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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I’m in a coffee shop in Spruce Pines, a town a few minutes from Little Switzerland.  A few minutes ago I went to the restroom and left my laptop, ipod, jacket and shoulder bag just sitting there.  And they were still there when I got back.  I’m still not used to that.  The first few [...]

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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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I’m planning for the cross-country venture I’m taking in some ten days, from North Carolina to Los Angeles, and weighing the pros and cons of ride-sharing vs. hitchhiking.  Don’t mind if I think aloud here… It’s a fairly simple issue.  Ride-sharing is vastly more comfortable and vastly more expensive.  I needn’t really go into detail [...]

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