travel more

I’ve had a hard time wrapping my brain around what I wanted to say for this part of the travel log. It’s been over a month and I still haven’t gotten to the main reason why we went down.

Those of you who were paying attention a couple of months ago may remember my husband and I went down for a horror convention. He works in the industry and goes down a few times a year to meet with his agent, manager, and colleagues. This was the first time we went down together.

While I enjoyed meeting most of of his friends, the horror convention wasn’t exactly my goblet of blood. But I’m the sort that can have fun people (read freak) watching, and I had Anna Karenina to keep me company while he attended various sessions and meetings. I met a number of well-known actors and directors—well-known at least to people who love the genre, which means I had no idea who they were. So I had fun, sort of.

However…it became quite apparent to me that my husband would be happier if we lived in L.A. and his agent was putting some sort of subversive passive-aggressive pressure on him to do just that. With me right there.

Aaaargh!!!

I can’t stand L.A. Sorry if I’m offending anyone. It’s a fun place to visit and Dodger Stadium is one of my favorite places to watch baseball, but I don’t want to live there and I especially don’t want to raise my children there. But we have lived in Portland for a number of years because of my job (and because it’s the best city in the country, but we don’t agree on that point), so at some point I feel like I need to change something.

I’ve agreed that, if his career isn’t where he wants it a year from this September, that I’d consider some sort of compromise. What that will look like, I’ve no clue. I guess we’ll see when we get there.

I can say, with absolute certainty, that my fleeting visit to LA was unlike any other travel experiences I’ve had. Which was good, I guess.

The trip began with the flight down, notable in that it was the first time my husband and I have ever flown anywhere together in our 7 years of coupledom and he is absolutely terrified of flying. I have never seen him so mortified before. He maintained a vice-like grip on my hand during the first and last 30 minutes. The funny thing is that he has to fly to LA a few times a year, so you’d think he’d be used to it by now.

Anyway, while my husband ran off to his meetings I was able to do a bit of sightseeing. My favorite sight by far was the Disney Concert Hall. I heard a radio commentary on it last year that made it sound like a remarkable piece of architecture and it most definitely is. Absolutely gorgeous.

I’m starting to get a little nervous for the trip to LA. My husband leads something of a double life between here in Portland and there. He’s excited to introduce me to the circle of friends he’s developed down there, but I’m worried I won’t exactly fit in. You see, they’re all way into horror. They (including my husband) work for the horror movie industry and they’ll be spending part of the weekend working and hobnobbing at a horror convention. They’re not the types to get dressed up in Toxic Avenger outfits or walk around in fake blood, but their common bond is a genre of film that A) I’m not well-versed in and B)I’m not fond of. (Don’t get me wrong—there are some horror movies I love, but I could count them on one hand.)

I probably sound a lot like one of my middle-school students, whining that nobody likes me—except they know more about horror than I do.

Ahh well…I’ve had fun playing the ditz.
Me: Is Jason the one with the hockey mask or the scary hands?
Him: Please don’t ask me that in LA.
Me: Ok, ok, ok, but that Pinface guy. What was the name of that movie.
Him: (shakes his head in despair)
Good times. But seriously, I hope they like me and I hope I like them. If not, there’s always the hotel bar and making fun of the freaks in the costumes.

In my former pre-marital, pre-maternal life I was an avid traveler. I’ve traveled from one coast to the other several times over, one of those times by hitchhiking. I’ve studied in Germany, sung in Notre Dame cathedral, and had an other-worldly experience in a former pagan temple in Rome. I’ve performed for Pope JPII in Vatican City and for a drunken crowd in the Alley Cat, a honky-tonk bar in Champaigne, Illinois. My travels led to many adventures, friendships, and life lessons.

Since being married (to someone who hates to travel), I’ve done very little. Don’t get me wrong—I love my life now and consider raising children to be one of the most exciting adventures. I feel lucky to live in a city that holds myriad enclaves waiting to be explored. But I still miss traveling.

To be honest, I can’t afford to travel like I used to. Mortgage payment(s!) and the other costs of having a family leave little room in the budget for any non-necessity. I will be joining my husband, however, on a business trip to LA next month. Not my favorite place, but he loves it and wants to take me to some of his favorite haunts (he has to go down a few times a year). So, I have that to look forward to.

I’ll also be going to Kentucky(my ancestral home) this summer for a family reunion. I can’t wait to take my son to the Mammoth Caves. I love spelunking and I hope he does to. But I’ve been to Kentucky many times and while I’m there most of my time is spent visiting relatives and eating and eating and eating. I don’t get to fit in much exploring.

So, other than these trips, I think I’ll have to settle for adventures closer to home for awhile, and maybe start a plan to travel somewhere farther out for sometime in the future. Maybe Santa Fe—I lived there for a few years and would love to take my husband there.