i apologize for length, but i need to get it all down. this all happened two days ago.
it was a dark and stormy night... well, no, i'll start from the beginning. it was 102 degrees here in orlando florida and me and my friend, lets call him bill, and for all intents and purposes i'll be ted, decided it would be a grand idea to take off and hitch to new york. well holy christ was that overly ambitious, but it made for good practice and any first-timers would be wise to heed the notes i make here regarding what we packed and how we handled nature's worst.
well, we're both underage so we convinced his dad (who we're staying with) that we were taking an amtrak train to new york when in fact we just took it one stop north from orlando to winter park, where in our first great idea turned horrid mistake, we walked to the post office nearby and shipped most of our shit off to new york to lighten our load. before that we were each carrying 50+ lbs. afterward our bags were still heavy but only around 30 for each of us not counting his guitar.
so from there we walked out to a borders near I-4 where we stole maps and got directions. we walked over to the highway adjacent the store and could just barely make out I-4 in the distance, and there we walked. we stopped at a convenience store along the way and confiscated some water bottles.
when we got there we waited by the onramp for a little while and then decided, fuck it, we'll walk up onto the interstate itself and catch a ride there. bare in mind it was o9ver a hundred degrees and about 3pm.
15 minutes with our thumbs out and no sign, standing on the side of I-4 east, and then there was this amazing holy shit moment when someone actually stopped. bill didn't even notice so i yelled to him and then ran over to the car and started loading up.
our driver was one brandon smith, vessel for christ extraordinaire, savior of the damned and our ride halfway to I-95. when i got into the car i noticed that both my hands were tingling to the wrists and i was light-headed. my experience watching house md told me i was having a heat stroke, and although i recovered it was still a scary moment. having never had the feeling before i had no idea if i was going to pass out.
when he asked if we were runaways we laughed and said, no, college students and that was that. he cautioned us about the heat and let us out under an overpass - we were learning! before we jumped out he took us both by the wrist and prayed for us, we half muttered, half sputtered and half giggled "amen" and then he did the strangest thing... he wrote his name and two phone numbers down on a piece of paper which we still have, and told us if we were ever in trouble he and his church would help us. well we're not christian but we took the number and his photo (for posterity) and hopped out to wait under the overpass.
it wasnt long before we noticed that we were parked on the exit side of an exit so we waited for a gap in the traffic and ran across the offramp towards another nearby overpass. here we found the lid of a plastic tub. i wrote "i-95 north" on it in big sharpied-in letters and held it up for the oncoming traffic to consider. not two minutes later a brand new audi pulled over on the road, and not believing our luck i ran over to the rolled down window and leaned in. he asked us where we're going and i said new york. "shit, man, this is my exit, but i mean, shit, i feel bad, you know, you're going to new york and shit... you want some gum or some shit?" well, it was too good to be true but we took our gum and went back under the overpass and another 15 minutes later a jeep pulled over in front of us.
his name was dan and he was an ex-military man who was just freelancing for karma. he gave us a gallon of warm water and asked if we'd rather be dropped off at I-95 or the walmart in daytona beach for supplies. we opted for the walmart and when we got there we bought bread and peanut butter while stealing about 3 water bottles for each of us, some duct tape for my ripped converse and some honey mustard and onion pretzels.
we walked out and over to the taco bell and ate fruitfully. i repaired my shoes and then we were on our merry way back where we just came from - I-95. what seemed like just a few feet in the car turned into a 30 minute trek. by the end we were drenched in sweat and surrounded by bugs and i couldnt find the off! spray that we had brought along.
we were so tired but we had made it to I-95. we had successfully hitchhiked from orlando to daytona beach, a modest 50 miles, good for our first trip, but this is when the trouble started.
we were still planning on going north. all the way through 15 states to new york. but it was nighttime now and we stood under an overpass on I-95 north for hours with no takers and we decided to call it a night. we ran up the slanted concrete and sat in the dark, trying to get to sleep. well, the noise was ridiculous and we hadnt thought to bring ear plugs, and the bugs, dear god the bugs. we took off back toward the gas station that stood before I-95 and across the street we spotted this storefront that was under construction. we walked around looking for a way to get in and didnt find one and in an act of desperation bill slammed a three foot iron poll into one of the windows and to our chagrin it made a loud "bung" sound and refused to break. we walked back behind the store and laid down on some concrete.
just then, someone from the jacksonville amtrak station called me to inform me that i had left my passport on the train to winter park, the fake train ride that i didnt even reallly need to go on because it was literally 15 minutes long. it was now kept in a lockbox in the jacksonville station where i could come through and pick it up. well, we figured we were going to be in jacksonville tomorrow, so i declined to have it sent to winter park or orlando. just then, it started to rain.
we took refuge under a tiny awning that stuck off the storefront. pretty soon the rain was coming in sideways and we had no protection from the elements so in a split-second decision we decided to cover up as best we can and sprint back to the overpass where at least we would be dry.
15 minutes later, wet and cold we ended back exactly where we came from. bill hung up all of our shit to dry on the rafters under the overpass and i unrolled my sleeping bag to try to get some shuteye. by now we were covered in muck from the underpass and we still couldnt sleep for all the noise and so we packed everything up and tried in vain to thumb out of there for another hour.
we were utterly defeated, our shoulders were sore from the weight and our limbs were coated in mosquito bites. we walked back down that same stretch of road to the gas station and asked the clerk inside to call us a taxi. if we didnt have any money i dont know what we wouldve done. $60 poorer, we had gotten to a motel and gotten a room to stay for the night with two beds in it. everything was pretty fucked up but it was $35 a night for two people and it was better than an overpass so we didnt complain.
the next day, still thinking about getting to jacksonville and getting my passport, at least, we called another cab and then decided to have him take us to the amtrak station in deland. when we found out a ticket from there to anywhere would be more than all the money we've ever even seen in our lives, we called bill's dad and told him to come get us. i dont know how, but SOMEhow bill convinced him we had been on amtrak the whole time and had just decided to come back and he took it at face value.
ive got a plane ticket back to new york for myself in a few days and i guess we'll work something out to get bill up there in a week or a couple weeks.
so newbies, what have we learned?
PONCHOS! ponchos or umbrellas, take your pick but take something. i dont care if its a black plastic trash bag. if you already cant get a ride, your frustration will be compounded a thousandfold by the weather if you arent prepared for it.
EAR PLUGS! god forbid you cant find a roof or a squat or a tent to sleep on/in, but if you have to stay under an overpass you need these fuckin things to sleep, and you need to sleep. double-important if youre going to be trainhopping, theyre essential.
COMFORTABLE BAG! note the lack of 's' on bag. we each had a couple bags and i cant emphasize enough how fucked up our shoulders are after one day of getting around with all that shit. you dont need much clothing, just a couple pairs of shirts (i had like 5), a couple pairs of pants, one of which you should be wearing (i had four total) and as much underwear and socks as you can comfortably carry.
GOOD SHOES! i love converse to death but it took them a whole two days to dry and they were the only thing i had to wear. plus rocks kept coming in through the holes in the sides and it just wasnt good.
DONT TAKE DETOURS IF YOU HAVE A PLACE YOU NEED TO BE! we got so discouraged that we gave up on the trip solely because we didnt get a ride on I-95. if we had gotten off at I-95 at 4:30 when we drove through it, we would be in virginia right now and the tone of this story would be very different. and why did we take a detour to walmart? because we werent prepared.
now, this was only my first trip and im still learning so any corrections, additions, criticisms and comments are welcome and encouraged.
it was a dark and stormy night... well, no, i'll start from the beginning. it was 102 degrees here in orlando florida and me and my friend, lets call him bill, and for all intents and purposes i'll be ted, decided it would be a grand idea to take off and hitch to new york. well holy christ was that overly ambitious, but it made for good practice and any first-timers would be wise to heed the notes i make here regarding what we packed and how we handled nature's worst.
well, we're both underage so we convinced his dad (who we're staying with) that we were taking an amtrak train to new york when in fact we just took it one stop north from orlando to winter park, where in our first great idea turned horrid mistake, we walked to the post office nearby and shipped most of our shit off to new york to lighten our load. before that we were each carrying 50+ lbs. afterward our bags were still heavy but only around 30 for each of us not counting his guitar.
so from there we walked out to a borders near I-4 where we stole maps and got directions. we walked over to the highway adjacent the store and could just barely make out I-4 in the distance, and there we walked. we stopped at a convenience store along the way and confiscated some water bottles.
when we got there we waited by the onramp for a little while and then decided, fuck it, we'll walk up onto the interstate itself and catch a ride there. bare in mind it was o9ver a hundred degrees and about 3pm.
15 minutes with our thumbs out and no sign, standing on the side of I-4 east, and then there was this amazing holy shit moment when someone actually stopped. bill didn't even notice so i yelled to him and then ran over to the car and started loading up.
our driver was one brandon smith, vessel for christ extraordinaire, savior of the damned and our ride halfway to I-95. when i got into the car i noticed that both my hands were tingling to the wrists and i was light-headed. my experience watching house md told me i was having a heat stroke, and although i recovered it was still a scary moment. having never had the feeling before i had no idea if i was going to pass out.
when he asked if we were runaways we laughed and said, no, college students and that was that. he cautioned us about the heat and let us out under an overpass - we were learning! before we jumped out he took us both by the wrist and prayed for us, we half muttered, half sputtered and half giggled "amen" and then he did the strangest thing... he wrote his name and two phone numbers down on a piece of paper which we still have, and told us if we were ever in trouble he and his church would help us. well we're not christian but we took the number and his photo (for posterity) and hopped out to wait under the overpass.
it wasnt long before we noticed that we were parked on the exit side of an exit so we waited for a gap in the traffic and ran across the offramp towards another nearby overpass. here we found the lid of a plastic tub. i wrote "i-95 north" on it in big sharpied-in letters and held it up for the oncoming traffic to consider. not two minutes later a brand new audi pulled over on the road, and not believing our luck i ran over to the rolled down window and leaned in. he asked us where we're going and i said new york. "shit, man, this is my exit, but i mean, shit, i feel bad, you know, you're going to new york and shit... you want some gum or some shit?" well, it was too good to be true but we took our gum and went back under the overpass and another 15 minutes later a jeep pulled over in front of us.
his name was dan and he was an ex-military man who was just freelancing for karma. he gave us a gallon of warm water and asked if we'd rather be dropped off at I-95 or the walmart in daytona beach for supplies. we opted for the walmart and when we got there we bought bread and peanut butter while stealing about 3 water bottles for each of us, some duct tape for my ripped converse and some honey mustard and onion pretzels.
we walked out and over to the taco bell and ate fruitfully. i repaired my shoes and then we were on our merry way back where we just came from - I-95. what seemed like just a few feet in the car turned into a 30 minute trek. by the end we were drenched in sweat and surrounded by bugs and i couldnt find the off! spray that we had brought along.
we were so tired but we had made it to I-95. we had successfully hitchhiked from orlando to daytona beach, a modest 50 miles, good for our first trip, but this is when the trouble started.
we were still planning on going north. all the way through 15 states to new york. but it was nighttime now and we stood under an overpass on I-95 north for hours with no takers and we decided to call it a night. we ran up the slanted concrete and sat in the dark, trying to get to sleep. well, the noise was ridiculous and we hadnt thought to bring ear plugs, and the bugs, dear god the bugs. we took off back toward the gas station that stood before I-95 and across the street we spotted this storefront that was under construction. we walked around looking for a way to get in and didnt find one and in an act of desperation bill slammed a three foot iron poll into one of the windows and to our chagrin it made a loud "bung" sound and refused to break. we walked back behind the store and laid down on some concrete.
just then, someone from the jacksonville amtrak station called me to inform me that i had left my passport on the train to winter park, the fake train ride that i didnt even reallly need to go on because it was literally 15 minutes long. it was now kept in a lockbox in the jacksonville station where i could come through and pick it up. well, we figured we were going to be in jacksonville tomorrow, so i declined to have it sent to winter park or orlando. just then, it started to rain.
we took refuge under a tiny awning that stuck off the storefront. pretty soon the rain was coming in sideways and we had no protection from the elements so in a split-second decision we decided to cover up as best we can and sprint back to the overpass where at least we would be dry.
15 minutes later, wet and cold we ended back exactly where we came from. bill hung up all of our shit to dry on the rafters under the overpass and i unrolled my sleeping bag to try to get some shuteye. by now we were covered in muck from the underpass and we still couldnt sleep for all the noise and so we packed everything up and tried in vain to thumb out of there for another hour.
we were utterly defeated, our shoulders were sore from the weight and our limbs were coated in mosquito bites. we walked back down that same stretch of road to the gas station and asked the clerk inside to call us a taxi. if we didnt have any money i dont know what we wouldve done. $60 poorer, we had gotten to a motel and gotten a room to stay for the night with two beds in it. everything was pretty fucked up but it was $35 a night for two people and it was better than an overpass so we didnt complain.
the next day, still thinking about getting to jacksonville and getting my passport, at least, we called another cab and then decided to have him take us to the amtrak station in deland. when we found out a ticket from there to anywhere would be more than all the money we've ever even seen in our lives, we called bill's dad and told him to come get us. i dont know how, but SOMEhow bill convinced him we had been on amtrak the whole time and had just decided to come back and he took it at face value.
ive got a plane ticket back to new york for myself in a few days and i guess we'll work something out to get bill up there in a week or a couple weeks.
so newbies, what have we learned?
PONCHOS! ponchos or umbrellas, take your pick but take something. i dont care if its a black plastic trash bag. if you already cant get a ride, your frustration will be compounded a thousandfold by the weather if you arent prepared for it.
EAR PLUGS! god forbid you cant find a roof or a squat or a tent to sleep on/in, but if you have to stay under an overpass you need these fuckin things to sleep, and you need to sleep. double-important if youre going to be trainhopping, theyre essential.
COMFORTABLE BAG! note the lack of 's' on bag. we each had a couple bags and i cant emphasize enough how fucked up our shoulders are after one day of getting around with all that shit. you dont need much clothing, just a couple pairs of shirts (i had like 5), a couple pairs of pants, one of which you should be wearing (i had four total) and as much underwear and socks as you can comfortably carry.
GOOD SHOES! i love converse to death but it took them a whole two days to dry and they were the only thing i had to wear. plus rocks kept coming in through the holes in the sides and it just wasnt good.
DONT TAKE DETOURS IF YOU HAVE A PLACE YOU NEED TO BE! we got so discouraged that we gave up on the trip solely because we didnt get a ride on I-95. if we had gotten off at I-95 at 4:30 when we drove through it, we would be in virginia right now and the tone of this story would be very different. and why did we take a detour to walmart? because we werent prepared.
now, this was only my first trip and im still learning so any corrections, additions, criticisms and comments are welcome and encouraged.
