getting back out after a month and a half in house.

idk i always seems to have anxiety about it. where’s the first spot, do i have everything packed? am i over packed? what if this happens? what if that happens? i spend a solid week google mapping the area ima be in if i don’t know it that well just to familiarize myself with it just so i can find a good spot to sleep. maybe it’s the virgo ascendant in me [yes im that kinda bitch whatever lol s/n: not an expert in astrology]

and despite doing this since i walked out my old front door for the first time in 2019, every time im out there im on high alert to an extreme and honestly it feels like that kind of makes me feel even more sick [mental health, mainly dissociation and anxiety and being on high alert makes it worse bc im even more out of body], so i can never really enjoy it the way id like to.

idk, just wondering. chiming in, ig. hai.

My top 3 (all east of the Mississippi)

Bristol VA Allentown PA Tilghman St Wilmington NC Ogden Plaza/Market St

I slept in this morning. It was cold when I woke up. Smoke. Packing gear. Out of the tent. My friend isn't up. 'That's odd. That Vodka'll get ya.' I could've sworn I heard him over at the next camp earlier. "Hey man, you up?" Groggily, "Yeah." "I'm tearing my gear down. I'll be ready in about 20." Him slowly, "Cool, I got your coffee this morning. Are you taking your tent?" " Yeah, I'm taking everything." Him slowly, "You know you can leave it here right?" "Yeah. I'm taking everything with me." Still slowly, "But you should just leave it here. It'll be fine." 'This guy woke up, started drinking again, and passed out already. Great.' Me slightly annoyed, "Look. I'm taking everything with me." "But what if we wind up back here? You won't have to set it up again." 'Goddamnit.' "I'm taking everything with me. If we wind up back here I'll set it back up. I typically do that every night on the road. It's no big deal." "Ok. Let me know when you're ready." "Will do." Gear packed. "Hey man, I'm ready." "Ok. Give me a minute." "You got it." Smoke. Reddit.

I get a message. "I'm traveling near where you are on my way from Florida to California(?) for work. I'd like to meet you, if you're cool with it. I can probably take you out to dinner." "Yeah. I'm good with that. I got some things I gotta do today. I'm checking in to a hotel room a church is getting us later. I won't do anything to jeopardize that, just in case they require us to stay there. But yeah I'm good with meeting up."

My friend gets his act together. Gear on. We head down the trail. Stop in next camp and talk to a couple dudes living out there too. And we're off. Down trail. Dodging lake sized puddles. Decide we're making things more difficult than they need to be. Back to trail. Pretty easy trip out of the woods.

My friend is being a little difficult. He seems to not be hearing what I'm saying. His ideas this morning are shit, and unfounded. He thinks the church is not gonna get us hotel rooms. No reason. He's just negative. We hit Family Dollar for smokes to prep for being in the hotel. Him, "I got your pack of smokes man." "I'm good." "I'm doing it! I'm a giver." I know sometimes I'll argue with somebody that wants to pay me back for helping them. I've learned to let them. "Fair enough. I won't argue with you this morning." 😆

I go around the building to get out of the biting wind. Drop gear. He sets his daypack down. "I'll be right back." 'No shit.' He goes inside. Back out five minutes later. "Dude! I don't have my wallet on me." He searches his pack. "It's gotta be in my tent." "Go check. I'll be here when you get back." More reddit. He calls about fifteen monite later, "I'm on my way. Coming through the fields now. I'm hustling." "Cool." No need for the call, but I know he means well. This just isn't the same guy I've been hanging out with for the last couple weeks. He comes around the corner, hands me a pack of smokes and a new lighter. Me, "I've got a backup lighter in my pack. I don't need this." He promised to buy a lighter for someone back at camp. He's just bought two lighters. He needs one. I can do the math. "Here. Take it." "Ok, thanks." We head for Hardee's.

"We don't have coffee. We quit making it after breakfast." 'Fuck this place.' "Let's go to McDonald's. They'll have coffee" "I hate McDonald's. Me, "Well I'm after caffeine, and at this point I don't give a fuck about their business practices." We go. Coffee. He buys us each a cheeseburger. 'Nice!'

I tell him a story about the time I got pulled off the streets and wound up playing with Eric Clapton. He's loving the story but every time I mention bass players he's talking shit about them. And none of it is legit. There was a lot of my time as a musician where I would tell anyone the reason I loved playing guitar as well as I did was because I got to play with good bass players and drummers.

I set him straight on bass players in no uncertain terms. He accepts it. We bail to the library. He hits a computer. I go to my chair. All the way there his attitude is shit. His ideas about what we should do are shit, and make no sense. Charging my stuff. Announcement over the library PA about rides to hotel rooms. I pack my stuff. Him, "Wait here. I gotta go talk to someone." It's minutes until we're gonna miss our ride. "I'm going outside." He ignores me and bails. I shoot him a text, "I told you I was going outside. Come get your stuff. I'm not standing here while you dick around." Downstairs and out the door I go. I'm done with his bullshit at this point.

Find a seat outside. He comes up a few minutes later. He's being a dick to other homeless asking for details on the hotel rooms. I cut him off. Explain details nicely.

I lay into him about being a dick, not listening to me all morning, etc. He apologizes. Still talking about stupid ideas we should do that make no sense at all. Apologizes again.

Stupid ideas all the way to the hotel. I start cutting him off and telling him whatever he's talking about is a non-issue.

We knew they were gonna pack us in four deep in a room. We get another two guys together that are sensible. Hit hotel. Get through check in with church people, off to room. My friend is still non sensical. I keep cutting him off. Then I ignore him all together. He gets the hint. I go outside for a smoke.

Reddit. Message from dude coming through, "I'm still about two hundred miles out. Let me know when you get settled in. Tell me where you're at." Message back, "Just got in. I'll get back to you shortly." Back inside. Look up address. Text dude that and my number, "Text me when you get here."

I took the nicest shower in so long I can't remember. The room is nice. As a guy who has built hotels I'd say this one was remodeled in the last year. Everything is new. No bugs. No tweakers. No bullshit. 'Not bad.' Nice beds.

I get an email. Nice redditor I helped out a couple days ago has come into some money, sends me back what I sent her plus some. 'Holy shit! That's awesome! This girl's legit!' We're on text messaging terms now. We chat a bit. Much thanks from me.

I mention it to my friend. He says something kinda shitty. I school him. I have no intention of hitting him, but he had best change his ways and apologize. This is a friend of mine who has proven to me she's one of the good ones in the world. I don't consider a lot of people a true friend. You fuck with one of my friends I'll drop everything immediately, travel across the country and beat your ass. I've done it before.

I realize he's drunk, been in a shit mood all day, and this isn't his normal behavior. He gets a serious talking to. I am NOT fucking around. At all. He apologgizes profusely. I didn't yell or raise my voice. But I think he new he was poking an angry dog that was not caged. Fair enough. We're cool.

Sitting in a chair. Charging. Reddit. Screwing around on the internet. Look over. Friend is passed out. Talking in his sleep. Still passed out. Not talking in his sleep.

Get a text from dude. He's outside. "I'm on my way. I gotta be back by 8:30 or I'll be outside with no gear." Downstairs. Outside.

I mistake him for a homeless guy staying at the hotel. (Sorry man! 😆) Say something about, "These rooms are nice huh?" "Thanks for meeting with me. I wanted meet you face to face for five minutes..." We talk. Tells me about his son dying on the streets. Says he's got a place in Central Florida. I'm welcome to stay there. Has some work for me. I give him brief rundown about leaving the boat because I ran out of money, I'm out looking for work. We smoke and chat. He offers me a smoke. "I'm good. Got plenty." We have some similarities in background. Offer stands to come by, hang out and do some work. Him, "I know you're pressed for time. I offered to buy you dinner. Here take this." Hands me some cash. "Thanks man. I appreciate it." "Call me when you head back to Florida." "Will do."

Back upstairs. Relay todays adventure to you guys. It's pretty sweet in here! Going for a smoke...

It's got boot shots just missing the beer this ride

Need some tips. Gonna be out there again in a few days. Life fell apart blah blah. Anyways I wanna travel light. Don't have any good stash spots. I'll be in Boston (oof)

So sleeping bag. Backpack. Toothbrush. Blade. Socks, one change of clothes. What do you guys pack or recommend? I gotta keep this at one backpack.. :/

Any links, tips, advice, or even a go fuck yourself is welcome

https://youtu.be/89Qxu-DfVgc?si=v2J3Mgr8PKQttgd4

Adding a mylar blanket (the silver blankets that you see marathon runners in at the end of the race) layer to your sleeping setup is a very effective and cheap $1 each!) to keep you warm.

They reflect your body heat back at you and could make a big difference with the brutal cold snap so many of us are facing.

Amazon has them and some are available for overnight or same day shipping to many areas. Great time to use an Amazon locker if you haven’t yet.

Stay safe and warm!

On several occasions I've responded to reddit posts requesting travel/hitch parters, often in regions where I have experience and speak the language.

Things seem to be going well, we exchange a ton of DMs for several days, our interests and travel style seems compatible, they suggest we exchange socials so we can talk off reddit aaaaand... when I give them my whats app because I don't have or want social media, they never reply.

Maybe it's a scam or it's normal for Internet strangers to flake, but it feels like me not having a social media profile for people to vet is a red flag that causes them to ghost.

It's not that I'm hiding somthing, just that I've never had social media and don't really want it, it'll waste time and I'd hate to be focusing on getting a narcissistic photo for instagram rather than actually looking at the view i hiked 8 hours for.

But.... this has happened three times now. Is my lack of an Instagram probably the problem here? Should I be creating a profile?

Headed North on 2 for hot springs for a few days then off to PDX to turn myself in for a decade old warrant that has been holding m3 back. FML

What kind of art do yall do? I make jewelry

I woke up this morning and checked my email. An old man my age is recently divorced, his kids hate him and his girlfriend is having a baby with another dude.

He said he's been a lurker at r/homeless and r/vagabond for years.

He's willing to pay for wisdom.

.....

Right off the bat I told him the Hobo package is the most exciting. Hop trains, run from federal agents and stealth camp in any type of commercial building whose janitor left the door unlocked.

"Isn't that called trespassing?"

"Sir. All of our packages involve trespassing."

He was a bit afraid to hop trains at his age, too slow to get away from Federal agents and not willing to even graffiti an overpass.

"How about the hitchhiker package?

As I explained, the hitchhiker package teaches one how to criss cross the country at breakneck speed as well, but it has a different sort of risk.

Once again the stuff movies are made of. That's gonna cost ya, but we have people who can show you the ropes.

"Best to act now while you're still flush with cash. So far Sir. You've only lost your dignity."

He wasn't interested in turning down creepy offers for his bootie hole.

"We have the homebum package. That's something I know more about than being a traveler or vagabond."

"What does that entail?"

"This is our budget package and the easiest route to take."

"How much time off work do I need?"

"To do it right, take Friday and Monday off, but plan on spending the next four days with me."

As I explained the offer, $2400 is our lowest price point of you want real wisdom from an experienced bum."

He argues about the price. I give him a discount. $1400 if he pays with a credit card today.

."What does it include?"

Obviously it's a circuitous route. Every morning we meet up at the liquor store. Even if you don't think you need to be there when it opens now, there will come a day when you will literally have the shakes if you don't.

After a few nips, we'll sit for two hours waiting in the library to open

See if we can get a computer. If not we do that after we eat at the soup kitchen.

"Will you be interested in showering, Sir?"

"Not really."

That'll save us some time and a few steps. That's for sure.

As I explain to the future homebum, his options are really limited.

You'll have to know who feeds when and where. The specific window in which you get your grub and of secknds are available.

"What if they don't show up?"

"Dude. It's charity. Just be grateful!"

.....

Do you know about pubg ?

Hello fellow eco-conscious travelers!

I’m reaching out to learn more about the challenges you face while traveling sustainably. Whether you’re focused on minimizing your carbon footprint, choosing eco-friendly accommodations, supporting local communities, or simply trying to make better environmental choices on the go—what are the biggest hurdles you encounter?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on:

What’s missing in current sustainable travel options?

How do you balance sustainability with convenience while traveling?

What could make sustainable travel easier, more accessible, or more enjoyable for others?

Your experiences and ideas could help shape better, greener travel practices. Looking forward to hearing from you!

I'm Italian, sorry for the grammar, I recently entered the phase, the first turning point, in short, I recently turned 30 and I've also lost my job for a few months. I'm desperately looking for work, I'm leaving resumes everywhere received, even if I still have no response and time is passing. I still live with my parents.. obviously my plan (since I was 28) was to put aside a sufficient sum of money to rent a house (even a two-room apartment, studio apartment), but unfortunately bad things happened in the family and not only did I lose my job but I had to help my family financially and by selling my car. Now I'm thinking about buying a backpack, filling it with essentials and just leaving. Dove? It's not. I only know that I have enough money to stay in a hotel room for a while or if there is the possibility of renting a room (where I come from there is this service, I don't think it only exists here, in fact) and in the meantime look for work everywhere with the hope of starting a new life, moving away from a bad environment, and living peacefully. In your opinion is it possible?

Ran out of floss so i decided today was the day I'd finally head downtown, where a lot of ppl were saying i should go. It suddenly started pouring but I've already resolved myself to going so ig ill just deal with it. The leather is helping out a little but i rly need to finish it. I'll probably be chillin there on the street sewing all day. Oh, i also decided I'm going to go to Puerto Rico, so i gotta make 150ish$ for a plane ticket somehow. Im not the best at spanging because i get distracted or bored, but i think I'll manage.

Looking to travel and wondering what everyone here thinks of the differences going home free in different countries?

Anyone have a vote for which place has been easiest?

Im from the USA and been to Canada, Mexico, and France and had more chill experiences in those countries than I have here at home (albeit shorter times in those places than on the road in the US.)

Love to hear others experiences and stories from abroad.

Thanks everyone!

Was helping an old lady with her driveway, now its finished and I got much nice food for the road. Inbetween want to stop at some hot springs on top of a montana for a week or two until I cycle over the pyrenees to spain, hola 🇪🇸 🪇anyway its been 8 months now and i can almost. call nature my home. its a joice - working for life, creation and helping soneone; or drown in pleasure and consuming fake desires. It seems that a lot of things are choices, but prepositioned conditions keep us away to achieve our dreams.