A day at the zoo.

I spent a day at the Lincoln Park Zoo, and it was wonderful. I took a lot of pictures and these are my favorites. Theres also a few of the city thrown in there too. If anyone visits Chicago between June and September I highly recommend you visit this place. Its beautiful and admission is free. The Polar Bear Anna was by far my favorite, she was just so playful and fun to watch.

Alive and very well: Part One

I'm here in Chicago or more accurately Hinsdale, Illinois. A west suburb of the great city. I'm staying with my friend Andy and his wife Nancy in their fancy Penthouse apartment. I spent all day today in the city walking around and bearing witness to some wonderful and bizarre acts. I'm sure most of you are wondering how I got here so I'll update you on my itinerary. I left Denver at six in the morning with Michelle we traveled along I-70 and she cut me loose in Lawrence, Kansas. I then thumbed for an hour or two by the I-70E on ramp. I got picked up by a woman whose name I've since forgotten, she had just left her mother for whom she is now caring for since she has been recently widowed. I'll told her I was from Denver and she said she had just come from there. She said her brother had just been sentenced to 276 years in prison for repeat offenses. Some of which were Kidnapping and aggravated assault. I didn't inquire further about that. We just chatted until she dropped me at a small truck stop. I waited there about ten minutes before an independent trucker showed up.

Cecil took me all the way to somewhere in Missouri about ninety miles out of St. Louis and I asked to be let out at a Flying J so I could sleep. I was getting pretty tired since I had been up since four A.M. and I was making due with about three hours of sleep. Cecil and I shared some really good discussion about Puerto Rico, and his history there and about things in general. But as is the tradition of the Midwest he had to go and ruin a good thing with religion. I just sat in awe and silence as he made it very clear that unless you are what he deemed a Christian you were part of a cult. He told me about how women were the first to sin and that they are all inherently evil. He went on to degrade Blacks and also Hispanics and this was about the time that I decided I needed to part ways. So I asked if he could leave me at the next Flying J and said that I really appreciated the lift. I roamed a bit at the stop and found an old hotel in between two soybean fields and also a tiny forest that I couldn't reach due to a impressively thick field of stickers and tall grass. I bedded down under a tree by the lot and in some tall grass.

When I woke up I realized the importance of this moment. The act of me actually waking in a totally foreign place with no one I knew. I loved it. I was exhilarated by it. I packed my things, and headed for the cardboard bales. I cut off a flap and scrawled St. Louis on the front, and PLEASE on the back. I was at the on ramp for maybe twenty minutes when Pat picked me up. Pat was awesome. Pat listened to old hard rock, and he didn't bitch about his wife which seems to be very common among truckers, or at least the ones who pick me up. He told me a story about how he was up near Berthoud Pass outside of Denver when a Snowstorm shutdown the highway. He was waiting with a state trooper behind him for a salt truck to come. A semi on the west bound side lost control, crossed the median and plowed grill first into the front of Pats rig. He said he woke up in a mess of glass, radio equipment, and debris. He apparently uttered "How fast was I going when I nodded off?" to the trooper and then went unconscious. He said this was his only accident, ever. He is an owner/operator out of North Kansas City, Kansas. He said he loves it because he just drives for the fun of it, he doesn't even need the money.

Pat and I drove to Pontoon Beach, Illinois. Despite protest he bought me lunch and headed out for "Indy" or Indianapolis. I hung out around this stop for a good while and met an unsavory character from Ohio. Much like Cecil and other assholes he finds the need to utterly and obviously lie about shit constantly. Not exaggerate, lie. I'll never understand it, and I'll never find the patience for it. I found a good exit in the middle of a story about how he scared kids with a six foot long chainsaw in a pickup truck. He seemed to get the hint when I walked away mid sentence. I layed down on the concrete away from windows and watched the monarch butterflies flitter around the building in the afternoon sun. After a long while of lazily advertising my need for a ride I realized what I was doing wrong. I can't just sit next to a sign and look half asleep expecting a ride from someone. I need to be active in my pursuit, of course this was equally dangerous, if I came off as pushy I would surely and rightfully be rejected. So I politely ask drivers where they are headed. West or south, most will say. Can't take riders most others will say. Occasionaly, even when rejected they will persue conversation. Which honestly I adore.

The best truckers I have met haven't given me rides. Butch in Troy, Illinois for example. I had just been thrown out of a Pilot by a fatman with a lousy moustache and a red shirt three sizes too small, so I wandered accross the street to the TA. I walked up to Butch and asked him where he was headed. "North west" he said "otherwise I'd take you." He was waxing a big beautiful bright red semi adorned with ornamental rivets he described as "stuborn." He spent most of his time trying to get the wax off these little round rivet heads. He had just shared his aniversary with his wife and was going to actually celebrate it Tuesday with her. He has thee daughters, the youngest of which, 17, had problems with alcoholism since she was fourteen. He said she was just about through it he thought. I sure hope so. We talked for a long while and then I headed for the on ramp. I was there for a little while and then I got picked up by a Polish man, Christopher. The first thing he said to me was "I don't speak much English." We still shared some jokes and talked a good bit though.

He was a bit strange though because he left me right on the shoulder by Effingham, Illinois. I was bit startled by this and because I was still a bit fresh to the hitching thing, I didn't fight him on it. But looking back I should have asked for him to leave me in a more appropriate place. I walked up to the town and started wandering around. I ended up stashing my stuff in some bushes behind a bowling alley. I explored this small Interstate town, with only brand name establishments. There were three excpetions to this, a small motel, the bowling alley, and one restaurant. The rest of the town some twelve odd business were major. I bought a tub of yogurt for protein and a couple of beers. I hunkered down by my spot and enjoyed the evening thoroughly.

Alive and very well: Part Two

After my weird hobo meal I wandered the city more. I figured it would be a bit better once it was dark and traffic had died down. I started dumpster diving, but after three hours of it I never found a damn thing. I did meet a poor fellow whose Grandmother had just died. She was apparently very important to him, and this was hard for him to handle. His father had also died recently and he had really bad health. Not a good spot to be in I reckon. I also made a very strange discovery. I'm not sure if it was a city ordinance, a county law, or a state law but every restaurant that made greasy foods had a special grease dumpster. I got good and curious and I opened the ones behind McDonald's and Wendy's. The McDonald's grease hold which was about five feet in length, three feet in width, and three feet in depth was about two thirds full and the odor was repulsive. I wish I had snapped a photo of it. The Wendy's dumpster was the exact same dimensions but was about a third full. I had made a weak pledge after seeing "Supersize me" never to eat at McDonalds except under unusual circumstances. It is now a much more solid pledge.

I found an abandon car near the interstate far behind a Quiznos and a convention center. I sat in it a while then I remembered a story about cars police rig and leave places for people to get caught stealing and whatnot so I vacated it immediately. I setup my pad and bag under an old oak tree that showered me lovingly with acorns all night long.

When I woke up Allen was sitting on the old hotel sign about fifteen feet from me. He said he didn't see me but I find this hard to believe he was probably just lonely. We talked and drank from ten till two. He was quite a character. We parted ways and I walked to the on ramp and flew my sign. I was there for a little while but I got impatient in the heat so I went to the TA. I asked around for a long time and got turned down nonstop. I gave up and walked to the Flying J. Same problem, no rides north, and the few that were couldn't take riders. So I went inside the J and rested a while. The old clerk lady stared at me viscously so I bought the cheapest thing I could find. Limited Edition Shrek Peanut butter M&M's priced at a piddly .33 cents. This seemed to ease her up a bit. Why I'll never know. I'm gonna consume at least that much in water while I'm there and squares get skittish around travelers so I'm driving away customers. I suppose she's just old fashioned. I sat for a long while and then I got a nervous feeling packed up and left.

I stepped outside and headed for the fuel line. The fuel line is the name for the line of pumps where the truckers park and fuel up. I was there for maybe ten minutes and Tony gave me a ride to Bloomington, Illinois. Much to my dismay he got in about four cellphone fights and then bitched about his second wife endlessly. I ended up feeling more sorry for his first wife then him though. He said he had a great first wife who he loved and who loved him, so naturally he cheated on her with the nut who is now his second wife. As far as I'm concerned he earned and deserved his marriage problems, but that sucks for his nine year old son.
Bloomington was intimidating at first. It was nearly all black and very poor but I was pretty dirty and my clothes weren't great so I figured if it was actually bad I wouldn't be a big target. I was really beat from trying to get a ride all day so I hiked far into the downtown area to find cheap food. I eventually found a little burrito shop and it was pretty good. I bedded down behind the Pilot in some trees and started journaling.

Just as I had finished another traveler found me. I was pretty nervous about this at first, then I got even more nervous when he said I couldn't trust anyone so I packed up my things and built a cage of branches around my pack in the roots of a tree. One of the main branches was leveled above my head so that if it was disturbed greatly it would strike me and wake me, I hoped. This was my best attempt at a rudimentary alarm system. It must have worked because I woke up with all my stuff still with me but my sleeping mat was punctured. I had a very long day ahead of me and I didn't know it yet. I made it to the back of the Pilot and a trucker asked me where I was going, he said if he got dispatched North he would take me with him. He gave me five dollars and a shower pass. I tried to refuse it but he insisted, like I said I am not opposed to charity. He said he had to go to the yard but he would be back shortly. So I said thanks and goodbye and enjoyed a wonderful shower and shave. I must have spent too much time in the shower because he never showed up. I figured that or maybe he got a new dispatch.

I asked for hours at the Pilot and at the TA, and sometime around five I got a ride from Newkid to Mokena, Illinois. I was actually amazed that I got a ride from a black guy. I've heard they never give rides. I've given it some thought and I think I know why. Racism is still strong in this country its just not as pronounced, or vocalized. So they fear for their livelihood, most companies forbid giving rides without express permission and usually fees. This I am sure applies even more to black drivers. Newkid said he never gives rides so I was lucky as hell! He made for a good ride at the time because he wasn't interested in talking and I needed some sleep.

I got to Mokena and I was happy to be there! Oh what a relief it was to be out of Bloomington. Especially because I got kicked out of the TA and the folks at the Pilot were starting to eye me suspiciously. When I got to Mokena, I asked a guy if there was a bus or rail stop nearby and what my luck there was! A mere two blocks away no less! So I hiked to the stop and caught a train to Midloathian for $3.10, Andy and his Wife Nancy picked me up there and bought me dinner. Andy is awesome. He is so generous, he is letting me stay in his place even after a really, really bad experience with a friend that stayed last week and caused a lot of trouble for him. I ended up setting up my stuff on one of his three balconies, its almost like a room. Except I'm eighteen stories above the ground in open air and I can see for miles.

Delayed.

Sorry I didn't post tonight, I was at Union Station and some poor man fell unconscious and then onto the tracks and died delaying my train. I don't know what was worse, his death or that people were upset that he had the "nerve" to delay their departure. So I didn't get back to Andy's until late and I just woke up from a nap but I'm gonna go right back to sleep. I didn't witness it first hand I merely over heard one of the conductors telling a passenger about it. He said the man blacked out and fell onto the tracks. A witness reported it to a transit cop, this is the only part I actually witnessed. They came and pulled him out and onto the platform. He started foaming at the mouth. They got a pulse going with CPR and then they lost it. They then used the defibrillator and restored his pulse only to loose it again. I'm pretty sure hes good and dead. I'll ask tomorrow at Union.

On a brighter note I bought my bike today for $50. $50 being four whole dollars less then I can rent a bike for one day. I don't "need" a bike here what with my feet, but dear god does it make the city smaller and more accessible. I'm going to leave it with Andy when I leave so anyone who wants to use it can when they visit Chicago. I've started learning the L and the CTA systems. A bus with 55A for example runs on 55th Avenue and ends at Austen. 55H runs on 55th Avenue and ends at Harlem. Good god Chicago has damn good mass transit. Tomorrow I am off to the Lincoln Zoo to bone up on my monkey skills. Truth be told I already wrote my posts yesterday but I need to proofread them and add a little content. Fatten 'em up.

Getting lost.

I have one more full day and then I leave. Saturday at 5AM will be quite a moment for my family, friends, and I.

Anyways I was thinking tonight about how much I want to get lost somewhere totally foreign. I suspect most people fear getting lost. I have the damnedest time getting lost. I'm not incapable of it, but I really struggle to disorient myself. But when it happens its pretty exhilarating. I love to be in a place unknown to me, completely foreign and unfamiliar. Fresh and without even the slightest sense of where it is. I feel like I can never be truly lost. Theres always those classic landmarks, you know them, the sun and the moon and you can only walk so far before you reach a river or the ocean. But sometimes on a new moon late at night I might just get lost somewhere on my bike and I love it. I feel like I did when I was a kid and there was still so much wonder and mystery in the world. There still is a lot of wonder and mystery but its not right here. Its just so damned familiar now. I remember when everything was brand new to me. The glow of a porch light, the way grass smells when you first cut it, the sound of geese. These are still treasures to me but they are familiar now. It reminds me of this bit I read a while back and one quote still lives.

"It made me think of a long lost feeling from my own childhood, of coming home after a day in the woods: dirty, cold, and hungry. Night had closed around you, but still you lingered outside in the dark and the cold, feral, wild, your eyes shining like lanterns, unable to go into the warmth of the house, to be tamed once more. It was better to be outside, alive and free, even if you knew eventually, you'd have to come slinking into the light, nervous and twitchy as a fox, the huge darkness of the night beyond, still calling out to you." -Dorothy Woodend

Derailed.

After reading as much information as I could find about hopping freight trains, or catching out as its called now, I felt as though I could do it and no one could stop me. After spending five minutes talking to kids who have done it I feel as though I must abandon my ambition of catching out for now. I was told that its nearly impossible for a newbie to hop on a train and get somewhere he wants to go. According to these people I would need to find a veteran and ask him to teach me how to do it. So for now I wont catch out.

Oh Christ another semester of getting fired and flunking classes. Fuck no! I'm not giving up this time. I'm determined to get out there and see and do things. I'm going to hitchhike or tramp as its referred to. From what I've read this is generally a much better experience then the rails. You get more breaks, and more company. So I can still wind my way around the great lakes. Trek down the east coast from Gloucester to Miami, roll along down south and then arrive on the west coast sometime in the winter. I'll list some of my ambitions:

• Sleep in abandon buildings.
• Audit classes at MIT and other prestigious schools for the hell of it.
• Spend little or no money.
• Meet really interesting people.
• Sidekick with someone for awhile.
• Learn to play the harmonica.
• Go to Puerto Rico.
• Explore catacombs, tunnels, and abandoned structures and infrastructure.
• Sleep on rooftops.
• Meet up with family and friends.
• Draw.
• See Boston.
• Make new friends.
• Write.
• Hike sections of the Appalachian trail, especially when the leaves are changing. I grew up in Virginia and I haven't seen a real autumn in about five or six years.
• Learn how to hop freights.
• Get a job on a ship of some kind either freighter or a cruise liner although this would most likely come later on in my travels.

Anyone is welcome to join me for however long or short. In fact I encourage it once I'm a bit more experienced. I hope to see all of you out there, much love, and goodnight.

Inaugural Post.

As with my other blogs the intended purpose is primarily to entertain and secondarily to inform. I hope you find this one at least a little of both. Although I am serious I like to think of it as a bit more lighthearted then it might read. I am a young man who wants nothing more then to see the world. Every inch of it. I want to explore it and learn about it. I'm tired of watching movies about it or reading stories. I want to see this rock first hand. I can't really bring myself to focus on anything else but travel at this juncture so I figure I might as well go ahead and get on with it. I don't really understand concepts like security, religion, college, retirement, the stock market, or heli-hiking. I just want to try my way, see if it can work. I'll try and update this blog with relevant and descent posts, but I'm not sure how often I will see a computer. For the family, I'm sorry, I swear. Although I'm not really that sorry about it. I like to swear, I think swearing is swell, and I do it a lot.