Day #13: Making progress

Rick and Ilona made me the most awesome eight course breakfast and drove me to the metro link station so I could ride the train to the other side of town. I won't lie, I was a little nervous heading into the heart of St. Louis. It's basically the same as Detroit on the falling apart scale, and East St. Louis is like the worst place on the planet. It was so great passing the Mississippi River. I had really been looking forward to this point. 

It was just as huge as everyone said. I made it to the outskirts of East St. Louis and set up outside this shopping mall. The first thing I noticed about Illinois was all the personalized license plates. It was like, one in every ten cars had one. I never found out why. The internet said Illinois is a hard place to hitchhike in, but I got two offers for short rides in half an hour. I wanted to make some distance though, and I had a good spot there. 

With all the traffic, you really get to interact with people for about two seconds. It's funny how much someone can get across in that time. One girl flipped me off, about a million mouthed "sorry", and a ton of people just generally stoked on what I was doing. 

After the first two hours I didn't get another offer for about three or four hours. With all the positive reinforcement from drivers it really seemed strange that no one wanted to give me a ride. It got me thinking, people aren't afraid of hitchhikers, they've just been told so long that they'll murder you that it's not even an option to pick one up. I personally believe it's all the fear mongering in the media. The world is full of nice people. I don't see how it's so easy to forget that. 

I ended up getting a ride down a few exits just to get a change of scenery, and it definitely worked out in my favor. About a half hour into my new spot and this truck rolls up, "Hop in the back!" So I got a ride all the way to Paducah, KY in the back of a truck. 

I was really hoping to get a ride in the back of a truck sometime. It wasn't as glamorous as I expected. Imagine getting sandblasted in the face for two hours. I saw a tornado and now I know what it's like to be in one (without that whole fearing for your life thing). 

The only bar at this exit in Paducah is Buffalo Wild Wings. Which is a weird place for a traveler, but I ended up meeting a guy from Arkansas who bought me a beer. It was nice having someone to chat with. I met a guy who worked there who said he'd give me a ride to Nashville in the morning, so I walked out to the on ramp to sleep in the grass there. I'm so close to Tennessee I can taste it. 

Day #12: Slowing down

Got a great night sleep in the grass behind the truck stop. I woke up to SO much dew covering everything. It gummed up the finish on my banjo. Everything was soaked. So I laid everything out in the sun and it all dried out. 

I went to McDonald's for free wifi and a place to charge my phone and write a blog. Then I got out on the on ramp to try to catch a ride. I got a few offers for short rides but I was trying to get across St. Louis in one ride. It started to rain so I went to the truck stop to try that strategy. 

I stayed there for like another hour or two but I got sleepy so I took a bum nap under a tree. 

I sat outside the truck stop for the rest of the day. Road life is very tiring. I can already feel it wearing on me. You're in public all day and always interacting with people even if they don't talk to you. Like a part of the social unconscious. 

There was a girl traveling with what seemed to be her family, and it was not her day. She was crying hysterically and what not. When she seemed to calm down she went inside, and when she came back out she gave me a couple dollars. The look on her face when I said thank you, you could just tell that somehow a random act of kindness did her some good. I'm still not sure what I think about the whole thing, but it felt like an interesting story. I won't forget it. 

My awesome Aunt Cecilia put me in contact with the sweetest old couple who drove an hour out their way to pick me up AND give me a place to stay. They were the nicest and smartest people. We actually shared a lot of the same views on things. Thanks so much to them!

Day #11: Banjo country

After my nap under the tree, I got back to hitchhiking. I bought an umbrella so the sun wouldn't murder me too bad. After about two hours this car pulls up and this girl says from the back seat, "Will you give me banjo lessons?!" I'm like, for a ride? Sure! 

About one minute after I got picked up we got a flat tire. The general consensus was that I was too fat and it couldn't handle my beefy stacks. 

While waiting at the tire place to get a new tire I heard my first southern accents! That's a major landmark in my book. 

We passed a few more landmarks on the way to St. Louis. I saw a sign to Danville. I know banjo songs about Danville. We crossed the Missouri River. I know banjo songs about the Missouri River. I definitely made it to banjo country. 

That's the Missouri River I swear. 

I had them drop me off at the truck stop just outside St Louis. It's easier to skip the city if I catch a ride from here. The two of them were headed into the city to rest up before finishing the drive to Ohio where they were going on a bicycle tour. 

I met another hitchhiker at the truck stop and he gave me tons of good advice about getting rides from truckers, where to sleep, riding trains, and keeping your cool in the hood. 

I got a beer and a burrito and mobbed back to the bushes to make up for all the sleep I lost. 

Day #10: We're not in Kansas anymore

Kelly was kind enough to drive me downtown bright and early, but my bus to the outside of town didn't leave until around four. I had the whole day to bum around in Kansas City. I took in some architecture then went to the park where every smart traveling kid does. 

I met another traveler there named Preston. He asked me if I wanted to drink some beers (this is like 10am) so I obviously said yes. We walked a few blocks to where less people were walking around and found a spot on the curb to loiter. He whips out two Steel Reserves and we split them both. Halfway through he mentions that he needs to find an AA meeting. All I could think was, "Then why are you out here drinking malt liquor on the curb this early?" 

We got kicked out of that spot and mobbed back the the park in time for lunch. So I played some banjo for the downtown workers on their lunch break and made $30, two burritos, and half a baked potato. We split it all. He bailed, and I had a bus to catch. 

I got to Blue Springs, Missouri, the farthest the bus goes from Kansas City, and tried to hitch a ride to the next travel station. It was so hot I couldn't handle standing on the on ramp. I went to Denny's and tried to find a place to stay. After walking around for like an hour I gave up and went to the bar. There were approximately four people in there, two older couples. 

Eventually a younger guy came in, Justin, and we played a game of pool. The older couples left and two more young people showed up, Holly and Patrick. We went to another bar and ran into one of Justin's "old friends". She's the one in green... 

Let's just say they had a history, and I think the look on his face says it all. That story isn't for this blog. 

Holly and Patrick said I could stay on their couch so we got some more beer and went back to their place. We started a fire and ended up drinking until the sun came up. I wasn't cut out for Blue Springs. They go too hard. I left in the morning and got breakfast at Denny's I tried to hitch a ride but ended up sleeping in the shade of a tree right off the on ramp. So ended day ten at 9am. 

Day #9: People are nice.

Woke up on Amanda's friend's house and walked back through Lawrence to pick up my stuff. Thanks again to the Jefferson's crew for such a sweet night out. I got some coffee and started the hike out to the freeway, which was about two miles. I set up with my I <3 Kansas sign and had NO luck. Made it into a few photos, but no rides. 

A state trooper informed me I wasn't allowed to stand on turnpike (freeway) property so I went to the gas station and left my "going east?" sign up. I made almost fifteen bucks playing banjo at the gas station and a guy asked me how far west I was going. I said anywhere past here. So he took me in his orange astro-blaster van (complete with NOS kit) to the suburbs of Kansas City. I planned to take a bus from there to the far side of town where I could hitch out. Unfortunately buses don't run on holidays. 

Luckily one of the girls I met last night lived in this part of town, and not only did she let me sleep on her couch (as opposed to the park), she picked me up! Her name is Kelly and she is my heroine! Thank you so much for your couch and hospitality. 

So I'm in it ten days and I've made it 1,800 miles and 7 states. Quite the trip so far. People are nice, very, very nice. 

Day #8: I <3 Kansas

I woke up in the stairwell at the Quality Inn in Denver from people jumping up and down the stairs. I got my free continental breakfast plus a bagel for the road. Then I went down to the Flying J and charged my phone. 

When I got out to the on ramp, I got a ride in about an hour. It was a good hitching spot for sure. 

I got a ride from Bethany, who was lovely. A dirty Kansas loc (local), she told me all the nothing in Kansas is what makes it cool. She dropped me off just inside central time in Colby, KS, at the "Oasis on the plains." It was SO humid. It felt like being in a foreign country. It's weird, first thing I thought when I got to Kansas was, "We're not in Kansas anymore." This is the Midwest, it's a different world. 

Got picked up there really fast too. Everyone who drove past smiled and waved even if they didn't pick me up. People in Kansas are super nice. 

I got picked up by a fellow banjo picker! She also played old-time banjo and said she picked me up because I had a banjo. She was moving to Massechussettes, and her car was so full. With all my stuff, I was sitting in the passenger seat with my knees on the dash and head touching the roof. She was headed to Kansas City, but I decided to stop in Lawrence, the college town, a few miles before. This was a great decision. 

I got dropped off downtown and walked into Jefferson's, the restaurant with the most people and four dollar 23oz drafts. I got some food and a beer and kicked back for a bit. 

On a whim I asked the waitress if there was a place a homeless kid like me could sleep. Her reply was, "I mean, you could stay at my house.... But like, we're going out... Do you want to go out? Obviously! So we went out on the town with the coolest group of people, and I got a couch to sleep on. Thanks Amanda for being so nice to strangers and letting me join your crew for a night! I love Kansas!

Day #7: Boyz in da hood

Day 7 started hungover like most. I couldn't get a Rideshare out of Boulder so I went back to thumbing it. I hung out at the Safeway at the end of town and tried asking people with out of state license plates, but no luck. After a few hours of turning down short rides, I got picked up by a nice couple who told me they'd take me to a bigger freeway. 

So they dropped me off near this intersection with like no room for cars to pull over, but none the less this dude pulled over and said he would take me to the freeway I'd need to be on to get east. He was a little g-thuggin' but he was a chef about to be on the Food Network so I figured he was chill. He drops me off at this intersection in NOWHERE in the outskirts of Denver. I'm walking on dirt trails because there's no sidewalks. I'm seeing trash all over and I start feeling like I'm on the wrong side of town. I turn the corner to try and find a gas station and there's another dude walking in front of me, but he's got the gangsta lean goin' on. Up ahead there's a group of guys who seem to be loitering so I wait for the other guy to pass and he lived so I went for it. I also lived. 

I walked past this bar with some people outside and one of them mentions my banjo. I play him a lick and he gave me four bucks. So I asked him what the reputation of this neighborhood is. He confirms my suspicions by saying, "I hate to say this about my neighborhood, but yeah man it's gang affiliated." 

Ahhh f***. So I walk the two blocks to Walmart, and I've never seen so many black people in my life. There's homeless people everywhere too. So I hit the internet in Subway to try and get someone to save me, but no luck. So I decide to take the bus to the truck stop at the edge of town and get out. Walking to the bus and this lady like screams at me to play a song. She was most DEFINITELY on crack. I told her, "Sorry, I got a bus to catch."

I was too eager to get on the bus and got on the wrong one. So I had to get off and get another one. At this point it's starting to get dark and a storm is brewing. It's basically everything you don't want to happen. I catch my last bus and a lady is telling her friend how someone got robbed while she was on the bus a few days ago. I finally made it to the truck stop and never before have I been so glad to be in the nurturing arms of a Denny's. 

I met another homeless guy who had a tent outside, and asked him if it was safe to camp here. He said it was, but it was going to rain. I hung out outside the Denny's for a bit. Another guy walked up who was trucking with his dad. He told me about free computers and wifi at the nearest Quality Inn. So we went over there and hung out for a bit. The wifi was password protected, but it took about one second to crack it. Bumlife tip: hotel wifi passwords are always "guest". 

On the way out of the hotel I decided to check the stairwell to see if there was a good spot to sleep for a bit. I look down there and it's like a little secret room under the first set of stairs!

So I got some sleep in a warm, dry, and SAFE place. I even got free wifi and there's a free continental breakfast in the morning!

Day #6: Bummin' in Boulder

Friday morning my cousin Evan, who's house I was staying at, had to work. So I got cleaned up and walked downtown to experience a little bit of Boulder. 

There's a cool street that's closed to cars and has tons of shops and food and street performers. I tried my hand at busking and made a solid three dollars from playing banjo.

I walked up to see the Boulder Masonic Lodge, then came back to the pedestrian mall. I met another traveling kid named Ralph. He tought me the beauty of dumpster food. We shared some dumpster twinkies, and road stories. I basically kicked it with him for the majority of the day. Just bummin' around and watching the world go by. 

Walking around I also found this tea house that was gifted to Boulder from some town in Central Asia. It was pretty cool. 

Evan got off work and we got geared up to hit the town. Boulder apparently only goes ham on Thursdays and Saturdays, but we did get to rage on a roof. 

Boulder was awesome and I can't wait to come back. Until then I think I'll be nursing this hangover for a while. 

Day #5: Wild Weather

Woke up with a gnarly hangover at the anarchist house. The same people who gave me a ride to SLC said they were willing to let me ride with them to Denver. So I spent the majority of the morning kicking back and trying to hydrate. 

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday the anarchists put on Food Not Bombs in the park near their house. They get donations from the grocery stores around town and line them up in boxes as a makeshift food bank. So I helped them move everything to the park and hand out some free food. 

My ride picked me up around one and we hit the road for the 8 hour drive to Denver. Thanks to Facebook I found out my cousin Evan lives in Boulder and they said they could drop me off there. 

We got to Wyoming and I recalled the scene in SLC Punk where they drive there to buy real beer (5% alcohol beer,) and the people from Wyoming think they're devil worshiping aliens. That's exactly what it was like for us three hipster/hippie kids driving a yellow Mini Cooper. 

There was some good scenery too. I thought by going north I'd miss some of the red rocks but there were still a few. 

Enough with the boring stuff though. Undoubtedly the coolest think to happen on day five was a few more hours east. I was driving and this HUGE cloud was coming up in front of us. 

We had heard about some tornados in the Denver area, but we were still about two hundred miles away. I kept thinking we'd cut south of the storm, but the freeway kept turning right into it. As soon as we got to the point where you could see rain and the clouds were right on too if us, I look to my left and there's a funnel cloud. It was only a little guy, but it was a tornado. It couldn't have been more than a mile north of us. Then the rain came. One part of the road was completely covered in hail and water, and I'm driving this guy's mom's fancy, new Mini Cooper. I'm thinking we're about to get sucked up into Oz, but we got through the rain after about thirty seconds and looked back to see the tornado roping out. 

I won't lie. I've seen more than my fair share if Storm Chasers. I was really hoping to see a tornado on this trip. People chase tornadoes and never see them, and I got lucky a few miles past the Continental Divide. Either way, I made it safely to Evan's and plan to tear down Boulder on Friday night. 

Day #4: SLC Punk

Woke up on day 4 at my sister's house in Boise. I got a shower and did my laundry in perpetration for standing out on the on ramp for a few hours. But hitching is illegal in Idaho so I was pretty worried about getting hassled by the cops. Craigslist had worked great so far so I checked there forever. Nothing came up so I posted an ad and in like an hour a couple called me. They asked if I could drive a stick; I said yes. They said they'd pick me up, and just like that I was off to Salt Lake City!

The couple who picked me up were also from Portland, that makes 4 rides from people living in Portland. One of them is a photo journalist who has had her work published in National Geographic! 

A couple people mentioned this anarchist house called Boing while I was traveling (Craigslist etc...) And since my favorite movie in life is SLC Punk, I absolutely had to check them out. My ride offered to let me stay at their house, but I figured I'd get some adventure in and find the Boing house. I had them drop my off in the middle of downtown at the huge Mormon temple (which was built by masons!) 

I did my sightseeing down town and roamed for a bit. I jammed for a couple songs with a street musician. I kept walking and stopped outside a bar to bullshit with some guys and they started singing while I played. It was a military guy, a male fashion design major, and an old local guy without teeth. SLC was turning pretty punk. I had an intersection for the Boing house, so I started walking. 

When I finally found it, it was two girls sitting on the porch and playing with a cat. I thought to myself, "these are my kind of people." Another roommate let me borrow his bike for the night while we went to an anarchist movie showing in a park. 

Afterward one of the girls bought some beer and wanted to go on a bike ride. So we saddled up and biked to another park to drink a beer on a bench. You have to drink two tallies to feel anything in Utah because all the beer at grocery stores is only 3.2%.

We biked back to downtown and checked out the temple at night. It's lit up really cool. 

We kept biking and stopped at this dumpster to drink another beer. When this guy comes out of the restaurant we were behind. I'm thinking, "Shit. Busted." We say hi and he asks us if we want a drink! Obviously! So he made us a blackberry whiskey sour (half mixed drink, half shot), poured us a beer, AND gave us a bottle of wine! Then his taxi showed up so we had to get out of there, but left much more intoxicated than when we arrived. 

Then Julia (my anarchist girl) surprised me by taking me to the church where the last, and best, scene of SLC Punk was shot. It was the best thing ever. It was absolutely surreal, because I'm living a life I've been dreaming about since I saw that movie in high school. I suggest everyone watches it. 

And the debauchery doesn't even end there. We then climbed the fence into this park built by a mason with all kinds of super weird sculptures such as:

And:

We climbed out and sat on the ground in the parking lot for a bit since someone who won't be named (but who also wasn't me.) Couldn't manage to ride her bike. 

We were cool after a few minutes, and biked back to Boing to call it a night. Salt Lake was the coolest shit ever. It's so punk. Thanks to everyone at Boing for having me!

Day #3: Mountain Time

Woke up to a barge going up the Columbia on day three. I was sleeping on the side of the road behind some bushes, but I had to get out quick because it's a treatied fishing ground for Native Americans. Also you could kind of see me from the road. So I was up around 6:00am. 

Went to the Rufus, Oregon gas station and got some coffee. I charged my phone and read a little bit. I had a ride coming at 10;30 so all I had to do was wait. When my ride finally showed up, it was another late-twenties/early-thirties guy. 

He's a musician from Portland who's done tours all over the US and Europe. He was headed to Moab, Utah to do some solo backpacking. He told me about some good spots and a sweet anarchist/crust punk house to stay at in SLC. Totally awesome dude. Check out his band Ghosts to Falco! 

Thanks man!

Made it all the way to Boise, Idaho and stayed at my sister's house. Played some sweet board games and got myself cleaned up. Thanks to my sister and her roommates for putting me up for the night!

Day #2

Day two started with a bang. Got a ride from Kennewick in like half an hour from two Mexican kids who were super awkward. They dropped me off in this place called Umatilla, Oregon. Seriously no one stops there I guess. 

So I went into the diner to get some hash towns and coffee and met "the breakfast club." This group of old timers who are regulars I guess. They even had a photo on the wall. I played some banjo for them. 

Ridewise though the place was like a black hole. I'd spend an hour or two in one spot, then move to another. People barely even waved. And there were maybe 3 cars minute getting on to this on ramp and maybe 1 going the direction I was going. So chances of getting picked up were like, zero. 

So it's legal to hitch on the freeways in Oregon, so I tried that, but almost died of heatstroke. And there were still times where there was NO ONE on the freeway. So I walk back to the on ramp and some sketchy dude, with a grand total of a grocery bag to his name, swooped my spot. So at this point I was starting to get pretty nervous since I'd been there for like 6 hours waiting and now I had this dude making me look sketch. Also I thought he might stab me and steal my shit. 

But then, by the grace of god, the nicest dude actually TURNED AROUND to give me a lift. He was going to Portland and I said, "Dude anywhere to get me out of here." 

He turned out to be a super sweet ride and suggested I check the Portland rideshare on craigslist. A phone call later and now I have a ride to Boise Idaho tomorrow, where my sister lives. 

Now I'm sitting in the bushes at the exit he's gonna pick me up at, on the banks of the Columbia river, drinkin 24oz cans of Pabst. 

So far I'd say the hobo life is a tough one, but damn it feels good to be a gangsta. 

Day #1

So this is my second time writing this. My favorite part of technology is that it's so reliable. 

Either way, day one was a total success. Yeah, I got my house packed up and had to say good bye to my parents. It was rough. I've spent so many years at that house in ellensburg. It's hard to let such a great place go, but I got my mom to drive me to Kennewick, mainly to skip over the f-ing shithole that is Yakima, and arrived safely at my girl Hilary's house. She was the most hospitable host and showed me what good old Kennewick had to offer, mainly a river and sweet bridges, and beer. 

But some cool shit happened which led me to believe that this adventure is gonna be f-ing sweet. We were gonna check out this lighthouse on the river, but when we walked up there were like 30 people sitting around it with flowers and some candle going. So I asked the only lady standing what was going on and she said, "My brother is about to get engaged." So we obviously fled the scene, but we crept around these bushes and I managed to snap this picture. 

I mean it's one thing to plan a proposal at a lighthouse at sunset, but this lucky bastard got a rainbow to show up. I don't know how something this awesome comes into existance. You can't write this shit. Not to mention this sunset was a doosie. 

So ya that guy won. Also I won though because Hilary's most awesome roommate showed up with some tequila. 

Also, I apologize for all the swearing. Blame the tequila. 

What's in the bag

Figured I'd show everyone what I'm bringing on my journey. (No I'm not bringing a f-ing gun)

I got:

Sleeping bag

Bivy sack

Tarp

Down jacket/pillow

Two shirts

A pile of socks

Classy suit jacket

Maps

Battery powered phone charger

A couple of markers

Water bladder

Pomade

Tripod

Electrical tape

Some tools

A swaggtastic hat

And the banjo

It's weird to think I'll be living out of a backpack for the next three months. 

I got learned last night.

Lesson learned: Don't try to act cool in front of your friends while biking home from the bar. 

In saying goodbye to a few friends down at the bar last night, I got a little drunk. (Thanks guys!) We all biked home in the same direction, and I saw some Tupperware laying in the street. Now the badass, bmx, road bike rider I am, I decided to smash that shit to pieces with my front wheel. 

So that didn't work and now my hand is bleeding and swollen, my hip had given me a limp, but most of all I've bruised my ego. Of course, I'll probably do it all over again tonight... 

Post #1

Due to people not having Facebook (ugh...) I've decided to start a blog so they can keep up with my goings on and stuff. 

I woke up this morning with butterflies. The realization that I'm about to be living in the streets has been slowly creeping up on me, but I'm excited to finally be free of any responsibilities. Be jealous bitches. 

I cleaned off my desk at work today. Oh the long hours I have spent in that chair. (You can see my box/footrest down there) I still can't decide whether I'll miss the luxuries of office life or not. It sure was a blast. 

Ya post number one is pretty lame I know. I promise I'll get more exciting.