27 Alone with the sea The weather was great, sunny and 69°F21°C, the park invited us for a picnic and I accepted
the invitation. Coco did not understand this step, probably
thinking that within the hour we could be at the finish and Peter is going for
a break in a park? I was intending to walk with her to a picnic
table, but she refused and blocked her back wheel. Instead of understanding
her I carried her to the table, hurting my hand because of my impatient behavior.
Searching for
the reason why her wheel was blocked I found out that a belt from the pannier
was stuck between the spokes. Coco was right, why this hesitation, just before
reaching the finish? I think it was because I didn’t want to end
this cycling trip. I had gotten addicted
to this way of living. Because at the Atlantic Ocean I would lose my goal
and I was afraid of what came next. I pulled myself together and told Coco I was sorry
for my behavior. Ten minutes
after the stop we were already on our way again. Five minutes
after I left the park I saw the sign with the street name Broadway. The name made me very nervous and excited. I thought Coco an I deserved an appropriate finish
and I was intending to start and end our triumphant march on Broadway. The name itself
would certainly be worthy as a final décor. On my left I
saw a clock telling me it was the 31st of December, 3:00pm15:00. Slowly we
started our last mile to the finish, imagining thousands of people along the road,
all applauding and throwing confetti. After ten minutes
enjoying intensely, but still a little unexpectedly, we saw the Ocean! On the wharf,
I looked into the immense distance of the Ocean. Left of
me there was an impressive old sailing-ship with the name ‘Star of India’. Coco did not
pay attention to this beautiful view. She was completely focused on a tough looking mountain
bike standing at a few feet distance from us. It was a brand-new bike shining
in the sun. Strong wheels, impressive gear and a streamlined steering wheel,
almost perfect. He was standing alone. I
first took a picture of Coco and the ‘Star of India’ but to please Coco I took
her and placed her next to this Adonis. After Coco had her reward for her part of the
journey I went to the right side of the Star of India to overlook the ocean. Alone with the sea All alone with the
sand I want my soul to sail
away While my body stays
on land After I had
whispered this Poem from a famous Dutch comedian, Toon Hermans,
just for myself, I could not hold back the tears, I cried in silence but the
tears kept-on coming. When I wiped them
dry, they decided to speed up the ‘river of tears’. It must have been a strange sight, a tall guy
with a funny red sweatpants with tears in his eyes and a fully packed bicycle flirting
with a macho bike of the opposite sex. The
scene caught the eye of a beautiful Houston girl and after a few minutes of
observing she approached me with an assured attitude and asked me about my goals.
When I told
her about the east coast as my starting point, she smiled friendly, properly thinking:
‘silly guy’ and flew into my arms and we had a long intense moment. It was Flo! She told me she’d
watched me from the moment I had arrived and was moved to see me get emotional.
She understood I needed that moment for me and Coco alone. “You were spying
on me in my most personal moment?!,” I teased her. Let’s sit on a
bench for a moment, from here we can overlook the Ocean.” I took her hand and described in 15 minutes my
trip from the moment I’d left Houston. “I already arranged
a room in The Westgate Hotel only a mile from here,” she said without pre-announcement. “It is ten minutes
cycling from here and you know what! I rented a bicycle
and cycled to this meeting point. I chose a bike while thinking about Coco and
the funny thing is that the moment Coco saw him she could not get her eyes off
him. It was an endearing face how she was physically attracted to him. You probably
noticed it too, because you moved Coco close to my bike. I almost got emotional,
it was too perfect. My present to her is that she can spend the night
together with him in the Hotel. But I rented this hunk because I would love to
cycle to the hotel with you and Coco. I planned a short
two day holiday for myself and I hope you like to join me; we can spend New Year's
Eve together. On Thursday the
third I have to be back in Houston so I have to leave the day after tomorrow. “ “Flo, I truly
missed you and spending a weekend together is the ultimate reward for reaching
my goal,” I could say in all honesty. After enjoying the view, the ocean and each
other for half an hour Flo looked at her watch and told me that we had to go. We took our bikes
and cycled back on Broadway till 2nd Avenue and went left onto this street.
A second later
we were standing in front of the Westgate Hotel. The outside of
the hotel was impressive but when we got inside I did not know where to look
first. Flo told me she had already been here a few times,
but every time she was still flabbergasted. That’s the reason why she chose this hotel every
time she visited San Diego. The lobby
looked like the entrée of a French palace. Flo saw I looked worried. “Do not worry, this is the third weekend I have
been here and the other times I had to pay the same price but for myself alone.
The only difference is that now I have a luxurious
room and a nice man as a bonus.” Everything was grandeur, the room was a
special experience and we took our time to enjoy the luxury of this room. Around 8:00pm20:00 we went out for
dinner and after dinner we went to a bar. To be honest, I couldn’t tell much about
where we went or which bar we visited. Flo knew her
way around San Diego and I paid more attention to her than to my surroundings. Normally I was a down-to-earth person, but probably
because I just finished a tremendous journey I was a little more susceptible for
emotions. Secondly, this was the first time I had such strong
feelings for another person and it was a complete new emotion. We talked a lot about everything but also about
nothing, about love and friendship, about family, about patriotism, about America
and Holland, about the past and history but most of it about us. It was one of those days you would not forget for
the rest of your life whatever the future would bring. We understood
that distance and time could lessen our feelings for each other. What we completely
had forgotten was that it was New Year's Eve. At midnight
the sounds from outside made it clear that it had just become a new year, a new
decade: 1980. When we looked outside through the window, we
only saw a glimpse of all the fireworks, which probably took place somewhere near
the harbor. We both did not feel like going there to watch it, Happy New Year! |