Road Blog

End of the line

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 09:09:03 -0400

I've been doing so much "leaving" these days that I am beginning to wonder if I'll ever do some "arriving".
Spent the night in Bangkok and hopped on a flight to Phnom Penh the next day. I had heard the Tony was still in town and wanted to get an updated on the kids at Little Hearts. I got a Tuktuk to Dream Colours where Francois Xavier was waiting for me with a big smile and a cold beer. After a bit if conversation I borrowed his mobile phone and gave Tony a call. He was happily surprised to hear my voice and we made plans to have a drink together.

We met at a rooftop bar on the Riverside and it was truly great to see him again. His brother Jimmy and his dad had been in town a few weeks earlier and the three of them had a blast together. They even rented dirt bikes and went around the countryside (the old man's first time on a motorcycle). He gave me updates on the kids and shared his latest plans to get things rolling smoother. He had organized teams and appointed a captain for each of them. That captain would be responsible for his team's weekly tasks (clean up the yard, cut the grass, wash the bathrooms etc.) and would also serve as a role model for the younger ones.

One person would be responsible
for the tools and would hold the key
to the storage room where they
would be kept. If a team needed
a certain tool, that team's captain
would be responsible for it and
would promptly return it after the
job was done. I thought it was a
wonderful idea to teach them
about respect and responsibility
and applauded the idea (Bart
had came up with that one). We
had a few beer and Tony invited
me to have dinner with him (FX
had to go back the the guesthouse).

We had one of the best conversation over a good bottle of wine and a nice peace of meat. We were pretty much the only clients in the restaurant and laughed out loud the entire time. He was telling me about a new volunteer who had no clue whatsoever and didn't do much around the place. When he confronted her she basically broke down and started to cry. I shared some of my adventures and, after many after dinner drinks, made plans to meet early the next day at the orphanage.

That night I packed all my shit and passed out with my clothes on. It was bright and early when I woke up and headed straight for Little Hearts in the Tuktuk that FX had arranged for me.

The kids were happy to see me and so was I. The whole gang was there (it’s school vacation in Cambodia) and they were getting ready for a massive cleanup of the dumpsite where I started to burn garbage a few months back. Tony had gotten some big sack and the teams were all gathered at the front of the compound with surgical gloves and mask. The place was almost unrecognizable, the compound was immaculate and soon the whole garbage pit would be gone. Tony had arrange for garbage pick up once every week in the hopes that other neighbours would get the idea and stop discarding garbage in front of their house. I saw that the concept of the team and their captains was working very well and congratulated them. I helped out a bit before kissing them all goodbye and hopping back on the Tuktuk for the airport. I will miss them all very much and swore to come back and check on them. Cambodia brought me a sense of accomplishment and filled my need to be needed. These kids don't have much but they have each others and, most importantly they have the Geeraerts brother. Thank you Jimmy and Tony for allowing me to be part of their lives and I will never forget it.

As I write these words, I am sitting in the Taipei airport waiting for my flight and wish I could still be there with them. I left part of my heart in Cambodia and will come back to get it someday.

Later,

- Jp

Out of Australia

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 07:30:43 -0400

Yesterday I bid farewell to my daughter in Australia.
After spending a entire month together, I had to leave her at a the Melbourne airport hotel where she would catch her flight back to Montreal the next morning. That day I had to fly to Bangkok in order to catch another flight to Phnom Penh the next day. I had left a bunch of clothes and gifts at Dream Colours and my original return ticket to Montreal left from the a day later. It was hard to say goodbye and leave her alone but I knew she would be safe and able to walk to the terminal early in the morning and go back home. I kissed and hugged her goodbye and walked back to the terminal.

I called my Australian hosts (Toby, Ronnie and Bernie) and expressed my gratitude. Without their awesome hospitality, our time in Oz would have been quite different and I thanked them one more time before leaving their motherland. For a bunch of tossers, they were pretty cool guys.

Our last night was spent at Janet and Barry Metzger (friends of Toby who had invited us for a departure dinner). Their daughter Shannon was the same age as Rae and they had also invited a great woman named Sarah who was a singer/songwriter along with
Bevvy (Toby's neighbour). Janet and Barry were
originally fro San Diego and had moved to Melbourne
in the late 80's and set up shop in a great suburb of
Melbourne. Janet had cooked up some delicious
enchiladas and the margaritas were flowing.

Soon after dinner the guitars came out of the cases
and Sarah gave us a sample of her extraordinary
songwriting talents. I did my best to follow her lead
and was blown away at her words, voice and guitar
playing, the girl was gifted.

We stayed up late and had a great time together. It was great to get to meet new people even if it was last in the trip. Their house was extremely well designed and cozy and was a perfect place for a friendly get together. The next morning we all had a copious breakfast and Barry took us to the airport. They were a great family and I extended an invitation for them to come and visit us in Canada if they had the chance.

Overall our time in Australia were extremely special. We met some great folks who will remain friends for the rest of our lives and are grateful for all the unforgettable times they showed us. Thank you all and hope to see you agin soon... really!

So long Land Down Under, I pray we see each other again soon.

- Johnny Pilgrim

A week on the Gold Coast

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:57:38 -0400

The Yarra Valley had been cold and wet so Rae and I decided to head for the sun.
I wanted her to see as much as she could of the Land Down Under in the few weeks we would spend together. Ron had heard of our plans in Adelaide and owned an apartment on the Gold Coast that happened to be available for a week. Before we left, he mentioned that if we were actually going to the Gold Coast, we could stay at his apartment. Needless to say we jumped at the chance to visit Surfer's Paradise and found some cheap flights to Queensland that week. Toby kindly dropped us off at the Lillydale train station and we made our way into Melbourne and on to Tullamarine airport.

Ron's time sharing condo was situated between the river and the sea and both were a mere stone throw away. The place was an actual two bedroom penthouse apartment on the 12th floor with 300 degree views of Surfer's Paradise. We were blown away when we walked into the wide living room and saw the breathtaking view, the wide screen TV, the fully equipped kitchen and the balcony that surrounded the apartment (it actually went halfway around the whole building). We slowly settled in, went for supplies and called it an early night. We would explore our new surroundings in daylight.

The next morning we went down to the beach and walked North towards the heart of town. We looked for shells and tried to scan the ocean for signs of sea life. We were smack in the middle of whale migration season and were told that folks often saw them from the shore. Although the temperature was higher than the north of Melbourne, the weather was somewhat overcast and a strong breeze kept us from bathing in the ocean. Nevertheless, we spent the wool day wandering about and snooping around.

Our first impressions found the place to be a mixture of Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Santa Monica , a melting pot of rich old folks, families on vacation and local surfer dudes. Skyscrapers dotted the entire coastline and high end shops were everywhere. Gucci, Cartier and expensive jewellery stores were common and every beach communities seemed to be filled with fancy restaurant where a simple lunch will set you back $50. The coastline was immaculately clean and the river wound along inland just a few blocks from the beach. The people were friendly and the atmosphere was cool, a typical tourist town made for folks who can afford it. Theme parks (Sea World, Six Flags, Water World) were a big attraction along with the coastal activities (Whale Watching, Scuba Excursions, Sky Diving, Fishing, etc.), but all of them were so darn expensive that we made due with what we could afford.

We rented bicycles one day and pedalled along the ocean until our legs were could no longer support us. We must have covered at least 25 miles on asphalt, gravel and sand until the end of the beach paths (both North and South). On another day we travelled across town to visit what turned out to be an outdoor "White Trash" market. We rented a car and went up the Tamborine mountains to take a stroll over the rainforest on a Skywalk but saw absolutely no wildlife worth mentioning. Ironically, on the way back, we ran into Skippy the Kangaroo on the side of a mountain road and took a bunch of cool shots of him. Also, while visiting a nearby park and spotted thousands of huge bats (called flying foxes) who were literally hanging around in trees. We tried to get them to fly for us so we could take a good shot of them, walked the beach some more, made great meals back at the penthouse (consisting mainly of pasta because nothing else was affordable), and chilled together like we'd never done before. Surprisingly, we only had a few arguments over stupid stuff and quickly got over it. Since I had last seen her (over 6 months ago) my daughter had become a vegetarian and I had to adapt my cooking to meet her requirements (Who are you, The Ayatolla of Munchola?)

When the weather was crappy, we watched old TV shows we use to watch together when she was a kid (Scooby Doo, Bugs Bunny, Dexter's Lab, Pink Panther, etc...) and reminisced about the old days. We found a blockbuster store and rented some classic movies like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "Trainspotting", "Pulp Fiction", "Run Lola Run" and "Traffic" to improve Rae's general cinema culture and curled up on the couch with some home made popcorn (Rae has the golden Popcorn touch). It had been a long time since my kid and I had the chance to get some uninterrupted time together (just the two of us) and I greatly appreciated it. She's a great girl with a great attitude and I know she'll succeed in life and be able to achieve whatever goal she sets her mind to.

Overall, we had a great time on the Gold Coast even though it was not quite our scene. We had some good laughs, good meals, and a great time together..

Thank you Ron , Thank you Toby, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord, we owe you one...

Later!

- JP

The long and winding road back home

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:55:29 -0400

On our way out of Adelaide we decided to travel a different road that we utilized on the way up. The plan was to show Rae a stretch of the Great Ocean Road and to do that we had to go through a series of small villages and towns. We abandoned the highway near the town of Keith and made our way towards Naracoorte. The people who named the various places we went through must have had a wacky sense of humour because some of the town had strange names like Kiki, Tintinara, Carapook and Culburra (and those are the somewhat normal ones). The scenery was typical of Australia, rolling hills dotted with majestic trees and endless panoramas under breathtaking skies, and we revelled at the sights until sundown. Since we were riding a popcorn box on little country roads, I decided to stop for the night. We had seen many kangaroos by the road side that day and the thought of hitting one with our little car gave me cause to worry. I could imagine a big old Skippy popping up in front of us and the damage it could do to both us and our rental. We pulled up in the town of Hamilton and I searched around for a place to crash for the night. The motels around town were asking for $120 for a room with 2 beds and I should have been worried when a lady at a local hotel offered one for $52 I went to inspect the room and found out why immediately (the place was a dump with one communal bathroom for the whole floor). I was glad Rae wasn't with me cause she would have freaked out. I eventually found something appropriate at another hotel for $80 and we called it an early night.

The next day the sun was shining bright we hit the road again. The previous afternoon we had purchased a few CD at a pawn shop and were pleased to be free from the local radio station for a while. We saw some wacky roadside attractions (an old bus with mannequins inside, abandoned shacks, lava rock walls built by convicts in the mid 1800's that stretched for miles, and massive trees lining up the road) and had to stop on many occasions to take shots of them. Rae was by far the best co pilot I had ever had the pleasure to travel with, until we took a wrong turn near a village named Stalker. We suddenly found ourselves on a dirt road in the middle of the forest. The massive trees that lined it were hiding the blue skies and looked like the ones from The Wizard of Oz. Once in a while we could see huge fallen branches and hoped the "widow makers" would not drop one on us. It was funny at first but after half and hour trying to avoid massive potholes at 30 km per hour on the twisting mud track and not seeing any signs of life, I became worried. Was if a huge tree had fell and would block the road ?, Was this thing a dead end ?, Who could ever find us if our car broke down ? When the hell is this road gonna connect with civilization ? What the f... are we doing here ???

We eventually exited the forest and reached the top of the hill in a village called Laver's Hill, and I needed a drink. However, the few stores in the town that were willing to sell me a single Victoria Bitter were doing it for $6 and I declined the offer. We finally reached the ocean and kept chasing the sun. Every time we reached an inviting beach and would get out of the car to take a shot or two, the clouds would roll in and and we had to move on. We did exactly that all the way to Lorne.

I had visited the Crown Jewel of the Australian coast a year before and knew a few great folks there and I planned to do an unannounced surprise visit. I hit the local pub in search of Snake Belly Joe and was told that I could find him at the Angler's bar. "They have the cheapest beer in town today and I'm sure you will find him there" the barman told me and I knew he was probably right. I made my way to the pier and asked one of the locals if he had seen the man lately. The friendly beer drinker pulled out his mobile phone and called him immediately. He passed the phone on to me and said "Here he is ". Snake Belly Joe was totally surprised and joined me a few minutes later. He was in pretty bad shape and had recently broken his left arm but was still his same old crusty self. I pulled out my laptop and showed him the segment I had shot a year earlier. He was teary eyed when he watched the screen and i shot him during the whole time. Once it was over, he looked at me and said: "Johnny, this is one of the most beautiful doco I have ever seen, you captured that moment and our town as it really is. Thank you for making us worldwide". We had a beer together and I asked about the boys and girls who were with us that night. Most of them were out of town but Ann Mason (the lady who was our hostess that night) was home and would be elated to see me. I left Snake Belly Joe with his drinking buddies and made my way towards Allen street.

Ann was both surprised and happy to see me. She couldn't believe it at first but soon invited Rae and I into her home. There was a cozy fire in the pot bellied stove and she was correcting homework from her daily classes (the lady has been a school teacher for decades) that we proceeded to spill wine all over. We chatted for a while and showed her the Lorne segment. She was blown away and expressed her gratitude by inviting us to stay for the night. We politely declined the offer and thanked her for her hospitality. We had been on the road for almost a week and wanted to get back to our home away from home in the Yarra valley. We hugged and promised to come back someday when we would have more time. I gave her the DVD of the segment before leaving and told her to show all the kids when they would come back to town. I gave her another big hug and asked her to do the same to my friends.

So long Lorne, it was nice to see you again...

- JP

Goodbye Adelaide or the world needs more people like Ron Barton

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:44:27 -0400

Today Rae and I said goodbye to our great Adelaide host with the most.
Ronaldo Barton treated us like royalty and bestowed awesome hospitality upon us. After an unforgettable weekend on the Murray River he welcomed us into his home as if we were long lost relatives.

The pre 1900's house was as cool as the Deckadance and was nestled in a quiet neighbourhood called Woodsville. It was impeccably furnished and decorated and had just as many features as the houseboat (even more). A pool, Jacuzzi, pizza oven, big kitchen and living room,four bedrooms, two baths, and last but not least, a real pub in the basement.

I am not kidding you, a real life English pub in the in the basement. The underground part of the house had been sealed off long ago and there was no access to that part of the property. Ron had once cut a hole in the floor to peek in there but had quickly sealed it off again to avoid the mildew to take over the house. Many years later, after the house had properly been restored entirely, he had ventured down and had seen the potential for a wine cellar. He had started to dig the excess dirt and had perforated a large hole in the living room floor the make a stairwell. It had taken him quite a while (and a lot of efforts) but he had successfully created an area where he could both store his wine collection and have his friends over for a drink. The entered basement resembled and felt like a quaint little watering hole that you could find in the English countryside and had countless bottles of spirit. I couldn't believe it.

His son Luke spent his time between his mother's house (a few blocks away), his dad's, his work at the local movie theatre, his studies, kickboxing classes and his laptop. On the other hand, his daughter Danielle was pregnant with a little girl and had just been approved (with her boyfriend Tom) by the bank on their first house purchase. They were both great kids in their late teens and got along really well with Rae. Dani even took Rae around town for a Thrift shops city tour and the two of them had a great time together. We had been adopted by a great Australian family and it felt just like home away from home.

Ron has been involved in an organization that helped local kids and families in need. The Variety charity has been around for over a decade and provides mobility to those with handicaps that have left them unable to get around by their own means. All monies are gathered through various events and sometimes unorthodox fundraisers (i.e.: a big hairy guy being entirely waxed). The Adelaide chapter of the Variety charity has been the most successful a few years in a row and Ron has been a big part of it. He genuinely care for others and it's quite apparent when he tell the stories of families whose lives were changed by the organization and it's volunteers. All of them donate their time and money to help the community and they do make a difference in many lives. They say that charity should start in your own backyard and the good folks of Adelaide are doing just that.

So it was hard to say goodbye to such a great man. He treated Rae like a niece and even thought her many Australian words that i'm sure will render her mom speechless and blushing (it had the same effect on me). He had a wicked sense of humour and was constantly taking the piss out of me (that means making fun of). The many times I tried to thank him, he waved me off by saying: "What's the use of having good things and not share them with people you love". We had many great conversations and shared a lot of laughs in the few days we spent together. On our last night together, he fired up the pizza oven and the whole gang participated in making personalized pies that we shared over laughter and vino (Rae and I snagged the leftovers for the ride back). Later on, I pulled out the old guitar and we ended the night singing songs on the back porch.

As I am writing this, I realized that I barely knew the man a week ago and now consider him a lifetime friend. I love him dearly and made sure to express my feelings in the note Rae and I left for him before we left his house this morning. I had written the text and Rae had adorned the white page with drawings of all the events we has shared (it event had a sketch of his old dog Ollie snoring). We had had a wonderful time and were extremely grateful. As far as I'm concerned, the world needs more people like Ron Barton.

Thank you brother I owe you one and hope to see you again soon...

- JP

Hillbilly Hoot & Billy Bob BBQ

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:34:16 -0400

Monday nights are special in Adelaide and I was lucky to be in town on one of them.
The first event that takes place every monday nights happens in a little park on Nelson street behind an abandoned house. I was lucky enough to be part of the Hillbilly Hoot last year and made plans to visit them again this year. Since I had last attended the hoot they had gone worldwide when 93.7 3D radio started broadcasting on the internet. I had made a little documentary on the show ( see : "Look Ma, I'm on Hillbilly radio") and was recognized as soon as I showed up. Robert Ayeliff's face lit up when I walked up to him with an extenuated hand. He was truly surprised and happy to see me and asked if I wanted to sing a song or two. He also expressed his gratitude and said I had captured the true essence of the show in my exposé on the weekly gathering.

The show was just as cool as the year before and I was part of the line up once again. Many Hooters also came up to tell me they enjoyed the segment and I was flattered by their compliments. Along for the ride were Rae, Ron and Bernie and we all enjoyed the various performances during the hour long broadcast. My favourite was a local singer/song writer called Don Morrisson. He is quite a legend in Adelaide and is a true craftsman who makes steel guitar out of old corrugated iron (he calls them rust buckets). I've been wanting one of his creations ever since I laid eyes on one of them last year and he even lent me one of them for the show. I made plans to meet him the next day and talk about the possibility of making one for me to travel with. I would love to become the official Donmo Guitars ambassador.

We hung out a bit after the show and chatted before heading to another one of Adelaide's attraction.

The Grace Emily hotel is a funky old place that hosts Billy Bob BBQ Jam night. Just like the Hoot, it takes place every monday nights and is quite popular among the locals. Billy Bob is a great host and a wicked guitar player who's been putting on the show for many years. He too recognized me right away and asked me to join his band for a few songs. I gladly obliged and soon after we brought the house down and blew the roof off the joint. What a great night...

The next afternoon I drove up in the Adelaide hills to meet Don Morrisson at his workshop. The place was quite modest and Don was working on a steel Ukulele when I showed up with my friends Maj and Kyriaki. Kyriaki was responsible for my connection with the Hillbilly Hoot and Maj was just as guilty by association. I had met them for lunch and they kindly offered to help me find my way to Don's and help me shoot the meeting. Don was a gracious host and showed us around his shop. He explained his guitar building method and shared some of his secrets with us (along with some cool anecdotes). I asked if he could build me a guitar that I could carry around in a soft case that could also fit in a plane's overhead compartment. "I don't know Johnny, I would have to make new templates and rethink my whole guitar making process, but let me think about it and I'll come up with something". We chatted some more and I took a few shots of all the guitar parts and tools laying around the shop. In the end, I didn't walk out of there with a Donmo steel guitar but now know the man well and someday my dream will come true.

Thanks Don, Kyriaki, Maj and all the great folks of Adelaide, I love your little town.

Later,

- JP

Rolling on the River

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:18:01 -0400

We covered the 700 km to Murray Bridge and met Ron (Toby's best friend) at the Long Island Marine around 4 pm on Friday.

He came to the gate to let us in and we made our way to his houseboat and parked our cars. Rae and I were both flabbergasted when we laid eyes on his on his vessel. The thing was more like a floating palace than anything else, it was just unbelievable. Neither of us had ever been on a houseboat and this was the most luxurious we would ever sail. “The Deckadance” has a maximum speed of 15 km an hour, 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, an upstairs and downstairs lounges, a kitchen and dining area, a Jacuzzi on the back deck, a sun deck up top and of course a very well stocked bar. All the comforts of a palatial estate able to travel the waterways of South Australia. This was gonna be a GREAT weekend.

Ron had also invited a great man called Barry Ion. He had been a radio DJ all his life and brought along his wife Jo, daughter Ella (11 years old) and her friend Alicia. We were introduced and got along right away. A few minutes later, we were rolling on the mighty Murray river in style. The weather was a little gloomy but the sun was shining on board, Rae was playing with the girls and we adults took the opportunity to get know each other. Barry was a witty old chap and Jo was a lovely woman with the warmest smile and gorgeous eyes. One of the first thing I noticed was the abundant bird life of the Mighty Murray. Pelicans, gulls, hawks, eagles, black swans, cormorants, ducks, blue wrens, swallows, parrots and kookaburras were some of the inhabitants we encountered in the first few miles we sailed the green waters. We traveled for a few hours before Ron found a clearing on the river bank for us to spend the night. We let Ron's dog, Oliver, wander out and do his business, gathered some firewood and explored the environment a bit. Out came the chairs and table and soon (after a delicious dinner) we were all sitting next to a cozy camp fire drinking awesome wine and singing songs. The girls had spotted a famous tree that only grows along the banks of Murray that they baptized: "The Mighty Murray Marshmallow Stick Tree" and got down to business of roasting the white puffy stuff. I immensely enjoyed the company of my new friends and Rae was having just as much fun as I was. One more great night with the great folks of Down Under...

All of a sudden, a huge river boat anchored next to us. It was a modern version of the Memphis Belle and was brightly illuminated. Its glow reflected of the river and it was a sight to behold, I pulled out the camera and took a few great shots of Ronnie and his best friends and Jo was kind enough to snap a shot of Rae and I. The next day was just as magic, Ron took the floating house to a little town called Mannum and we all went ashore to explore the town and stretch our legs a bit. It was a quaint little town that had been built in the turn of the century and had all the charms of a New Orleans village. Barry, Ron and I hit the local pub while the girls went out to check some of the local stores and "op shops". Our excursion was a blast and Rae scored an amazingly cool handbag made out of a pair of funky Australian jeans for 7 dollars (that girl has the flair and eyes of a real thrift shopper). We untied the palace and went out to find another spot to spend the night. Again we anchored the house and went about our business of setting up camp and gathering wood while the girls frolicked about. Ron cooked up a magnificent Indian meal (making special dishes for my newly vegetarian daughter) and we copiously ate to our stomach's content. Barry and I had a long conversation about the meaning of life that night and he encouraged me to follow my heart and not let go of my dreams. I immensely enjoyed chatting with him and we shared stories of hardship and happiness between sips of the great wine Ron kept offering us. I did not join the host and guests in the hot tub that night but could hear them sing songs and having fun on the upper deck. I felt a cold coming on and called it an early night after taking a few aspirins. The Australian sun was shining bright when I woke up the next day and greeted the early risers (Ron and Jo). The Captain was preparing a typical english breakie of scrambled eggs, mushroom bacon and tomatoes, a five star dining experience that we all happily devoured.

The ride back into the Marina was a happy experience and we all did our share to clean up the river faring estate and make the whole house spic and span. We were greeted by the houseboat neighbours and invited for cookies. We bid farewell to Barry and the girls and were soon following Ron to his house in Adelaide. We were going to be his guests for a few more days and his place was just as cool as his houseboat.

I will tell you all about it in my next blog...
You won't believe this place...

Later,

- Jp

Roaming the roads with Rae

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:07:37 -0400

I'm on the road again and this time I got a partner.
After driving thousands of miles in 3 different countries I am finally roaming the highways of australia with my favourite person. I hadn't seen Rae in over 5 months and her arrival was greatly anticipated. We are hitting every abandoned property and op shop we can find. So far we have encountered many, and taken hundreds of pictures. Once in a while we get off the main road and go drive about on the countryside. I find my daughter to be extremely gorgeous and just as funny, however, she is unable to jump fences gracefully. She shares my love for adventure and sappy country radio music. In the last few days, I have shared more laughs with her than in the last 3 months. Man, she's funny. On our first day on the road we've encountered 5 kangaroos and stayed overnight in a cheesy (but not cheap) motel in the town of Horsham.

We are now on our way to Adelaide and will probably have a few more fun filled pit stops before we arrive. Our destination is not Adelaide but Murray Bridge. We have a date with Ron on his house boat and must get there before dark. About from Adelaide we saw a strange sight on the highway. An old guy was pushing a bear dummy in a wheelchair in the middle of nowhere. We looked at each other and wondered out loud: "What the hell was that ?". We had to turn around and investigate.

I don't remember the old guy's name but the bear he was pushing along the road was named Wilson. He was part of a charity group who provided wheelchairs for people who couldn't afford them. He had walked all the way from Perth (about 1500 miles) and was on his way to Melbourne (another 500 km). We talked to him for a bit and took some cool shots of us (and him) and posed with Wilson the bear. I'm sure that will be a great podcast.

Rae is now writing this blog while I drive the popcorn box and is the best secretary I ever had. More news later.

P.S. This is Rae. I am underpaid. I want a raise. Who is producing this show?

Geeez !
Ungrateful kids...

- Jp

Pilgrimss Travelss

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 14:20:38 -0400

Lots of great faces have shown up at the Toby's in the last few days.
The first one was Bernie ...

Bernie is Toby's younger brother and we've been friends for almost as long as I know the man himself (over 20 years ago). It was a surprise visit and all of us were excited to see him. I had last seen his smiley mug a year ago at the same Bangkok hotel I had taken the bus from 2 weeks earlier, and he had filmed many portions of the podcasts that are currently on the website. I was also a good friend with their mother (Mouff) and had met her on many occasions in the old music video days when Toby and I worked together. Mouff and I would share rollies (hand rolled cigarettes) and have great conversations about all and nothing, like old pals. She even stayed at my parent's house while visiting Quebec in search for her family ancestors. My parents spoke very little English and she spoke no french (and was blind as a bat). She was a great old gal who passed away on Olivia's first birthday after waking up from a week long coma at 79. Toby was with her before she went and asked her if she knew what day it was: "Of course" , she replied, "It's my grandchild's first birthday".

Later on that same day, when the rest of the family was gathering around a birthday feast and thinking of her, she moved on... What a great woman she was ...

So first was Bernie, and the cherry on the cake was my daughter Rae, the very next day, hooray !!!

Bernie drove his bitchin’ rental car to and from the Tullamarine airport and was the most gracious chauffeur. I walked to the gate with my camera and she saw me before I did. "Check out the weird looking man pointing the camera at himself", she said to the lady walking along next to her," That's my dad"...

Rae hadn't slept in days and was plagued with a nasty headache but was trooper all the way. We cruised the backroads and hugged the valleys all the way back into the Yarra Valley and made a pitstop at a fire overlook that offered a 360 view of the whole enchilada. "Who's gonna walk back down the stairs to get the camera ?" We all looked at each others but nobody made a move...

We got back home and made some lunch and I tried my best to keep the kid from going to bed. She was dead tired and dragging her feet in the "too big for her borrowed rubber boots" and could barely keep her eyes open. I snapped a few shots of her and put her down for a nap (just like in the early days), and joined Bernie and his brother at the wood pile and got it all sorted out. I went back to the guesthouse an hour later and roused her out of slumberland. I even coaxed her to walk all the way up sheep hill to admire the incredible Australian winter sunset and took some cool photos. The Great Spirit had provided an awesome welcome canopy for us and I was thankful to have my favourite person in the world close to me. Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord...

Tomorrow is Olivia's official birthday and we have a big day ahead of us all. Uncle Bernie is cooking her favourite meal, cards will be read and gifts will be unwrapped, and there will be a big bonfire in her (and Mouff's) honour. The whole thing will be topped with a jam session at the Grind & Groove.

This old Pilgrim will be playing with Shaun Kirk and other Aussie locals and getting it on camera...
Hope it's a good night...

But there is also a lot of to other stuff on the plate I haven't told you about!

This should be a good month

Later

- JP

A day in St Andrews with the Chainsaw Man

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 09:30:07 -0400

This weekend I hooked up with my friend Leigh Conkie (you might remember him from the "Dude where's my chainsaw " podcast) and it was great to see him. Accompanied with his trusty old dog Kenny, he drove to Lillydale to pick me up in his truck and we made our way up to the Memorial cemetery to check on the sculptures he had carved out of a huge tree a year before. I took advantage of the situation to do a "follow up" on the condition of the pieces and do a little interview. A lot had happened since we had last met on the same spot a year before. His mother had passed away, he had put on a few kilos, and had bought a truck with a crane to pick up logs and lumber in the hopes to make business a little easier. He still had the same "cheeky" demeanour and was just as quick with his witty remarks. The plan was for us to hit the St Andrews market that afternoon and meet a few of his friends.

We went back to his house and waited for his buddy Josh to give us a ride. I took a few shots in the backyard but refrained to take some in the house. The place badly needed a make over and Leigh had forbidden me to document the mess. I obliged to his request but marvelled at the fact that anyone could live in such a war zone. We had a beer and Josh showed up soon after, we were introduced and got along right away. He was tall, well groomed and handsome and
clashed in looks with his friend Leigh, they were the direct opposites.
Nonetheless they obviously enjoyed each other's company and I did
just as well. Josh was a footy player (Australian football) on the
injured list and offered to take us to his team's afternoon match.
I was already freezing my ass off in Leigh's house and imagined
myself standing in the rain watching a bunch of grown men playing
in the mud and got even colder.

We went to the famous St Andrew's Hippy market but only made
it to the pub next to it. Nothing like ice cold beer on a cold Australian
winter day. I had to get up and move around to warm my freezing
bones. I did peak around the street but the market was closing down and vendors were packing up their stuff.... Oh well...That darn pub got in way of the market... I went inside to visit the mens room and was greeted by an awesome guitar picking old dude. He did not look the part but could fingerpick like a sonofapick. I was blow away and almost pissed myself. Leigh came up to check on me and saw what I was marvelling at. We spoke face sign language for about a minute and all was understood, he could tell too..... I was standing by the fire when we spoke and I asked if I could stack up on the heat before freezing my ass off again at the footy game. He understood that too ....

The best part of the whole afternoon was when Christine showed up.
There I was, sitting across a footy poster boy and a homely ogre
wearing loafers that had seen more miles than myself and their
good friend shows up. She was a gorgeous blonde with a great
inquisitive personality and a quick witted smile. I was introduced
and stood up and made my best attempt to do first impression.
As soon as she made the move to sit back down, her newly
purchased gin and tonic was all over her crotch and pant legs.
It was s sight to behold and it was all my fault. I mumbled a
bunch of useless apologies and tried to offer my skull scarf
to clean up the beautiful mess. I felt like and idiot and it probably
showed, what else is new ...

We drank a few more "pots" and Josh was itching to head to the footy game. "FOODY" as refried by Christine.

I tagged along and was happy I did. The field was a a mud pool and the ball wrestlers were restless. I took shots and wondered, why would grown men would battle in the freezing mud over a yellow odd shaped ball. Josh soon gave me the answer: “Money. Honey !!!! A good player can make up to $300.00 a game (under the table)”. Like junior hockey in Canada, Australian footy is HUGE business that is lucrative both above and underground. The best player was a 7 year old kid that was showing off to a younger boy behind us. The little stickers were so cute and into the game so much that I couldn't take my camera off of them. Stay tuned for that segment, it's gonna be a winner. We wrapped up the day back at Leigh's house and a good friend my chainsaw brother gave me a ride back to the Toby's.

That night there was party next door and I showed up with my guitar. I was more than fashionably late but had a backstage pass......

I woke up late the next day with a dry mouth and a throbbing head with one thought in my mind...

Rae is coming tomorrow ...
 - JP