not long ago, that when he first met in college I was one of the most creative people he knew but now he wonders what happened. As I sifted through the work of the young 20 something I once was I became inspired by what I could have been, or, maybe still can be. Although I cannot return to the past I hope to regain some of what I had. To shut up the inner critic. To allow the creative process to happen. This is an issue that has been bothering me greatly these days. In other words, I don't feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and have allowed myself to be bogged down by distractions, excuses, self doubt and the option of another day. Ultimately, I'm a creative type and I'm doing very little creatively. Many people I know would probably be surprised that I even consider myself a creative type.

So, Why just go off and travel? Why not get on with it? Aren't I just delaying things in a sense. Well, the truth is I love to travel and travel really recharges me. It's what I do when I get back home that gets me sidetracked.

So, what are my creative talents? Well, I consider myself a decent writer but was once much more clever in my descriptions. I'm also a singer songwriter. My voice has changed over the years and as of late, on a rare occasion when I actually play for someone, the response is very positive. I have an eye for art, an ear for music, and a keen sense for good work. When given a challenge that requires a puzzling solution I'm generally pretty good at it. There are a countless number of creative avenues I could be taking and aside of my success in creating a freestyle lifestyle I'm falling short in too many areas.

The upside is that I'm absolutely fed up with this personal issue and am taking the necessary steps to to remedy the riddle. I am trying to be mindful not to repeat patterns that have led to circles of quandary. When I return to Houston after my upcoming excursion I will be moving out of my current place of residence in order to mix things up a bit. I once had an artist tell me that he wouldn't get anything done unless he set deadlines so I'm setting deadlines. As a self proclaimed artist of sorts I need a framework. Right now I have some tools but the canvas is still in shrink wrap.

Ok, So where am I going. Well, I'll let you know when I get there. I've got a ticket, a time, and a starting destination.