hull in my head

…and so he left his humble home in Hull, smirking at his accidental alliteration. His bags were carefully packed, this carry-on backpack of clothes would have to last him a few months, the rest he would come back for on his voyage back to the Sates. He had tried to prepare himself for the journey mentally, noting all that he would need for the varied climates and cultures he’d be facing.

It began with yet another cheap-as-chips RyanAir flight to Dublin where he would meet up with “the girls,” three very good friends of his from Eastern Washington. “The girls” had already arrived and were at Andy and Liz’s resting quite heavily from their long and exhausting trip from the States. Rather than jump on their beds walking them up he opted to just hang out with Andy instead. Though this ended up being somewhat of an alarm-clock-tactic as well. You see, he and Andy watched Father Ted episodes and after a consist steam of laugher, the girls had no choice but to emerge from the room. The looks on their faces said something to the effect of: “I’m exhausted and could KILL you giggling boys for not shutting up” but thankfully their mouths didn’t match. They hugged and said nice things like: “Hi” or “it’s great to see you”. He in turn said the same. But he was struck with the most peculiar feeling. He expected there to be all this excitement in the air after not seeing his friends for so long, but there wasn’t. That’s not to say he wasn’t excited to see them,  for he very much was, it’s just that under the circumstances them coming out of Liz’s bedroom seemed natural. As if they had been there all along. He wondered if this was the sign of good friendships. Ones in which the person always seems as though they are there, when in fact they are not.

The next few days (as always the case in Dublin) went by quickly. He contemplated how rare a chance this was for some of his favorite people across the globe to be united. In this case those people were Liz, Andy, Melissa, Sam, John, and the girls. They spent their days touring, going to shows, drinking whisky + ginger wine, and shopping. On the last night he and John went to see Radiohead play at Malahide Castle. To this day he reflects on the entire night with great fondness. Not only was it an amazing show, but afterward he and John met Sam at a party and all three got their boogie on. The more ridiculous their dance move were the bigger their smiles grew and louder their self-amusing laughs became. And despite the late hour, the night wasn’t over yet,  for from the party they went to Melissa’s where the girls were staying and stayed up even later chatting.

A few hours of sleep later and he was headed to the airport to fly to Venice. It had only been three days but his heart was full. He was ready to embark upon what would be months of constant traveling.