My Tuscan Experience. March 8th, 2017
The birds signal the sunrise as I open my eyes from my sleeping bag cocoon. Today is the day. The day I hitch a ride with Don(co-founder of windspirit) to Tuscon for a couple nights while he visits his Lime disease doctor. I was planning to stay at this host’s place from the website couchsurfing. I lined up a place to stay for two nights in mid Tuscan.
Walking into the communal kitchen, I see Don come in as well. The man did not seem to be very cheerful. He approached and notified me that he was not feeling too well and that he thinks he might be coming down with something that was potentially transferred to him from a friend that was visiting. Don is battling with Lime disease, which means he has a weakened immune system. Therefore a trip to the city for a couple days probably would not be the best idea for a man of his present stature.
I told him that I completely understood why he wouldn't be able to take me 180 miles south to Tuscon.
To be completely honest I was a bit bummed. After a few moments of reflecting on what I was feeling I remembered something. I remembered a permaculture principle. "The problem is the solution". Meaning every problem that you encounter is an opportunity for a solution. With this newfound perspective I saw the answer.
Many potential rides in front of me turned out to only be curious drivers behind me. In a sense, it was like I was consistently being rejected on the roadside. It did not feel good, but I believe it was healthy because I was exercising a strong mental posture.
After 20 minutes of no luck, I was able to get a ride with an elderly gentleman. I had a funny feeling about him, but it was not alarming. This old man was clearly an alcoholic, stopping every ten minutes to grab a drink of whiskey and smoke a little of his joint. It was not the safest ride but it was a ride. His driving did not appear to inhibited by this, so I decided to just roll with it.
What would have normally took an hour to drive took two. It was a very slow ride, in which I admittedly got annoyed and asked for him to drop me off when he was about to take the fifth pit stop to visit some random gift shop.
I walked to the main road after my interesting adventure with this man. I proceeded to stick out that good ol thumb and smile ear to ear.
Many cars passed by, until this blue pickup stopped at the last minute. Thrilled, I threw my day pack in the bed of the truck and hopped in the cab. I shook the hands of another elderly man, except this one was clearly sober, and on his way home from a long day at work.
I asked him if my sign was readable, and he told me he didn't even look at the sign. He was looking at me, at my face, to see if I was trustworthy. I supposed I passed the test when he pulled over.
We had great conversations about who we were and what we do. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what my life was about. I happily shared with him many details of my travels. This man was even generous enough to drop me off all the way at my couchserfing host’s place in mid town, which saved me tons of time walking.
I got out of his truck and gave him my card before saying my goodbyes and closing the door.
What a great experience this was! My second time hitchhiking from Tucson was a total success. Getting a full ride to my destination with two awesome gentleman.
I hope you all enjoy this video of my Hitchhiking experience.
