Hollywood.

I hitched a ride with a really old black trucker from Georgia on down to Ormond Beach, Florida. From there I got a ride from Donald, yet another black trucker, down to Hollywood, Florida. I can't believe how many rides I've gotten from black truckers now, its unheard of in the hitchhiker community! Donald, despite my protests, bought me dinner. Then he called up a girl he new in Miami who came and gave me a ride down into Hollywood. They dropped me off across from a vacant lot with an old four story parking garage. I thanked them a dozen times and then hopped out and started exploring the area. I knew that in a big city my best option was hiding my gear on top of something tall and inaccessible. So I set out to find a ladder, fire escape, or anything that I could use to get on top of something. I never did so I settled on the garage. I figured that since it had an operational elevator that most people wouldn't use the stairs from the fourth floor. I was right. I spent the first night meeting the ocean and the wind from Tropical Storm Noel, she now goes by Hurricane Noel. I liked her much, much more as a tropical storm. I slept in an abandoned construction site, between a stack of unused benches and a giant bush.

I began exploring the boardwalk as soon as I was awake. I spent the day fruitlessly searching for a Library, sadly no one knew where it was. Now that I have found it I passed it several times. I bought a cheap bike from Walmart for the I shit you not price of $59 with taxes. It shouldn't have surprised me though when the handlebars fell off on the ride home to my parking garage. I locked up my new possession and met Soul at the sunglass shop across the street. She was a young girl from Israel and I got really fucking lucky finding her because she was so helpful. She bought me pizza and introduced me to Debra who has let me stay with her until the storm dissipates. Debra is from Detroit and like Soul and I, came to Miami looking for a change of scenery.

Sorry to disappoint residents of the northern states but the ocean water here is a frigid 82 degrees fahrenheit and the air measures about the same. There are beautiful palm trees everywhere, ripe with coconuts for me to eat. Though I haven't had a great many opportunities to enjoy the scenery yet because of this diabolic storm system. I hope I will tomorrow though.