I took a Greyhound into St Louis and my Couch Surfing host, Lindsey, and her guy friend, Jason, picked me up from the bus station. STL Greyhound has a nice new station in downtown, opposed to in the ghetto of N STL. However, the security is crazy - they wouldn't let me in the terminal without an onward ticket! I just wanted to go to the bathroom! I discovered Amtrak is connected and used their facilities instead.
I guess all the stress and fretting over leaving made me a tad anxious and I got sick for a day. After they picked me up we headed to a sweet bar called Atomic Cowboy where a Burner (as in Burning Man) meeting was taking place. Caught a bit of fire spinning before I decided to pass out in the car. Basically I ended up crashing on Lindsey's couch while Jason attempted to make me eat for the next day. I did wake up in time for us to venture to the City Museum, The Loop, and hang out with some of their friends. The next morning the amazing pair drove me to the Metro so I could catch the train to the airport. Both were amazing hosts and I hope to see them next time I'm in STL.
The flights were not that exciting. Both weren't that packed and I got a window seat for both (sweet!). I arrived in Hawaii at 2pm and found out that there was not a public bus that made the run to Kona. Taxis cost $25 (the cost of a hostel stay). I sat around for a while thinking I could ask some kind looking folk for a ride but that didn't happen and I was getting antsy. I watched a backpacker looking guy walk down the road and figured I should hitch. I walked for a bit along the airport road to the highway to no avail and then realized I probably looked like a male with my hair tucked in my hat. With hair down the second car that went by stopped. SUCCESS. The guy was really nice and worked for the airport. He drove me to an internet cafe in town where I found a cheap hostel to stay at. I walked around for a bit since it wasn't opened yet and ate dinner.
MORE LATER.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Missouri
I'm back at EW for two weeks. Well, I guess another 9 days then I'll be heading out actually. Preston drove me to Chicago last week so I could catch the bus to Springfield to meet with the EW trip that comes into town every two weeks. I took Megabus from Chicago to St Louis for $27, caught a taxi to the Greyhound station ($10) and then the dog to Springfield ($38). It would of cost me $120 and taken 6 more hours had I taken only Greyhound from Elkhart.
It was really nice to spend some time with Preston - he's thinking about ways to come travel with me. We'll see how that panes out over time. We took a drive to South Bend before I left to see Notre Dame, which was nice. A real ritzy campus. We also visited some of his friends down state a bit and played croquet - which I won. Drank some nice beer and what not. I'll miss him a lot.
EW has been nice. It's good to see my friends and spend time with them. I know I won't be back this way for a while so I'm trying to soak it up. The creek is back to normal, pretty much anyway. Swimming has been amazing. I've watched a few of the kids and it's so nice to have them back in my life. The youngest has gotten so much older since I last saw him - it's so neat to be able to see him grow. I've been eating good food (the garden is amazing), pooping regular (for mom), and basically relaxing.
I'll be heading to St Louis on the 26th and spending two days there couchsurfing with a girl who works with an urban farming co-op before catching my flight to Kona on the 28th at 6am. I'll have a layover for a few hours in Phoenix. After that I start work at the WWOOF farm/B&B on the 1st. I'll be working 8am-1pm, 5-6 days a week (depending on number of guests) with the rest of the time off. The website for the B&B is here if you want to take a look.
It was really nice to spend some time with Preston - he's thinking about ways to come travel with me. We'll see how that panes out over time. We took a drive to South Bend before I left to see Notre Dame, which was nice. A real ritzy campus. We also visited some of his friends down state a bit and played croquet - which I won. Drank some nice beer and what not. I'll miss him a lot.
EW has been nice. It's good to see my friends and spend time with them. I know I won't be back this way for a while so I'm trying to soak it up. The creek is back to normal, pretty much anyway. Swimming has been amazing. I've watched a few of the kids and it's so nice to have them back in my life. The youngest has gotten so much older since I last saw him - it's so neat to be able to see him grow. I've been eating good food (the garden is amazing), pooping regular (for mom), and basically relaxing.
I'll be heading to St Louis on the 26th and spending two days there couchsurfing with a girl who works with an urban farming co-op before catching my flight to Kona on the 28th at 6am. I'll have a layover for a few hours in Phoenix. After that I start work at the WWOOF farm/B&B on the 1st. I'll be working 8am-1pm, 5-6 days a week (depending on number of guests) with the rest of the time off. The website for the B&B is here if you want to take a look.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Indiana and Michigan
I got into Indiana last Tuesday after an 11 hour car ride with Ben, a 30-something from Colorado. Yet another successful rideshare from Craigslist! Four for four! The drive was pretty uneventful, only three stops for gas/food. Lots of corn fields.
Staying with the guys in Indiana has been pretty fun. Lots of movies, drinking and general mischief. Well not too much mischief - but a moderate amount. We drove up to Empire, Michigan this past weekend for Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival. A very fun little festi. moe played two nights and Cornmeal played nearly everyday. Bump also played, although we missed them. Lake Michigan was only about a mile from our campsite so we went swimming a lot. All in all, a good time. Well, minus the over abundance of cops. Twice we were shaken down by the local sheriff. Once during the day for a hand rolled cigarette (meh). And again during a big drum circle that broke out in the road next to our tents. The cops came to break that up after a few hours but being 3am, everyone's blitzed and there are 3 cops roaming in the dark. Pretty scary and annoying.
It seems the flights I'll be getting on for Hawaii are pretty open - success! I'll be heading out August 28th - I believe. I'm leaving for Missouri in the next few days - spending two weeks in Missouri before heading to St Louis airport. I'll probably couchsurf there for two nights before my flight. Then Hawaii! How awesome?
Staying with the guys in Indiana has been pretty fun. Lots of movies, drinking and general mischief. Well not too much mischief - but a moderate amount. We drove up to Empire, Michigan this past weekend for Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival. A very fun little festi. moe played two nights and Cornmeal played nearly everyday. Bump also played, although we missed them. Lake Michigan was only about a mile from our campsite so we went swimming a lot. All in all, a good time. Well, minus the over abundance of cops. Twice we were shaken down by the local sheriff. Once during the day for a hand rolled cigarette (meh). And again during a big drum circle that broke out in the road next to our tents. The cops came to break that up after a few hours but being 3am, everyone's blitzed and there are 3 cops roaming in the dark. Pretty scary and annoying.
It seems the flights I'll be getting on for Hawaii are pretty open - success! I'll be heading out August 28th - I believe. I'm leaving for Missouri in the next few days - spending two weeks in Missouri before heading to St Louis airport. I'll probably couchsurf there for two nights before my flight. Then Hawaii! How awesome?
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