Big Water Whirlwind Hurricane Tour of Britain
London, England & Llandudno, N. Wales
February 21 to March 5, 2002

Feb 20, Weds.
Well, well, well, it has been a couple of months since I have written and I am once again preparing to drive my bus over to Europe and see how the Big Water wave washes over the land. It has been a busy two months preparing and getting materials together to make another charge. I have rested in the mountains that I love and am ready to ride the next wave. I am off to London for a week for a singer/songwriter showcase and then up to Llandudno, N. Wales for a Saturday night gig, back to London and the returning home. A quick two week hit and run on England and Wales, more like a whirlwind hurricane than a wave, really. Anyway, the past two months have been a challenge to settle back in Tahoe. Great to see old friends, ski, breathe with the mountains and continue to focus and stay organized. I am still continuing to engage in destiny and free will and see where all this is taking me. A wild ride of faith and trust to put everything I am into something that I still don’t fully comprehend yet. Doing the best I can to make it all work out and rain on as many people as I can with the love of Big Water. Today, I am headed to San Francisco to stay with friends for the night and will fly out tomorrow afternoon. Whew, breathing into what has been and what is coming ...

 

Feb 21, Thurs.
Big day today! I am up super early to have a run around picking up all the materials I have been working on for the last two months; more folders, more postcards and a new 4 song demo of my second cd. Everything goes smoothly as I pop around from place to place picking things up. It all looks great! I am excited to be rearmed with promo and some new music. My friend, Julia, takes me to the airport and I finish packing on the way. She drops me at the airport and I ready for the long flight over the country and the Atlantic. Thanks for the ride, Julia! I will arrive in London in the morning and head once again to Martin and Vicky’s to meet Nancy, who is coming from Orlando, and ready for our two weeks. I am all settled on the plane only to be told that the whole plane must be unloaded due to a break in security procedures. The effects of last September have changed our world forever. We are all unloaded, taken out of the gate area, and all run through security one more time. By the time we are all loaded and ready again, we are three hours late. Amazingly, everyone is calm and cool over the whole incident and we are finally in the air and on our way. I breathe as much love as I can into the awesome planet we live on, not understanding the hatred of humanity. England, here I come! Earth, here I come!

 

Feb 22, Fri.
Whasssup and cheerio from jolly old England! We land safely at Heathrow, bless the angels, and I collect my bag and head for the train. Great flight on Virgin Atlantic with great amenities, 20 movies with my own screen, cocktails, food, but the smallest seat I have ever had traveling as a six foot four inch human being. My body is tight, but my brain is ready. I get a week train pass that is all access to London and make my way to Martin and Vicky’s. Back to Nunhead, where our phone got stolen last trip, but still a cool neighborhood. I arrive late afternoon to find Nancy and Martin chatting away. Great to see Nancy again! Great to see Martin again! We all settle in for the evening, as Vicky arrives shortly after me and it is great to see her again, too! I make a quick call to Barry at the Borderline to check in and see if there is any new info for Tuesday night’s show. Really looking forward to it! After, we all have a lovely evening in, having dinner and conversation and catching some Olympics on the tele. Once again, blessed and honored and amazed that I am doing what I am doing. Pushing hard and breathing into my dream, my calling ... Love as much as you can every day!

 

Feb 23, Sat.
Sleep in, but not too late. We’re headed into London to have a walkabout, looking to see where we’ll be guided and to have some fun. This trip is definitely different from the last, already less stress. Not as much to do as the last time, which is nice to be able to get to look around. We hop the train to Blackfriars and start walking. We decide that we’ll go and check out some of our favorite places we went to the last time to see how different it really is this time. On the way, we are drawn into an archway entrance to a large compound area and discover that we are exploring the Inner Temple of the Knights Templar, who were an order of knights here from 1185 to 1312 that protected pilgrims to the Holy Land and were finally suppressed as a threat to the throne. We stop in a small courtyard next to a small church and on this patchy cloudy, sunny day in London, it begins to snow and hail as the sun warms our faces. We are being welcomed and it is glorious! It is only for about 5 minutes, but a cool, trippy moment. Nancy and I, who are like brother and sister, realize that we were old knights together way back when and say thank you for the welcome. With more exploring to be done, we head to Covent Garden and back to Neal’s Yard. They are repaving my favorite little courtyard and the construction definitely tells us this time is again different. We wander and find a cool new hang out, an acclectic and artsy little bar called ‘Freud’. Next, off to the Angel pub to chack it out again and meet Jukka and Caroline, a young couple who are studying here in London. Great people! Great conversation! They decide to join us on the tail end of our walkabout and we continue pondering large questions. A wonderful day and time to head home. Catch the last train and call it a day. Good to be home again after 900 years, good knight!

 

Feb 24, Sun.
A great lazy Sunday morning with Martin andVicky. Get to sleep in a little and have a great breakfast. We all head out around noon and go to Greenwich in the south east of London. You know, Greenwich Mean Time, the Prime Meridian, 0 degrees longitude. Ship captains would set their time pieces off the clocks here to help them navigate. We all stroll through the market here. All kinds of stuff and food and music and people. A wonderful, slow afternoon. Really great to spend some time with Martin and Vicky on this trip. We make our way back to the home front and call Cathy, an old friend from Germany, now back living in London. Nancy and I make arrangements to meet Cathy in the city. We ready for the evening and head to the Royal Festival Hall to spend some time with Cathy. Great to see her! After a coffee, we decide to walk a bit and find ourselves walking along the Thames on a Sunday evening. Past the London Eye, the biggest observation wheel ever designed and built, the Tate Modern Museum and on to the Millenium bridge, which has just reopened. Due to wobble problems in the design, the bridge was opened for the millenium and closed after 3 days. They have just reopened it the week prior, so we stroll across it from the museum of modernness on one side over to St. Paul’s cathedral, the second largest in the world, on the other side. Interesting contrast of new to old. We all have a great dinner in the Chinatown part of London and pack up to head home. Great to see you, Cathy! A great day, a great evening. Despite the rain, London is a cool city.

 

Feb 25, Mon.
An early rise to this day as we are readying for Tuesday night and have some things to do today. Again, headed into London, today we are in the Twilight Zone and nothing is appearing familiar. One more time being told that this trip is different. We take a moment, gather our bearings and deal with our strange day. First thing is to head to the Borderline and see Barry, the promoter for this weeks gig. We check in with Barry to see if anything has changed and if there is anything we can do to help push ourselves and the gig. There is not much promotion surrounding this event, so Nancy and I will try and do what we can for ourselves. A quick lunch and we’re off to meet one of Nancy’s friends, John, who works in the financial district. Great guy, very nice to meet him. We have a short afternoon conversation and head off to meet Nancy’s other friend, John H, a few blocks away. Another great guy and very nice to meet him as well. Another great conversation and arrangements for lunch on Wednesday. Looking forward to it. Time now for a cold call as we weave our way to one of the radio stations supporting the event tomorrow night. We find a talk and news station that is not doing anything in conjunction with tomorrow’s showcase. A frustrating lead, but experience and knowledge gained and put to use immediately. Beginning to learn faster, but incorporation can be slow. Life is a process and am still in refinement mode and working on my presentation and timing in how I am and how I live my life. Yee-ha! Slow, steady, sure. With no more time for promotional pursuits at the moment, we make our way to see my friend, Tony, a manager and producer in the music business. I met Tony in Tahoe a while back and it is great to see him! He is super busy, so we chat for a bit, catch up, exchange some info and have a great conversation. Learning more and more and pushing on. We don’t stay long and will see Tony tomorrow night. Say our goodbyes and off to the home front and sleep. Educational, strange, progressive, weird day. Getting all I can out of every day...

 

Feb 26, Tues.
Whew! Wake up late and have slept very well. Feel good from the start and looking forward to tonight. Put new strings on my Martin, guitar that is, on a great lazy morning and we walk down to the corner for some lunch. The afternoon is prep and warming up for tonight. We hit the train for the city late afternoon to be early for sound check. Train and walk our way to the Borderline. Tons of great people have played here, pictures and names on the walls of the stairs going down to an American Western style theme of a club. Cool wood, good feel, great sound. Some of the best sound I’ve ever had, thanks Mike. The night kicks off with another American, Bob Collum. He’s awesome and has some great songs. I follow with my set and have a great time. The sound is fantastic and makes it easy for me to do what I know how to do, stand and sing it loud and proud. I play well, sing well, and have fun, the rest is bonus. Not really a great turnout, but Martin and Vicky and Tony and Monica are there to help rally. All in all, a great experience. Can’t seem to learn enough and fast enough, but moment by moment and experience by experience makes a life. We hang, pass out promo and demo cds and catch the other two acts. Page, a four piece acoustic band follows me and then Polly Paulusma, a solo acoustic artist, seals the night. Great songs from her as well and she’s a super sweetheart. Again, all in all, another amazing place I got to share my music in and another experience to learn from. The event wasn’t quite what I thought it would be based on what we were told, but I feel like I gained tons. Blessed and honored by it all and am thankful for the moments of this day. Home and to bed.

 

Feb 27, Weds.
Wake to a beautiful morning, patchy clouds and nice and sunny. Mornings have been lovely, but it has been raining by afternoon every day so far. Today is an unwind day and we have a lazy morning until we leave for London to have lunch with John H. We meet in the financial district by Leadenhall Market and go to very nice Italian restaurant. Absolutely fantastic lunch! Good company, food, conversation, it’s the little things! After a long lunch, we head to a nearby pub for a pint and meet up with the other John. We all talk and laugh and have a great time. Super nice guys! They are both back to work and Nancy and I head towards the London Eye for a ride. The London Eye is the biggest observation wheel ever designed or built and is like a huge ferris wheel that takes you 450 feet above London. Fantastic view because it’s right on the Thames in the heart of London. It opened for the millenium as part of the celebration in 2000. We hit it just right as a beautiful orange moon rises on one side and the twilight settles on the other. Really cool to see all the buildings and land marks from up above. Recommended experience. We’re now off on another walkabout, down through Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street, past the theaters and over to Neal Street for a goodbye. We pop into our new favorite spot ‘Freud’ and have a brief last night in London hang session. Large questions. Small questions. Examining the self and working to polish and refine the person that drives it. A heavy, excited, passionate, intense conversation. I can be that way sometimes. Hmmm... sitting in a bar called ‘Freud’, go figure. We’re now off to the trains and home. London is a great city. Amazing, interesting place. Thanks again, blessed and honored to have gotten to see you again. Tomorrow we’re off to Wales, back to Llandudno. Can’t wait to go back to the Great Orme and see Nerys and Owen. Dreams of my Welsh home...

 

Feb 28, Thurs.
Once again a beautiful morning and very clear today. Up not too early and hang out with Martin and Vicky, who are both home today. Thank you two so much for everything. You are a huge part of making this happen for me. Very grateful for your kindness. A really great slow day. Packed up and ready for a train journey to Wales. Very glad to not be driving. We say our goodbyes to Martin and Vicky, thanks again, and head into London, gear in tow, to the Euston Station where we catch our train. It’s so easy to get around London, the transit system is awesome. We hang at the station, lunch, some chess and conversation. The train ride is about 3 and a half hours and is great. Smooth as butter. We arrive in Llandudno and get picked up by Owen and Norm, Nerys’ Dad. So great to see them! Really wonderful being here again. Home, lived here before, way back when, home. Nerys is working, but peaks her head in to say hello on a quick break with her Mom and Kate. So wonderful to see them all again. We all put quarters in the conversation box and we’re off and running. Nerys is back to work for a bit and then back home. An awesome late night just talking and laughing away with great friends and the Orme. Thanks for having us, Owen and Nerys. Love you two! Sweet dreams on the awesome Great Orme. Happy birthday, Todd!

 

Mar 1, Fri.
A little bit of a sleep in from a late night, but not too much because Nerys and Owen are both off today from work. A fantastic, beautiful day. I’m the first one up and take advantage with an early morning stroll around on the Orme. Back for a wonderful breakfast and plans of hiking in Snowdonia are made. We pile in the car and head out into the countryside and make our way to check out Mt. Snowden, which is in Snowdonia National Park, not too far away. You can see Mt. Snowden from the Orme if it’s clear. An amazing drive in the countryside. Like stepping back in time. The fences and walls, the houses, the land. Awesome! We weave our way into the mountains and pull off at Llanberis pass to take a walk up into the mountains. Absolutely beautiful. Snow covered peaks with stunning colors of green grass, brown rock and black slate. We walk up to a small lake up on in there and I know right where I am. I’ve got Welsh in my spirit for sure. I’m off with the shoes, yes, no flip flops sadly, and have a wade in the cold water. Feels so great! An amazing place tucked in here, horse shoed by mountains. Very crisp and breezy with grey dark clouds coming in. Find it very hard to leave when it’s time to go. Feel so at home. On the way out it starts to snow flurry a little as if to say thank you for coming and it was great to see you. Head home via a coffee stop and a pint stop, have a fabulous dinner and settle in for the night. Allan and Celia, the neighbors, pop in to say hello and chat for a while. We met them at my gig the last time I played here and they ended up buying and moving into the house next door to Owen and Nerys that was for sale then. Small world. Great to see them again, too! Another late night of conversation, only this time we just put a dime in the conversation box and the meter runs out a little earlier tonight. So much fun to talk and hang and laugh with friends. What a blessing! A reminder to keep living life. Incredible, amazing day!

 

Mar 2, Sat.
A wonderful, slow, easy morning waking to grey clouds tinted with pastels as the day is waking too. Gig day! So looking forward to playing tonight. We’re all enjoying the pace of the day with tea and coffee and conversation, hanging in the garden and looking at the view. Early afternoon, Owen, Nerys and Nancy head into town for a look around and are meeting John from Sheffield, who we met on our last trip, and his sister Julie. They are both coming the two hour drive for tonight’s gig and Julie’s birthday tomorrow. I spend the afternoon preparing for the evening, playing guitar to warm up the fingers and singing some to warm up the voice and enjoying some time to myself. Spend some time working on a new song and getting myself cleaned up. I head down into town late afternoon to meet everyone. Great to see John again and get to meet Julie. These two are also the brother and sister of Martin in London, sweet family. A quick pint at the local spot and we’re back home to ready for the evening’s gig and after party. Some last minute inspiration lets me finish the song I was working on and I pack up and move on down to the Cottage Loaf for tonight’s show. A rapid set up and sound check to get ready and see a lot of folks that came out last time. Julianne, Allan, Celia, Joe, Pete, Jenny, Gina, Sara, Ferhat, Val and more, thanks for coming you all. A great night! Great show! So much fun to get to play. Really fun to have people sing along and know some of my songs. Had the whole place up and on the Bus. Fantastic! Absolutely wonderful night. And like last time, we all head home for a grand slam late night after party with all the same folks from last time. Super great people, oodles of fun talking and singing and hanging out til the wee hour of 5 am once again. Everyone is so nice and I am very appreciative of all the support. Amazingly blessed to be here in this place, on this land, with all of these people. A very warm and special and inspiring place. Exhausted, I am slammed into sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning ...

 

Mar 3, Sun.
Amazingly, we are all up by mid morning and moving very, very slow. Bodies and blankets everywhere form last night’s slumber party. So much fun! Just before noon we head into town with a big group of us for some breakfast. Great morning conversation and breakfast as we all get through last night’s festivities. John and Julie are headed back to Sheffield, so we say our goodbyes and wish Julie a Happy Birthday. Great to see both of you! The rest of the day is spent cleaning the house, relaxing and shaking out the cobwebs. A fantastic slow day, naps and some writing and evening is upon us. We are and have been settled in for the day and the evening. Quiet dinner with Owen, Nerys and Nancy and we all kick and watch a movie. Our trip is working it’s way to a close, as we are leaving tomorrow for London and then flying home on Tuesday. Time flies when you are having fun. What a magical place this is. I am very grateful to have been exposed to and gotten to experience this place and these people. Thank you for bringing me here, Nancy. I am changed forever. We really do live on an amazing planet with incredible people. As I’m off to sleep, early tonight, I breathe into the dirt and dust that holds our existence together. I am one with me and one with Earth. I drift off grinning and grateful.

 

Mar 3, Mon.
Up early today to have some coffee with Owen and Nerys before they head to work. Time gone much too quickly. Two amazing people in an amazing place and sadly we are off today towards London on the afternoon train. It has been really fantastic to spend some more time with Nerys and Owen this time around and get to see more of the amazing scenery of North Wales. I love you guys and I love this place. Thank you, thank you, thank you for who you are and all that you do. We give our hugs and say our goodbyes. Until next time, for we will be back. The rest of the morning is spent packing, cleaning and organizing for the trip home. Nancy heads to town and I spend some time on the computer. Got to keep pushing forward. The time to leave has come as Norm arrives to take us to the station. Bye, Llandudno, we will see you again. Thanks for the ride, Norm, you're a star! We again have a great train ride and arrive in London early evening. We work our way to Victoria Station and find a place for the night. After getting settled, Nancy and I go for a final walkabout. We make our way to Dolphin Square, a private garden surrounded by tall apartment buildings. Lovely! Beautiful flowers and a really cool dolphin fountain right in the middle. From there, we're off back towards our favorite walking areas and after a bite to eat, find ourselves once again in Neal's Yard. Still under construction, they have at least laid some of the stone work for the new courtyard. Looks great, can't wait to come back when it is done. We're just hanging out and looking at the new magnetic poetry board that has been put on one wall and we meet Josephine, a sparkling woman whose husband and friend are the ones who started Neal's Yard. Neal's Yard is a wholefood, therapy, holistic, wonderful spiritual place. Josephine gives us some history as well as a little book with info on how it all got started. Awesome. Super sweet woman. Once again being guided by the angels to meet her. Nancy and I both know her husband, Nicholas, and their friend, Nicholas, who have both passed, from another ancient time. After Josephine leaves, my body shakes as I feel their energy running through me. I immediately look down to find a beautiful heart rock and am swirling somewhere other than Earth. Nancy and I both leave a poem on the board and head to the Angel pub to let this whole two weeks soak in. Wow, what an experience this has all been. I have learned tons and once again am changed forever. We walk and breathe all the way back to Victoria and call it a day. Tomorrow, back to our home fronts to regroup again. Great day of travel to so many wonderful places, tangible and intangible. Love, bless us all.

 

Mar 5, Tues.
Up super early to make sure we get to our respective airports to head home, Nancy to Gatwick to Orlando and me to Heathrow to San Francisco. Nancy and I say our goodbyes as we both leave from Victoria Station. Thank you once again, Nancy for an amazing and life changing experience. You're a star and I super appreciate all the help you give me. Wouldn't have come or be here without you and can't thank you enough. The trip to the airport is easy and I get all checked in and ready for the ride home. This time I ask for a little more room and have a wonderfully easy flight home. Absolutely amazing that we can get on a little ricket ship and cruise some 6,ooo miles in 11 hours time. What a world we have created for ourselves. And how funny that we can create it however and with whatever we want in it. Makes me question why we create so much hate and tragedy and selfishness. This world was not made for us, we were made for the world. Pray and hope and trust and have faith that we all can learn to love as much as we can every day. We have the power to make it all whatever we want. Knowing this, interesting choices that are made by humanity. I arrive home safe and sound and am grateful for the safe passage. My friend, Blue, picks me up and welcomes me back. Thanks for the ride, brother. It is great to be home. Now, time to plot and plan what is coming next. Got a few things stewing on the burners, so keep checking in to see how it all turns out. I am pushing on and living my dream called life and doing what I can to engage this destiny and free will. Hope you are too. Love you all!