The Liberty Bell, Philadelphia
I started looking on the web for somewhere I might hang around for a few days and found an old mansion in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia that was being used as a hostel. Perfect! Just 2 hours south of New York, with the best of both worlds….countryside and city…. One days ride and I was there, giving New York a wave, as I passed through on the interstate highway. It was late when I arrived and after checking in, I rode out of the park looking for a bar, where I might get a drink and a meal. I walked into a full bar and the whole place turned and looked at the white guy! The only white guy, in the whole place! Oops! Now, I have travelled the world for many years, there have been times when I felt uncomfortable in my surroundings, this was different, I was a minority. I squeezed up to the bar and ordered a beer, I felt the eyes on me and the bartender seemed a bit slow serving me, looking like she was wondering whether I should be allowed in. I looked at the bloke next to me and gave him a nod and a smile, he looked away, I was back in time, only the tables were turned. I was experiencing racism, now I understand! I drunk that pint, and ordered another, I walked to the small hatch in the wall where I got some fried chicken and chips, she also seemed reluctant to serve me, I ate, drunk my beer and left, without speaking to a soul apart from staff who seemed like it was a chore to them. Now I know how it feels!
I’d been to visit the Liberty Bell, I’d had my Philly Cheese Steak sandwich at Jims, I’d done the stuff expected of me in a new city. I’d been in touch with Steve from Rinkens who was shipping Henrietta to Perth, and still had a few days before I could drop her off in New Jersey. I was only 4 hours away from Winchester Virginia….. Mornin’ Cindy….. How’d you like to look after an old Geordie for a couple of days? So there you go, I got another taste of Jay and Cindy’s amazing hospitality, got to cuddle the redheads again and do the final farewells. Two days in Nu Joisey to drop off Henrietta and on to Manhattan, where I walked around Central Park, The Empire State Building, Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, over to Staten Island for a beer with Danny, the new Twin Towers, down the road from where I stayed in Lower Manhattan. So much walking, my last stop was to the cobblers, where I got new soles and heels on my boots and finished off sitting on the high chair getting a shoeshine.
I’m as east as I can get on this continent, so it’s time to cross the Atlantic and head for the old Country, to check out old friends and family. The hire car is waiting for me when I get off the plane at Heathrow and I am once again driving on the left. The M25 is a scary road, thundering down at 70 miles an hour, with a car only inches from your rear bumper. After a 10 hour plane journey it takes it out of you, on to the M1 North, which isn’t much better these days, means I have to stop for an hour and have a sleep at Watford Gap, before continuing north to Newcastle. There she is, the Angel of the North, a huge statue on the A1 looking out over the North East. Just another few minutes up the hill and I’m knocking on the door of my Mother’s house in Wrekenton. “Eeeee yer bugger what the hell yee deein he’ah, ah wasn’t expetin yee til Noavemba.” “Sorry Mutha ah tuk a wrang torn doon the road and he’ah, ah, am.”
I am….THE LONESOME TRAVELLER….travelling east….BE HAPPY!