Post #387

Trip 1: itinerary

20th April 2004, late morning | Comments (23)

I’ve been rather vague up to now about my impending trip to the States, so for those who are interested, here is my schedule:

23rd April, 2004
London Heathrow to Boston, Massachusetts

… 3 days later …

26th April, 2004
Boston, Massachusetts to San Francisco, California

… 87 days later …

20th July, 2004
San Francisco, California to London Heathrow

That’s Trip 1: exactly ninety days away from home. Trip 2 will take place some time in mid-august and will hopefully be for six months or more (though plans for that are still a little hazy as the destination and timing depend on how the first trip goes).

What will you be doing in San Francisco?

I’ll be dividing my time between three things: photography; freelance web work; and fun.

What about your house in Dorset?

The less reputable among you may be thinking that a three-month absence provides the ideal opportunity to burgle my house in Dorset; well, you’re wrong. Not only will my parents be here all the time (along with our savage guard dog), but everything worth stealing is coming along with me on the trip — the house will simply be a heavily guarded shell.

That said, anyone who’s entertaining thoughts of mugging me is also in for a surprise. I might not be a qualified martial artisté, but when carrying my laptops and camera I am the essence of coiled steely-violence, with the slightest tug on my bag causing me to Aiiiiiiiiii YAAAAA!!! into a karate stance and my knife-like hands to lash out and slaughter anything within a 2 metre radius.

And that said, don’t start thinking it’d be funny to sneak up behind me, poke my bag with a long stick, then stand back and watch as I flip-out and kung-foo-kill people. I rarely fall for that, and will be keeping a sharp eye out for jokers like you.

Aiiiiiiiiii YAAAAA!!!

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Comments (23)

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  1. Stefan:

    Ouch. Good thing I don't own a stick!

    Posted 1 hour, 8 minutes after the fact
  2. Sean Devine:

    Any formal plans for Boston? Are you looking for any ideas?

    Posted 1 hour, 23 minutes after the fact
  3. Lee:

    "Aiiiiiiiiii YAAAAA!!!"

    LMFAO

    I have this mental image of Dunstan with bags hanging from both soldiers lashing around in 70s cartoon stylee, yelling and screaming.

    I suggest caution whilst in the US, the security guys will just shoot you (and no making jokes about having bombs in your bag either).

    Posted 1 hour, 54 minutes after the fact
  4. Mark:

    I am in southern Illinois. You should stop by.

    Posted 2 hours, 21 minutes after the fact
  5. Tom Dell'Aringa:

    Is that a toilet seat around your neck? Hmm...that's ONE way to keep people away from you!

    Posted 2 hours, 35 minutes after the fact
    Inspired: ↓ Ak
  6. Andy Budd:

    Sounds like a great trip. Looking forward to all the great new articles and pic's you'll be posting.

    Posted 3 hours, 15 minutes after the fact
  7. Liz:

    Hmm, I can't shake this image that the Boston visit will consist mainly of you and Sidesh0w side-by-side on the couch IM-ing each other. =)

    Posted 4 hours, 56 minutes after the fact
  8. Ak:

    apparently you've never been to san francisco ;)
    i'm sure you'll have a lovely trip. the weather up north a bit has become cold lately, but i think it'll move on and become sunny california soon.

    Posted 6 hours, 2 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Tom Dell'Aringa
  9. Karen:

    Must be nice to be a man of leisure, traveling the globe with a camera in your hand and David Carradine in your heart. :)

    Posted 7 hours, 48 minutes after the fact
    Inspired: ↓ Dunstan
  10. Vitaliy:

    You should visit NYC! :)

    Posted 12 hours, 9 minutes after the fact
    Inspired: ↓ Dunstan
  11. Dunstan:

    I've been to NYC twice now and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd like to go back - it didn't hold so much allure for me that I'd visit again and leave other parts of the States unexplored.

    But thank you for the thought :o)

    Posted 12 hours, 14 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Vitaliy
  12. Dunstan:

    I am rather lucky, aren't I Karen?

    Thank heavens for the Internet, that's all I can say :o)

    Posted 12 hours, 31 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Karen
  13. Jennifer Grucza:

    Hope you have a nice time while you're here in Boston. Have you been here before? I like Boston because it has more of a sense of history to it than most places in America (though of course not like wonderful old European cities). And the culture is great - a lot of good classical music, good museums, etc. Though New York may have more, I like the smaller feel of Boston - New York just seems too overwhelming to me.

    Posted 12 hours, 33 minutes after the fact
  14. Huw:

    If you are in San Francisco and going to be doing some photography - dont miss the opportunity to make the trip to Yosemite, you wont be dissapointed.

    Posted 22 hours, 31 minutes after the fact
  15. Chris Vincent:

    I'm afraid that, once you're in America, you'll need to change that 2-metre death radius to either 2 meters or 2 yards. Preferably yards. Wouldn't want to confuse the children. ;)

    Posted 1 day after the fact
  16. Biggest APPLE:

    Sounds like a fine trip. i haven't been back home to New York for a while. If you ever plan on swinging by there let me know so I can send you a long shopping list.

    Posted 1 day, 6 hours after the fact
  17. Sean:

    To emphasize your kung foo skills, wear one of these t-shirts.
    http://www.kitsch.co.uk/hongkongphooey.htm

    Posted 1 day, 16 hours after the fact
  18. Kimmie:

    I am insanely jealous of your trip. Have a wonderful time. Blog lots. Oh, and take billions of pictures.

    Posted 2 days, 3 hours after the fact
  19. Ken Walker:

    Woah--Dunstan's a total ninja!

    "Ninjas can kill anyone they want! Ninjas cut off heads ALL the time and don't even think twice about it. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this ninja who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a spoon the ninja killed the whole town. My friend Mark said that he saw a ninja totally uppercut some kid just because the kid opened a window.

    "And that's what I call REAL Ultimate Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    Ahem. Anyway, if you find yourself lingering in the New York metro area for any amount of time, and you want to meet a total and complete stranger for coffee at Starbucks, I'll be around. :)

    Have fun!

    Posted 3 days, 19 hours after the fact
  20. Mark Wubben:

    Hey Dunstan, I just got back from my trip to Rome... totally forgot to wish you a good trip. So, here it comes:

    Have a good time there, Dunstan!

    Posted 4 days, 4 hours after the fact
  21. Blanca:

    hey! nice blog, it's very countryISH but it reminds me of the chickens I usedd to chase when I was a kid lol :D

    Posted 4 days, 19 hours after the fact
  22. Matthew:

    *prods with a long stick with video camera ready..*

    Posted 5 days, 23 hours after the fact
  23. Matte:

    While in the sunny Bay Area (I Love It Here!!!) don't miss out on the giant statue of, if I remember correctly, Cesar Chavez. It's on I-280 between SF and San Jose. He's at a rest stop about half way between the two. I can't remember the exact location right now, but you CAN'T miss him.

    Hmm, what else. The Tech in San Jose is fun to go to. Especially the billiard ball machine outside. The statue of a giant coiled snake that looks like dog poo is funny. By The Tech in San Jose. Napa for the wine. [HIC]

    Just some thoughts. If I think of any others, I'll post.

    Posted 1 week, 1 day after the fact

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