# the digital vagabond



## Karalaine (Aug 31, 2010)

I was just wondering if anybody has met pat "the digital vagabond" he travels around in a really nice custom rv and blogs about it. DigitalVagabonding  he picked me up a couple years ago on the southern oregon coast. we ate thai and drank dank brew, got pulled over by the cops and picked up some college kids from olympia who were on acid and lost their car. Hes a really nice guy, take the ride if he pulls over for you. 
*Hitchhiking on the Wind*




She either had more balls than most men or she was crazy. Or maybe she was a crazy woman with balls. How many 19 year old women would hitch hike across the country without a dime and no particular destination? Is it courage or insanity to get into a strangerâ€™s car?
I had to know. I picked her up just North of the California border on the Oregon coast. We were both roaming our way down the coast and heading for the Redwoods.



"She struck me as a gutter punk who had couch hopped her way through life. She had a classic stoner laugh and a go with the flow ambience.
When you donâ€™t have any particular destination the journey is the trip. Youâ€™re never lost and there is no such thing as a detour.
She told me she had gotten over two dozen rides since she left Portland, Oregon three days before. When you get into someoneâ€™s car you get into their world. You become their captive audience â€“ an unpaid sounding board who will carry their secrets down the road.
During her two dozen plus encounters she met a born again who told her of the coming Apocalypse, a soccer mom who confessed that her life was a prison and a Mexican man who offered her $20 for a blow job.
At every stop she was offered food, money, a place to crash and or drugs â€“ without ever asking. As a Christian would say â€œthe Lord providethâ€.
Most people admire the traveler who leaps into the unknown. And like spectators cheering on a marathoner, they want to help the traveler to keep on keeping on. When you help a traveler you become a part of their epic journey. She was now a part of my trip and I was a part of her trip.
She asked for little or nothing and got much more than she asked for. She was a pure vagabond, who didnâ€™t even know what the word meant when I called her one. I handed her the bible â€œVagabonding in Americaâ€ by Ed Buryn. She had never read the book. But she had already been living it. It gave words to her experience."


I guess that is what he thought of me ,lol.


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

cool experience! one more reason to add to the list of why I want a van


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## Diagaro (Aug 31, 2010)

@ mouse too much responsibility says I.
and as for this digital vagabond guy I can only shake my head. just chalk it up to the crazy people you end up {sometimes having} to ride with. it takes all types i guess the saying goes . . .


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm never really sure why people think having a van to live out of means you have responsibilities???


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## Karalaine (Aug 31, 2010)

Im not drinking anymore but when i was "a shwilly kid" i couldnt fathom having to be sober long enough to drive, or having to spend money on gas.


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## Diagaro (Aug 31, 2010)

you need to worry about gas, mechanical health of the vehicle, where you can adn cant park and for how long, address for current and legal registration + insurance. On top of all that you are limiting your self to where you can go and what you can see.
with a pack and the necessities on your back theres no limit to where you can go. That high mountain peak? hike it! that island out in the middle of the river/lake/bay/sound swim or canoe it! 
the only upside to having a vehicle is that you can travel legaly on th interstate and choose when and where you stop, where as hitching your mostly in the hands of your ride


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## Amish (Aug 31, 2010)

nice .. ive seen the RV before but never got a ride from te guy


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

eh, I like the thought of always knowing where I can and will sleep AND that I will sleep comfortably. 

I don't think it's that limiting. just cuz you have a vehicle doesn't mean you can't backpack and other things. think of a broader plan!


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

Karalaine said:


> Im not drinking anymore but when i was "a shwilly kid" i couldnt fathom having to be sober long enough to drive, or having to spend money on gas.



yes I can completely agree with that statement.


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## Amish (Aug 31, 2010)

i like camping out its always an adventure, i could never really own my own car or anything like that , if anything id get a bike thats really about it .. and besides cars/vehicles in general cost alot of moey to upkeep , gas, mechanical issues, insurance, ect its a luxary item to me and cost more then its really worth


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

to me, a van is a movable house. so you have to think of it in terms of say renting an apartment. comparably the van wins 100 fold in terms of cost. 

I guess I'm just over the whole being homeless thing. I want a comfy bed and a place that completely belongs to me.


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## Beegod Santana (Aug 31, 2010)

I've done the backpacker thing, I've also done the rubber tramp thing. I started with a backpack, then got a car, then went back to the pack and now I have a car again and I really don't see why people think its so hard. Living outta a pack is liberating but also extremely limiting at the same time. Rubber tramping is pretty much the same. After 7 years of traveling I got to the point where I could find quick work most anywhere in the country. I drive a dirt cheap simple car that gets good mpg. and is easy to fix. Having it makes it a bunch easier to find work. Eventually my car will die and I'll be back to hitching and riding, and I'm totally fine with that.

I guess all I'm saying is that I don't see what the big deal is.


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

same same! it's all balances in pros and cons in my head, I guess it all boils down to personal pref.


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## macks (Aug 31, 2010)

Diagaro said:


> that island out in the middle of the river/lake/bay/sound swim or canoe it!



How you gonna get that canoe to the river/lake/bay without a vehicle?


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## Mouse (Aug 31, 2010)

you walk there, chop down a tree, hollow it out and oyu got a boat. DUH 

lol


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## macks (Sep 1, 2010)

With your bare hands. Core.


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