Shanghailander
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 202
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Back in June, I posted an announcement that I was working on my own wind cord, and that I was going to take my hats traveling. Despite little comment, I have decided to post a few descriptions of my travels, as well as hat related photos.
I began on July 21, and have been so darned busy that I have not had a chance to write anything up until today, September 25. (The only reason I have time to do it now is that I find myself in mid Atlantic, on a cargo ship out of Philadelphia, bound for Liverpool. But more on that later.)
My first trip would be to Eastern Europe, and since it was summer, my choice of hat was obvious – I would bring my travel Panama hat, which I bought in Buenos Aires seven years ago for the princely sum of $25. It has a wide brim and is designed to be folded up. It came as a plain shell, so I added a black grosgrain band. I had also created a wind cord which wound around the hat, but when in use could be attached to the inside rim, allowing the cord to stay close to my head. Here I am wearing this hat sans wind cord, on arrival at London. I have gone about 30 hours without sleep at this point, hence my expression. [060703 002]
I spent my one day in the UK visiting Windsor and Eton, and walked about twenty miles, much of it along the Thames bank. One comment about my hat – I asked someone along the river for directions, and he thought it made me look “a bit shifty!” Despite the sun, none of the English were wearing hats. After a long bus ride back to Heathrow, and an even longer ride to Gatwick, I took a shuttle bus to my hotel. Unfortunately for me, the driver took me to the wrong hotel, something I did not discover until he had left and I tried to check in. No one at the hotel could drive me, and a taxi was not available for forty minutes. Since I was scheduled to meet someone at my hotel in thirty minutes, I angrily set off, shouldering my fifty pounds of luggage and walked the two miles to my correct hotel. Once there, I was steaming, both literally and figuratively, and let the clerk have it with both barrels. My efforts resulted in an upgrade to a palatial suite (with balcony), a small corner of which is pictured here.
Unfortunately, the hotel bungled my wake up call the next morning, and I just barely made the shuttle to the airport. In the rush, I forgot my hat in the room. Rule number 1: a windcord will not improve your memory.
I began on July 21, and have been so darned busy that I have not had a chance to write anything up until today, September 25. (The only reason I have time to do it now is that I find myself in mid Atlantic, on a cargo ship out of Philadelphia, bound for Liverpool. But more on that later.)
My first trip would be to Eastern Europe, and since it was summer, my choice of hat was obvious – I would bring my travel Panama hat, which I bought in Buenos Aires seven years ago for the princely sum of $25. It has a wide brim and is designed to be folded up. It came as a plain shell, so I added a black grosgrain band. I had also created a wind cord which wound around the hat, but when in use could be attached to the inside rim, allowing the cord to stay close to my head. Here I am wearing this hat sans wind cord, on arrival at London. I have gone about 30 hours without sleep at this point, hence my expression. [060703 002]
I spent my one day in the UK visiting Windsor and Eton, and walked about twenty miles, much of it along the Thames bank. One comment about my hat – I asked someone along the river for directions, and he thought it made me look “a bit shifty!” Despite the sun, none of the English were wearing hats. After a long bus ride back to Heathrow, and an even longer ride to Gatwick, I took a shuttle bus to my hotel. Unfortunately for me, the driver took me to the wrong hotel, something I did not discover until he had left and I tried to check in. No one at the hotel could drive me, and a taxi was not available for forty minutes. Since I was scheduled to meet someone at my hotel in thirty minutes, I angrily set off, shouldering my fifty pounds of luggage and walked the two miles to my correct hotel. Once there, I was steaming, both literally and figuratively, and let the clerk have it with both barrels. My efforts resulted in an upgrade to a palatial suite (with balcony), a small corner of which is pictured here.
Unfortunately, the hotel bungled my wake up call the next morning, and I just barely made the shuttle to the airport. In the rush, I forgot my hat in the room. Rule number 1: a windcord will not improve your memory.
