I Survived the Greyhound and now I am hitchking

[iflewoverthecuckoosnest]

Bring a water jug. An empty Arizona Tea jug is the best I've ever had.
If you have a smart phone, get one of those satellite map apps, they come in handy.
Have a backpack with a good frame! I crossed the country with a shit backpack and my back hates me for it. Getting a new one as soon as I hunker down for the winter
When you get into a car, sit with your stuff next to/on your lap. Though it's never happened to me, some people are absolute ass hats and they will drive off with your stuff when you are getting out. Don't give them that opportunity.
Also, from my experience, cities in general are an absolute bitch to make your way out of, so you might want to avoid them. That's just my take on cities, though. Who knows? You might love them.
Other than that, have fun, trust your gut, doesn't hurt to bring some pepper spray or a knife, and be really cool to everybody . You'd be surprised just how far honesty and kindness can get you with folks.
Good luck!

 

[Desert]

How about ride share on Craiglist? How will that work out?

Sure. I used craigslist all the way from Albuquerque to Portland and have used it on a couple smaller trips. It works if you have gas money to give the driver, otherwise it might be tough. It might be difficult to work around their departure dates as well; hitchhiking can be unpredictable and timeframes have never worked for me. With a little planning and some patience you could probably make it a pretty quick and easy trip, assuming you have the funds.

 

[Hobo Mud]

I took a Greyhound bus for a cheaper way to travel across America (Spent about $80 for around trip to Atlanta Georgia and back to West Palm Beach Florida). First time was not so bad. The second time was like being in a Third-world country.
Willing to take my chances Hitchhiking, I need some advice going across America. Anything from common sense to the Law. For I the horror's I saw on the Greyhound...

Well you got the picture.

Welcome to the wonderful world of grey hound! Lol!

 

[Deleted member 14481]

Greyhound and Megabus are great when everything works and nothing goes wrong. When something goes wrong, everything else will have a tendency to fall apart with it. I don't blame you for wanting to hitchhike after having such experiences.

Everyone's already given you the good basic advice about where to find water. You can dumpster dive for food, and never underestimate having a reliable pair of hiking boots. Two, if you have the space. An issue for me is finding Wi-Fi in places where I don't have to buy something. Not every place has a central Walmart or Target located conveniently somewhere. Other good places to get Wi-Fi without having to buy something can be Starbucks, depending on how the building is designed. Any place with an upstairs where you can sneak past the cash register, but not a local place, where you would have to ask for the password still. Some places have readily available place Wi-Fi. Public libraries are default. Neighborhoods, public city Wi-Fi, bus stations and City public transportation in places that are more expensive to live.

Good luck out there!

 

[Kuchi Kopi]

so, I'll share my hitch out of FL. I took a bus to the park n' ride in Tampa where you have access to I-75. I ate some Wendy's. Then I walked to the on ramp of I-75 and stuck my thumb out (other extremities may work, it's FL so go nuts). Then I got off at the San Antonio exit which features a Flying J I think. I ate Denny's. Then I stood at the trucker exit with my thumb out and took a truck hitch to Georgia. So, my advice would be to get out of FL immediately. There are truck stops on I-10 but IMO it's easier to catch a ride west from anywhere but FL. A lot of drivers go north to south not east to west but there are tons of truckers heading to TX all the time. I hitch trucks since I like the option to go long distances and because I like the Love's logo. If I were trying to get to CA I'd aim for Washington state then hitch down but, I hate I- 10. Hitching is easy. Hope this helped in someway.

 

[Coywolf]

Man, greyhound is, and forever will be, the worst form of travel monopoly in the world. I HATE greyhound. I was refused a ride in Amarillo, after a 5 hour layover, and forced to wait 3 days for the next bus, after the driver said "I smelled like alcohol".

Fucking ass holes. I fought it, it's not in their rules, and and not in their policy. Threatened to sue them.

They don't give a shot about you. Will kick you off in the middle of nowhere.

I have seen old people beaten, foreign tourist robbed, and people openly smoking meth on Greyhoud. Fuck them.

They make a KILLING on tickets, and don't forward any of that money to the service they provide. Not to mention the are a total monopoly.

They take advantage of the disenfrachised.

So. Fuck Greyhound. I would rather hop or hitch any day, but sometimes taking the bus is unavoidable.

That being said, I've met some bad ass peo0le on the bus. It's fun to strike up conversations with the hardest looking motherfuckers (I'm white with long hair) and end up becoming friends after talk8ng about hardcore shit for an hour, haha.

 

[ironman]

I take tornado bus line . it get you cross country . faster and very respectful drivers