New Adventure on the Horizon

Once again, a restless itch to explore and travel as been gnawing away at my innermost thoughts. After reading Mark Twain's compelling classic Huckleberry Finn, my childhood dream to travel the Ohio and Mississippi rivers has been rekindled. I'm still in the preliminary stages of planning, but this is something I would like to do this Summer if fate allows. I planning on either making a pontoon boat out of 55 gallon plastic food barrels or finding the hull of an old speed boat and  retrofitting it to my needs. My friend Nathan, Maddie, and of course Nathanael are on board. Hope it works out!!

Portlandia and Beyond

So I arrived at Portland and stayed with a man named Peter Glenn. Peter himself was a world traveler, and designed his own home amongst other things. Interesting guy. He did my horoscope. Though I'm quite the skeptic, it was fun to see what the planet's effects on me were. Apparently I'm supposed to be coming into a large inheritance later in life... looking at you Mom and Dad...

So the first day I hit downtown. That was pretty cool. Went to Powell's bookstore, one of the largest in the world. I then went to a fancy clothing department store and skyped in front of the Gucchi section, classing the place up with my dirty travelling clothes. The thing about Portland is it is so fast-paced. If Colorado Springs felt smaller than it was, then Portland felt bigger than it was. And the stereotypes about the plethora of coffee shops and bicycles are true.

The next day Peter took me to the coast, and I got to see the gorgeous Oregon beaches and sea rocks. And finally made it to the Pacific Ocean. Touched the end of the continent!

I also visited the Tillamook cheese factory, which was pretty cool.

The next day I helped Peter cut some firewood on some property he has. Got an up close look at the local flora. Tried to keep up with my math class which didnt go quite as smoothly as I hoped. But hey I'm in portland, young people come here to retire anyways. 

Later I went to the Sunday Market. Plenty of cool trinkets. Plus I saw this performer, which was cool

As far as all the extreme quirkiness that has been so lovingly stereotyped by the show Portlandia, I did not really see that. It definitely had some neat features, but not to the extent I was hoping for.

I did take a run around the Nike headquarters, and that place is nothing but a white-collar, urban paradise.

Peter later took me to see Mt. Hood, a popular ski destination with a historic lodge built by the CCC during the depression. It also happened to be the place where they shot the opening scene from the Shining, which is kind of disturbing. We then drove up the Columbia River Gorge, checked out the wind-surfing mecca of hood river, and saw some beautiful, but loud tourist-ridden waterfalls.

Hood River

View of Columbia River Gorge from the historic scenic Highway outlook

Later, I headed back downtown and stopped at an Iranian food truck. I'm not exactly sure what I ate, but it wasn't bad. 

I then  said my goodbyes to Peter, who generously showed me around town, and went to stay a few nights with a sister of my former economics teacher, Mr. Brogan. This gave me a chance to put a dent in my math and relax. The family was very hospitable, and it was good place to recooperate. When my craigslist rides flaked on me three times (I begining to wonder if Craigslist isn't 100% reliable) they generously bought me a plane ticket to Denver.

 The night before I left, however, I stumbled upon a house party down the street. It was pretty cool. They rented a taco truck, so you know it's legit. I walked in and they welcomed me. It was supposed to be western themed, but I dont think people in Portland know how to dress like that. It looked more like a gathering of hipsters listening to weird techno-country than a gang of cowboys and cowgirls. Other than being significantly younger than most, it was pretty fun. I just chilled by the fire and tried to tell how I got where I was to drunk people. They seemed to enjoy it. The property it was on was also super cool, kind of like an urban oasis.

After that I went to Denver and stayed with some friends of Mr. Brogan's, Shawn and his wife Carolina. Turned out Shawn was a landscape architect, which was cool for me since I had seriously considered pursuing that myself. They showed me around the Denver night life which was pretty cool. Would have been more fun had I been 21 though. The next day Shawn took me to Boulder, and I got to see what everybody raved about. It was pretty cool, but maybe a bit overrated. Lots of Tibetan shops for some reason. Also the rain probably put a big damper on the weather-sensitive Colorado crowds.I'd like to go back sometime and try rock climbing there. 

Then I hopped on a Greyhound that evening and headed out to the ranch in South Dakota. Feels good to be here.

Thanks Peter, Raney and Brett, and Shawn and Carolina for putting me up!!

Off to Portland

I had a good time helping Rick and Karen move out. A gorgeous house for sure. I also got the chance to go sailing with thier son chad, which was fun. But now I have to keep looking west, to the direction of adventurers, wanderers, and dreamers. Jack Kerouac describes goodbyes as the to huge world vaulting us into the horizon. So this morning I leave for one of the most unique cities in the world, Portland, OR. I have a feeling I'm going to love this place. Farewell Idaho, it's been real.

Burgdorf

So i finally finished stacking the massive pile of wood at Burgdorf

I also ended up meeting some really interesting old hippies from Nashville. My first experience was them asking if I was okay with clothing optional. lol I got to talking to them, and I found out they were professors at a small college in Ashville, NC. Later that night, the older guy got out his guitar, and I got my harmonica and flute, and we jammed by the pool. I found out my flute is about in the A minor scale. It was very fun. I got thier contact info, so hopefully I can stay with them when I go to Ashville.

I saw some elk, which was interesting. I also met Rick's wife, Karen. We ate dinner together. They are moving houses, so now I'm staying with them in a little town close to Burgdorf, and helping them move. I plan to be in Portland by Wednesday.

Burgdorf Hot Springs

So after a restless night staying in a rainy park behind some bushes in Lewiston, I found my way to McCall, ID by bus. Upon arrival, I found out no one was available to pick me, so being the diligent hard-working young man I am, I bought a hamburger and sat down. Then I started hiking up to Burgdorf, only 35 scenic miles.... Luckily I was picked up by a guy named Luke, who used to hitch around the country himself.  After driving me up there he even gave me $11 to boot. Pretty nice.

So I got to Burgdorf, and my initial thought was it was incredibly creepy and a good setting for a murder mystery. However, as I settled in, it became exponentially more warn and inviting. There is a large pool that is 106 degrees and two small ones that are 113 degrees. Everything is made in the authentic log cabin style building with Idaho pine. The resort itself was originally a stop in the late 1800's for miners, and has been a dairy farm, a hippie colony, and resort. The pools are surrounded by rustic cabins. The only electricity available is generated through a solor panel by the main office, with limited internet. Hopefully i can keep up with my online math class so I can please the great gods of academia at the University of Lousiville.

Rick is the main caretaker, a retired restaurant owner from Washington. He put me up in a little white cabin about 100 yards from pool, complete with a little stove and a little bed.

The first night, I became acquainted with the wood pile. My task was to stack this massive pile of wood. After stacking for a while, I headed to the cabin to pass out. However, hunger was calling my name, so I brought out the only thing I had...Spam...glorious spam. I tried cooking it over the stove, but as it turns out, Spam is disgusting. I ended up chugging an entire jar of apple sauce instead.

The next day I took a hike to crystal mountain, a huge quartz outcropping at the top of a mountain. The view was incredible. I felt like a nature valley granola bar model.

That night I saw some elk, which was pretty cool. The whole place is very peaceful for the most part, except the stray dune buggy or four wheeler. It reminded me of how John Steinbeck must have felt when he was writing his first novel. He was a maintenance man living in a cabin at resort in Utah.

Overall, fairly peaceful. Unfortunately however, I am living off the equivalent of gas station food, so hopefully that wont make me sick. Good stuff happening in the mountains of Idaho

Rainbow Gathering

Wow, what a trip it has been. We ended up spanging for a while in Idaho Falls, to get a full tank of gas.

After getting through idaho falls, Keith, krishna, and I finally arrived at the rainbow gathering. Rainwolf found a ride with some guys in a van. After the police hassled the heck out of us looking for drugs, we found a place to park. It was dark, and I just passed out on the ground next to the car, but in the morning I got a  stunning surprise

By the end of the week, this gorgeous valley held 10,000 hippies, and lots of organic food and controlled substances. It was nothing short of amazing.

So after I woke up, I hiked down to orient myself. Since it was set up as a commune, there were about 60 different kitchens that served free food (but asked for labor) I found a campsite at the end of a nice quiet meadow. I then met some people cutting wood, and decided to help. When nightfall fell, I found out we were cutting wood for a massive drum circle that contunued all the way to dawn. Of course, I did some hard  core shirtless tribal dancing to the 40 bongos and cowbells people brought. I also found chanting and singing very satisfying.

The next day I did some yoga on the hill side, and learned abouut lots of theories about the flow of energy through the body. It was also nice to be greeted with a "lovin you", which was the unoffical greeting of the gathering. I went to eat at main circle, which is the common dinner almost all the kitchens contribute to. Needless to say, I ate so many beans....so many...  I also got to meet a yoga girl from texas named christine, and some new neighbors on the meadow, Carter and Joelle. I also met a nice couple on the trail, Abbey and Noah.

Later, I went to a kitchen full of old hippies and heard the best reggae music in my life. When I closed my eyes, I fell into the famous euphoria of the jazz musicians, and that was amazing. All the music of the gathering was organic, and all of the musicians were amazing. I also found out what a zuzu is. It is a ganja laced desert, which will indeed make your head spin. Yea... that was a long night.

The next night at the same kitchen, called "lovin ovens" I met a man that made bio-gas, and alternative fuel. Since i'm into that kind of thing, I thought it was awesome to meet a contact. Later I went to this beautiful mountain stream and washed up with some people. It was gorgeous, and nudity was so common that no one cared (except the patrolling park rangers)

The next day i went to the trade circle. No money is allowed, only things to trade. I ended up trading an extra multi tool i acquired on the road for a handmade flute.

On July 4, about 4000 people joined in this massive circle and ohmed for world peace, with the children in the center. After the ohm, there was a wild drum naked drum circle dance, which i absolutely participated in. I also got a sun and seagull painted on my chest, since my Mom used to say my Indian name would've been lost seagull. But maybe the seagull found his home. There was generally tons of love and care. Of course there was the bad apples, but generally everybody genuinely cared and accpeted everyone else. And about a quarter of the people were travelling kids, and this really was their home.

Later I met more meadow neighbors, Andy and Carrie. This was a young couple who had been doing work exchange for an organic vegetable and cannabis farm in Oregon, owned by a college professor. So I ogt thier contact info, and am going to try to contact this guy near portland.

Finally, I found a ride to Idaho while chopping veggies for a kitchen. I ended rolling out with a car full of travelling college kids, most from Olympia. There was ten of us crammed in to this suburban, 5 laying down in the cargo area.

About half way through, we found a beautiful hot spring pool secluded on a forest trail.. It was late, and everybody stripped and jumped in for about two hours, scrubbing away the week of stinking body odor. We also did a massage train in the pool, which was super relaxing after being crammed into the suburban for hours. Eventually I was dropped off in Lewiston, ID where I got a motel room to clean up and get ready for the work exchange in McCall, ID.

On the way to rainbow!!

I So yesterday I got all packed up for a week in the mountains when I got a response from Craigslist for a ride to rainbow. The two people were leaving today, but I accepted and met them at manitou with my pack

So as a maroon beat up Monte Carlo pulled up I met Keith and his wife Krishna rani and their baby. We also picked up a hippy dude named Rewolf and his dog dinkerton. So the first order of business was to figure out how 4 adults, a baby, a dog, and everyone's gear was going to fit into what became a sardine can. We ended up tying a bike rack to the back and putting rewolfs packs, two gas jugs, and a water jug on the back.

Next order of business was to accumulate some cash. While I ran into Walmart to get a gas can, Keith and rewolf held signs in the road median asking for money. Together they accumulated a whopping $2 before the cops ran us off. It was getting dark, so we decided to camp in the national park and try the next day. 

After a drive up a windy gravel road and the bike rack bouncing around on the back of our crammed sedan, we found a campsite with a gorgeous view, and I set up my tent hammock. Though it was a chilly night the view in the morning was totally worth it

So now were heading to Denver and going to try flying signs and gas jugging ( going to gas stations with gas cans and asking people to put some in)

Aunt Sandy and New Plans

The last couple days have been interesting but not particularly eventful, so I'll just go through the highlights:

First of all, happy birthday to my girlfriend Adaline!!

I saw my first skate competition at the local skatepark. It was pretty cool, but it was exactly like Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 for Sega Dreamcast.

I spent some time with a large group of black people hanging out in the park, which was kind of interesting. A couple of them originally started teasing me about my 4-H goat shirt when one started defending the organization and started talking about how 4-H was where it was at when he was raised on his Granddad's farm in South Carolina. And yet another asked me a lot of questions about it, saying that was where the money was at. He was from Gary, Indiana. What was really fun though was when one guy asked how to spell a slang variation of a word, and they all started arguing about the correct spelling. It was pretty funny.

Later I saw this homeless guy walking down a dirt trail to this run down neighborhood. His name was Mike Murdock. Mike started up to this particularly run-down, kind of trashy house. When he saw me he said I could help him move in. He then proceeded to tell me to take a bike to the youth shelter, which turned out to be chained to a tire. He then started to sift through bags of clothes in the overhang shelter. I asked him if he owned it, and he said he was going to retire in the house since the people who lived there must be dead. I then pointed out the coop of live chickens in the backyard. Without considering that people must feed these birds, he told me to go collect eggs. I asked where he was from and he told me he was originally from Brooklyn, but mostly grew up in Colorado Springs. He played in a band most of his life that did covers of the Doobie Brothers and other similar bands. He told me to have a good life, and I went on my way, while hearing 65 year old Mike mumbling about how his grandfather was going to come visit.

While in the park listeinging to a Jazz concert, I met a man sporting a 70's blue pinstriped blazer and funny hat named Ray. Ray told me how he met his father for the first time after 65 years, which was interesting. I told him about what I was doing, and before I left he gave me 10 bucks.

I also finally met up with my Great Aunt Sandy who lives in town. She drew this picture of Jesus, which is actually made of the words of the Book of John:

She then told me how she had laid this print on the bed of three different critical care victims and said a quick prayer, and they all miraculously got better. We then got dinner at Waffle House, classic.

Lastly, I met a 20 year old named Luke while in Manitou. Luke told me how he has been travelling around the country since his second semester of college. When I told him I was trying to get to the Rainbow Gathering, he said he had been to several and he was the go-to guy for everything I needed to know. He then told me how hes been camping in the mountains for over a year, and we hiked up to his camp. It was gorgeous view, with nobody else around. I asked him if I could camp with  for awhile, and he said he likes company. So on Monday, I am going to live on the mountain with Luke for about a week. I may also be able to ride up to the gathering in the same car as him.

Meeting more people

So yesterday was a nice relaxing day. While i am still trying to figure out my ride up north, I've just been hanging out and meeting a lot of people.

One person that I met was a youth pastor, originally from Arkansas, named Micheal. The way I met him was  kind of interesting. I went to get coffee with Marisa, and while we were there chatting, a dog walks by. So we brought him over and gave the owner a call. Then we went back to conversing. Meanwhile, Micheal comes out to greet the dog, and talks about how he used to work for a dog kennel. So we get to talking, and we discuss our experiences with religion in the bible belt. We talked for a while, and he was pretty cool guy.

After that I went down to a park to hear a jazz concert in the ampitheater. While there I met a man, also named Micheal. This guy was a homeless, disabled man. After joking with him some, He told me how he had a motorcycle accident, and suffered traumatic brain injury.When he asked me to help bend his wheelchair back into shape, I told him he might be able to get one from the salvation army. He then told me how the salvation army kicked him out on the street because he failed his drug test, which is weird to me, since the people on the drugs are probably the ones who need the most help... so much for the zero-tolerance policy. Anyway I chatted with him for little bit longer, then headed out.

Next I met a girl named Molly, who went to school in Boulder. Though I didn't talk with her long, she pretty much reaffirmed what I had been told about Boulder, It's a city of preppy, rich kids.

After that I met a man named Ray. Ray was from Colorado Springs, and had lived there for about 65 years. He told me how he met his father for the first time only two years ago.I told him about some of my experiences, and as I was about to go, he handed me a ten dollar bill, which was cool.

I then went back to Kim's. However this morning I woke up to a very depressing email. I missed a free ride to Montana, that went through at 3:30 A.M. Oh well, I know it will all work out!

Learning Tai Chi and Law

Today I once again had a rough start to the morning. I set out to meet up with a German girl also backpacking around the West, but after a series of missed busses, I had to give up. So I again decided to try to find that public art project. Well, i didnt find the art project (again...) but I did find an awesome guy with an incredible story.

As I was meandering around the park looking for this mysterious project, I saw a man doing what looked like weird yoga. I approached him, and he asked if I was interested. As I nodded he immediately explained he was practicing tai chi, and gave me a brief history, foregoing all introduction. Eventually I went through the forms with him.

What was more interesting is his life story he volunteered. After being an accountant, he went back to law school, and became a lawyer. However, when he opened his firm, he soon learned how corrupt the court is. Several lawyers he was working with asked him to join them and help with bribes. He refused, and earned the contempt of these corrupt lawyers. One in particular was a high profile lawyer he ended up against. After winning without a doubt due to a major blunder the lawyer made, he found out the lawyer later bribed the clerk to change the records. This allowed the lawyer to use a loophole in the court and get out of the whole case. However, when the Tai-Chi guy , Eric Siegfried, wrote the California Barr Association, nobody wanted to mess with the high profile lawyer. Sick of the corruption, Eric tried to find a jonb writing contracts. But the corrupt lawyers sabotaged his repuatation and references, because he tried to expose them in different papers. Without references or job, he now lives on the road. He says hes biding time until the lawyers become vulnerable enough that he can present a case against them without serious corruption ruining his chances of a fair trial. He says he has several suits against the state of California that would make him millions when the time is right. Awesome guy!

 

 

I'm still trying to arrange a way up to Montana. I'm supposed to meet someone tomorrow that might be my travel buddy up to the Rainbow Festival. We were supposed to meet tonight, but he went to the wrong Starbucks, so we'll see what happens. Peace

Hiking the Incline

Yesterday was a pretty amazing day. Though it didnt start too awesome, I couldn't have asked for a better ending.

I started the day by heading to a public art project on a certain Dale Street. So I drug myself 4 miles to end up on a random corner with and a thrift shop. Turned out I went to the wrong Dale Street. Tired and agitated, I went to Manitou.

At Manitou I was cheered up by games of hackeysack and awesome street music. Also Tattor came by and gave me an enthusiastic hello only Tattor could give. While I was relaxing by the soda springs, I was presented with an invitation to hike a mountain by none other than the girl with the ukelele, Marisa and her friends.

So I met Marisa, her friends Kinsey, Ginny, and Daniel met under a stormy Colorado sky. I became more acquantied with Kinsey and Daniel in a alternative t-shirt store as we waited for the storm to pass (having musicles of steel means lightning is more condusive...) Turns out Daniel was actually a senior at the Air Force Academy also majoring in mechanical engineering, which I thought was pretty cool.

After about 20 minutes we headed up a trail called the "Incline". The Incline was an old railroad that literally went staight up the mountain at like a 70 degree angle. The ties were then converted to steps to be used as a trail for tourists and really athletic people who want to tourists to see how in-shape they are. So we clambored up the mountain slowly but surely, to be rewarded with a view straight out of national geographic. From the top, one could see the foothills of the mountains gradually flatten into an expansive prairie, while the shadows of giant cumulus clouds dotted the vast landscape. To the other side, one found beautiful rounded boulders balancing on the mountainside amidst blankets of dark green evergreens. Truly beautiful. After about 15 min, we headed back down.

As we headed down a switch back trail on the other side, Daniel abruptly stopped and peered down the mountain. As I approached I saw a smooth, steep path of gravel going straight down the mountain. He asked me if I wanted to slide, and to protect my honor, I followed him surfing straight down the mountain and clamboring down drops offs invisible from the normal trail. It was excellent.

Finally Daniel and I joined the girls at the foot of the trail, and we headed to Burger King for 50 cent ice cream cones. So I got to meet 3 new people, one from the Air Force Academy with my same major, and talk with Marisa again. So a huge thanks to Marisa for introducing me to her peeps and being a familiar face!

At the top of the incline

 From left to right: Daniel, Kinsey, Marisa, Ginny, and Jonathan (AKA muscles)

Discovering Manitou

So yesterday, I went to this quirky area outside Colorado Springs called Manitou. Kind of like Bardstown Road, but even more separate from the city. I met tons of interesting people as strolled down to the end of Manitou Rd.

Manitou itself is an area filled with natural soda streams. The water is really weird. People seem to love it or hate it. At one time, there was a bottling plant that has long since been swallowed by rows of shops, boutiques, and restaurants.

At the end of Manitou is an artist ampitheater where the really interesting people hang out. There was hobos, guitarist, hitchhikiers, commune members, and the like. By jumping into a game of hackysack, I was really able to meet with them and learn a little about them.

Perhaps the coolest person I met was an old Creole man by the name of Tattor. He was skinny, and wrinkly, and wornout, with his browned skin drooping from years of gravity, but as lively and fun as anyone could be. He was chilling with his other old hippie friends in a corner of this ampitheater/shelter house. The first thing tattor had me do was hold his guitar while he went to the coffee. Between the grovel of his aged voice and his thick Louisiana accent, I basically comminicated with gestures, fist bumps, hi-fives, and energetic voice inflection. He was really something. When he got back I asked him to play me something. He asked whether I had a girlfriend and I said yes (whose name is beautiful and her name is Adaline and her birthday is today!!). As he stuck his cigarette behind the last fret, he dedicated the song to her He then proceeded to sing a song that sounded exactly like the soggy bottom boys, complete with yodeling and dialouge.

I then asked whether I could take a picture of him, and he said sure. When I pulled up my iphone, he told me to hold on a second and look up a video for him. He told me to look for Marvin Tattor Mecom. When I searched, I found a professional music video he starred in, with all the proceeds going to "starving artists."

Overall, it was a pretty cool day. Later, I went to a Carnival and saw a dog frisbee show.  I also learned from these two old guys sittting in mantiou about Barr trail, the trail to the top of pikes peak. I'm planning on doing that. I am also looking for a way to get to a thing called the Rainbow Gathering in Montana. I also learned I need to get a lot better at hackysack. See you later!!

First Day in Colorado!

Hey Everybody! So... I spent the day meandering Colorado Springs, and I dont even know where to start.
First of all, you'd NEVER guess this city has half a million people. It has a laid back attitude that words can hardly describe. A very cool place.

So I started off going over to the local skate park across the street to get some info on the city. As I was trying to get some conversation going, a drug dealer and his toadies walk up adamantely claiming the park as his "turf" for the day. This would n really bother me except i'm wearing running shoes, wool socks, and a "Harrison County Great Goat Race" cut off with "Goat Gang" on the back. Needless to say, I may have stuck out a bit amongst the sea of skinny jeans and etnies... Feeling a bad vibe, I left for the downtown, a pretty good walk towards Pikes Peak.

There I stopped in a building called the Christian Science Reading Room. After talking a bit with volunteer there, I learned the Christian Science Chruch is a religion that claims all suffering is an illusion we create for ourselves, and only a deep understanding of Jesus' teachings can allow one to tear this veil. An intersting perspective, and certainly not something you find in Southern Indiana.

Next I took a quick detour through the local park, to find kids playing in the fountains, old men reading the paper, and about three groups of people happily somking pot lol The funniest part is not one person seemed to mind. I dont know why it was illegal in the first place

Next I met a girl named Marica, who was strumming a ukele on a street planter. She told me about her college program that allows her to do each semester in a different country.

Finally I met a guy, Tim, playing the bongo on the street like nobody's business. He had an amazing beard and said he played for God. He also said that the mountain towering over Colorado Springs are a reminder of how small we really are, and serve to presevere the small-town, laid back vibe. So I decided if he ever quit bongos, he should become a Jedi Master...

After that I huffed back to Aunt Kim's apartment because the air is so thin. It will take some serious getting used to!

Tonight I might go see Tim and his band at the local coffee shop

Buenos Dias and look to the mountains my friends!

P.S. The best water in the world is in Colorado Springs. It has a quality of sweetness unlike anywater I've ever had. Gotta try it some time

 

An intersting work area in downtown

View of Pikes Peak from the apartment

 

 

 

 

A funny ad for a beer festival hosted by what I assume to be one of the cities more liberal churches

Stories on the Greyhound

This bus ride from Chicago to Colorado Springs was everything I hoped it would be. Any writer looking for inspiration for characters needs simply to hop on a cross country greyhound!

The first man I met was delfino, a 50 year old stout Mexican with broad shoulders and thick muscles. As we got to talking I told him I took some Spanish classes in school, so he drilled me on my Spanish vocab. But the coolest thing was he was never taught to write. In stead he would spend hours with a Spanish and English bible, and copy the sentences , since he knew the meanings from church! By copying bible verses, he can now write at about a 5th grade level, and he's still trying to improve.

The next character I met was Eduardo, and did this guy have a story! Eduardo can over when he heard delfino and I talking Spanish to each other. Eduardo didn't know a lick of English and was excited to hear Spanish. After talking with Eduardo in my broken Spanish for a while I found out Eduardo was an 18 year old Honduran who crossed the border illegally. He was caught by immigration police in Houston l, then bussed up to a New Jersey detainment area. However, the judge allowed him to stay in the US long enough to apply for a visa. He was headed to Lincoln NE to stay with an uncle there. So I taught him some English and he taught me Spanish, and delfino translated when we got stuck. I also learned an iphone in honduras is $1000, so he was pretty amazed when he saw mine haha. Now I have a friend in Lincoln who has connections in Honduras, all from a greyhound. 

Who'd a thunk it?

So now I'm almost Colorado Springs!  

Teneis un bueno dia Mia amigos y vayais con dios!

Hello everybody!! This is my first post on my first blog. I created this blog so people can follow my experiences as I make my way across the country, learn new cultures, find new perspectives, and possibly help my followers come to some realizations themselves. I will be leaving in one week from Chicago to Colorado Springs, and that's where the real adventure will start. I will post videos and different things when I have the chance, but for now, until next time!

My Life in a Backpack

This 25 lbs=my life for the Summer