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.