First time traveler/hopper

Never traveled much besides bouncing around pa until recently but always wanted to. Grew up on the streets and train tracks and was always fascinated with trains. And as of recently I've came to a point in life were I need to experience things maybe make a change in life style. I've been planning for quite a few years and decided now is the time. I have a good idea of what to pack and have a list of essential things needed.

Looking for advice advice and maybe a partner for a few hops.
 
There's a whole bunch of threads on STP that if you take the time to look through, offer a lot of information about trains. And there's a lot of other stuff over on Travelershq.net, so check that out too. Other than that, there's a lot of self research you can do to gain more knowledge.