Free Ballin’

Yes, Ingenious Hitchhiking Strategies 001.  I will undoubtedly provide you with at least 100 hitchhiking tips—one per ride—and as many as 999, over the course of this blog.  After that, you’re on your own. I’m going with 001 instead of 0001, because I figure good luck is finite, and thumbing 9,999 rides is just begging [...]

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The Milwaukee Bucks (wonderfully hospitable) took an interest in Free Ballin’.  Along with making me the Extreme Fan of the Game, giving me some groovy team goods, and putting me up on the jumbotron—my bald “spot” 6 feet across—they did a little interview with me before the game.  For my first time on camera, not [...]

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Oh, did I mention I arrived in Milwaukee?  Those of you smarties following me on Twitter know the score, of course, as I kept people pretty up to date that way, when I didn’t have an internet connection.  For the rest of you, I’ll update you, a post for each day on the road. 3/15 [...]

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It’s 7:19 am and I’m only about 45 minutes behind optimum schedule, which is pretty great for me.  Generally speaking, I’m never where I want to be, when I want to be there.  It’s the nature of vagabondizing around America without a car; you expect to be behind.  I’d prefer being out on the I [...]

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A hitchhiking video game would suck; no one would want to play.  Unless, perhaps, it were Hitchhiking Psycho, where you could make up your character, a la Sims, to make them more attractive to drivers, and then, when they stopped for you…  Umm, yeah, it could work, GTA style. So I’m Omaha, spending the night, [...]

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I arrived in Miami on December 28th ’08, without a place to stay.  I had floated numerous couchsurfing requests out to Miami CSers and received only one reply, negative.  She did direct me to an acquaintence, Brian, a recent couchsurfer, and I had an email out to him.  Without any other prospects, I checked into [...]

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Tomorrow, I’m setting off for Milwaukee, bright and early—actually, dark and early.  I’ll be out the door around 5AM, to take public transportation to Troutdale, which is right on I-84 and (I’m told) chock full of truckstops.  Hopefully, I’ll catch a ride with an eastbound trucker. Google maps says it’s 2,064 miles from Portland to [...]

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And I’m plum tuckered out.  I’ll write about the game and SLC, but I’m hitting the couch in a few minutes.  I might have a big day tomorrow. A roommate of the friends I’m staying with in SLC is moving out tomorrow, driving down to Southern California.  I might or might not be able to [...]

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Uh, that stuff about ride-sharing v. hitchhiking?  Yeah, check that.  It looks like I’m going to get a little of both on this trip out from NC to LA. I posted on craigslist last week, looking for a ride-share, and got a response yesterday.  A guy in Asheville, NC is heading to Montana and I’m [...]

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I got picked up by an off duty Fed Ex guy.  I think he’d just gotten off work, because he was still wearing his uniform.  I knew the course I was trying to take, but this guy had a way that would be quicker.  Poor choice.  He drove me about 5 miles in the right [...]

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