I haven't had much luck with signs... I get picked up a lot if I'm walking, then when I hear a car approaching, I turn around, smile, and give them the ol' thumb.
when i was in Reno the ramp i was at was near a strip club so i flew a sign that said" i won't tell your wife if you pick me up please" and it was great got some great laughs and a ride out of it. then if i am in a Stoner area i use" magic cigs for a ride please?" and that tends to work for me pretty well but for the most part i stick to " anywhere but here" or the direction i want to head.
I totally got a shit ton of rides with a Tokyo sign. Most of it was in Northern California.
It didn't matter if people didn't stop to pick us up, most just smiled at us or gave us beer or something. Fun as fuck.
I have definitely read 'The Glass Castle' and it's fucking awesome. I totally suggest it to anyone.
It's not entirely about traveling but it is really badass.
Hmm, I've always gone with the name of the next biggest city or the next state. Sometimes I just fly the name of the highway I'm on, though that tends to be pretty slow. My favorite is and will always be 'NIRVANA' - you find some of the most interesting people that way
wwjd is a classic. I was hitching in a group of 4 for some reason and we made 4 signs that all went together like:
"take us" "2" "Dallas" "please"
"2" "Loooo" "ooong view" "please"
WWJD never worked for me. Neither did Alaska/Japan/Tokyo. The only things that people admitted caught their attention was a smile face, and "Anywhere but here."
I've thought it would be funny to fly a sign that read, "Want 2 Fuck?" Even though that might attract the wrong type of crowd you were looking for, but a bus load of single, college aged women/men may stop.