Penn station new york. Subway is easy again. apart from heavy bags make turnstiles fucking awkward. another problem, but a solution is found. we buy tickets for train and go get pizza. its fine. A man sits to our left who seems to have nothing but distaste for the world. His expression is a mix between 'when did i get here?', 'who are you?' and 'i have discovered chewing live wasps hurts'. We get the train, we sit in the quiet carraige by accident. Narurally we are not quiet. Angry looke ensue. For some reason my normal articulation expires and it would seem my control of volume is also lost. I talk loud and swear for 45 mins. sorry. We talk about the music business. Bas teaches me its best not to insult or start fights with people who want to help you. as alien as this concept appears to me, i take it on board. lesson to learn.
We get picked up in Pennsylvania by Bill & Peg, Bas' girlfriends parents. They are friendly and help us with their luggage.. The drive is a pleasant one. Peg, who recently completed a bus tour of monuments clues us in on the local area, some history and some society background all delivered in an informed manner. Bill drives and has a dry wit, often adding to pegs tour guide his own foot notes.
We get to their house around 11. Its large. I am told that it was built in the 1700s and that its possible the George Washington stayed here. I wish for his room.We have lentil soup (finally something which has grown from the earth and not a factory floor!) Bill offers a beer. I cannot refuse. It cold. Its Yeungling. He asks if i like it....i do. He tells me its froms the oldest brewery in the us.'they've had time to get it right' i say.He smiles. i pass the Yeungling test.
The next day we are introduced to the car. Its questionable. It fairly old. Its has a dent in the bonnet where a tree once was. The clutch is extremely dodgy. But it has chraracter.
The next day we get up around 9. We have breakfast loud the car and leave around 11. We hit the road listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash. Its a good feeling, we get slushees and Doritos for the road too.After many wrong turns and missed exits, i still consider my navigational skills as second to none.. we get on the 611 route pretty much all the way to Stroudsburg PA. We stop for lunch at a roadside bar. It has real bikers, tattoos, beer battered fries, a very large club sandwich and more 'warm' shrimp than you can shake a stick at.
The view of the mountains and the river are incredible. I see two eagles flying together.
We arrive in Stroudsburg PA late afternoon. The car gets royaly screwed by the hills around there, We kind of make it up their driveway. We are greeted at the door by a bare chested man. He tells us he is working on his bathroom. Hence the nipple exposure. He introduces himself...he is Chris. He offers us cigarettes and beer. I cant refuse, Neither can Bas. We sit and cgat for a bit and wait for Diane to come home.Thers a moment of, 'oh my god i am in a complete strangers house in the middle of nowhere. But i am sure on Chris' part there was 'oh my god i have two random strangers in my house' so it works out. balance bubba!..Diane gets in around 9. We sit and chat and watch TV. Chris is a big NY yankees fan, the yankees have their own channel....you do the math.
Both Diane and chris are really nice and make us feel very very welcome. The next day we play disc golf......
next time in part 4: bas in a river in his underwear.