will eee um
Roads Scholar
So I made it to PDX and I'm writing this from the public library. Anyways...
I left on July 8th, 1 week later than I expected since I still had a lot of shit to wrap up. Once that was all done, I took a Amtrak up to Seattle and had a hostel near the Pike Place Market lined up for 4 nights. However, I got there at around 10 PM and didn't realize at the time that I could have dropped off my pack at the hostel and just crashed on the couch in the common area of the hostel until check-in time the next day. So instead, I walked east from the train station towards Leschi Park where I camped out for the night until morning. On my walk there, some dude tried to sell me meth (I politely declined), so yeah...that was a reality check. I was pretty freaked out while camping and didn't get much sleep since it was my first night doing something like that. Nobody wound up bothering me though and when I woke up I realized I was actually in a pretty posh neighborhood in Seattle and was likely more scared than I should have been. Anyways, I made my way to the hostel by asking for a free bus ride so I could drop off my bags and eat some of the free food they still had left. I had a pretty awesome time up there, I met a lot of people from all over the world, and checked out many parts of the city; Alki Beach, UDub, etc. I also met this cute chick up there that had just gotten certified as a public school teacher. We spent a night out at Kerry Park, Gas Works Park, and got some pizza afterwards. I made it back to SF by Friday on Amtrak where my best bud let me crash at his place over the weekend in exchange for helping him clean up his parent's garage.
From SF the next leg of my journey was to hitchhike to Portland along the coast. I camped out on the beach near SF on Sunday night; it didn't feel as scary this time. On Monday morning, some old dude picked me up in his minivan and drove me up to Fort Bragg. I got my second reality check on the way as he was sipping on a 24oz can of Bud Light while driving and bought 2 more along the way and had chugged them all down by the time we got there. 😬 I could find a ride out of Fort Bragg that night, so I camped out on the beach there. The next day I caught a ride to Willits, another to Garberville, and another to Weott. I wanted to make it up to Arcata, but I couldn't find another ride up there. The guy that dropped me off at Weott told me about a bus that would take me up to Eureka where I could connect with another one to Arcata. So I decided to get on the bus and the lady driving not only let me on for free, but gave me a free transfer to the second bus to Arcata as well. (SCORE! 😎) Along the way, I met and had a nice convo with a lady who is a former vagabond. When I got to Arcata, I made camp out in the woods behind the uni. The next morning, I couldn't get a ride out of Arcata, so I bummed another bus ride up to Trinidad where I camped out for the night. When I got to Trinidad, I felt like I was in heaven for a hot sec and had gotten over my fear of sleeping outside. That town is sooo fuckin' chill; had several people offer me free weed. There is also a grocery store there that marks down all their prepared foods to 99 cents after 6 PM, so that was def another score. When morning came, I was able to hitch a ride up to Brookings where I hung out on the beach all day and night. The next day, I got a series of rides up the coast all the way to Reedsport where I camped under a bridge for the night. The day after, I got a ride from a guy who works as a high school English teacher that was going to Hood River. I told him I was going to Portland and he said he would drop me off there. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled; I would be getting to PDX a day earlier than I expected.
This initial leg of my journey has taught me a few things:
The road is rough, but if you're prepared and an honest person, it will embrace you back.
Sleeping outside isn't as scary once you've tried it. Yes, there are risks, but you can try to mitigate them and they're what makes this lifestyle fun. Ironically, when I got to Portland I spent a good chunk of what I had left on a hostel for the night and I'm now regretting it. The one I'm at in PDX isn't as lively as the one I stayed at in Seattle and I'm already starting to feel strange sleeping indoors. Welp....time to get good at spanging next. I'ma be bumming around Portland for a week or two.
Safe Travels.
I left on July 8th, 1 week later than I expected since I still had a lot of shit to wrap up. Once that was all done, I took a Amtrak up to Seattle and had a hostel near the Pike Place Market lined up for 4 nights. However, I got there at around 10 PM and didn't realize at the time that I could have dropped off my pack at the hostel and just crashed on the couch in the common area of the hostel until check-in time the next day. So instead, I walked east from the train station towards Leschi Park where I camped out for the night until morning. On my walk there, some dude tried to sell me meth (I politely declined), so yeah...that was a reality check. I was pretty freaked out while camping and didn't get much sleep since it was my first night doing something like that. Nobody wound up bothering me though and when I woke up I realized I was actually in a pretty posh neighborhood in Seattle and was likely more scared than I should have been. Anyways, I made my way to the hostel by asking for a free bus ride so I could drop off my bags and eat some of the free food they still had left. I had a pretty awesome time up there, I met a lot of people from all over the world, and checked out many parts of the city; Alki Beach, UDub, etc. I also met this cute chick up there that had just gotten certified as a public school teacher. We spent a night out at Kerry Park, Gas Works Park, and got some pizza afterwards. I made it back to SF by Friday on Amtrak where my best bud let me crash at his place over the weekend in exchange for helping him clean up his parent's garage.
From SF the next leg of my journey was to hitchhike to Portland along the coast. I camped out on the beach near SF on Sunday night; it didn't feel as scary this time. On Monday morning, some old dude picked me up in his minivan and drove me up to Fort Bragg. I got my second reality check on the way as he was sipping on a 24oz can of Bud Light while driving and bought 2 more along the way and had chugged them all down by the time we got there. 😬 I could find a ride out of Fort Bragg that night, so I camped out on the beach there. The next day I caught a ride to Willits, another to Garberville, and another to Weott. I wanted to make it up to Arcata, but I couldn't find another ride up there. The guy that dropped me off at Weott told me about a bus that would take me up to Eureka where I could connect with another one to Arcata. So I decided to get on the bus and the lady driving not only let me on for free, but gave me a free transfer to the second bus to Arcata as well. (SCORE! 😎) Along the way, I met and had a nice convo with a lady who is a former vagabond. When I got to Arcata, I made camp out in the woods behind the uni. The next morning, I couldn't get a ride out of Arcata, so I bummed another bus ride up to Trinidad where I camped out for the night. When I got to Trinidad, I felt like I was in heaven for a hot sec and had gotten over my fear of sleeping outside. That town is sooo fuckin' chill; had several people offer me free weed. There is also a grocery store there that marks down all their prepared foods to 99 cents after 6 PM, so that was def another score. When morning came, I was able to hitch a ride up to Brookings where I hung out on the beach all day and night. The next day, I got a series of rides up the coast all the way to Reedsport where I camped under a bridge for the night. The day after, I got a ride from a guy who works as a high school English teacher that was going to Hood River. I told him I was going to Portland and he said he would drop me off there. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled; I would be getting to PDX a day earlier than I expected.
This initial leg of my journey has taught me a few things:
The road is rough, but if you're prepared and an honest person, it will embrace you back.
Sleeping outside isn't as scary once you've tried it. Yes, there are risks, but you can try to mitigate them and they're what makes this lifestyle fun. Ironically, when I got to Portland I spent a good chunk of what I had left on a hostel for the night and I'm now regretting it. The one I'm at in PDX isn't as lively as the one I stayed at in Seattle and I'm already starting to feel strange sleeping indoors
. Welp....time to get good at spanging next. I'ma be bumming around Portland for a week or two.Safe Travels.
