I woke up at around 9 behind a storage yard and next to highway 80 in Sacramento. Been in Sacramento over a week now and was really hoping to get a lift out of there soon. Me and chuck packed up our things and headed back down the street to the 49er truck stop.
On the way there chuck told me he was gonna buy me breakfast. We went burger king and he treated me. It was really nice of him and I planned to share more of my pizza with him for lunch.
After we ate we got to the truck stop and sat by the exit holding or signs. We sat there about an hour. Chuck said that he felt in his fake knee that rain was coming. Sure enough about 20 minutes later it started sprinkling. It was getting heavier and heavier so we decided to go into the truck stop and stay dry. We sat in the movie lounge and watched movies. I wrote my journal. They also have wifi so I used Internet.
The rain turned into a thunder storm and heavy rain. We watched out the window as it came down. For most of the day we just stayed out of the rain and watched movies with some truck drivers. It was a relaxing day.
I heated up some pizza in a microwave there for lunch. We enjoyed that and finished what I had left. A few hours later for dinner chuck went and bought both of us burgers from burger king.
After dinner the rain was down to a sprinkle and we decided to walk around and look for somewhere to sleep that night. We checked the firework booth but it was leaking pretty bad. We walked next door to a tractor dealership and there was a big overhang in front of the store. It was lit up and visible to the road but was really the only dry spot around. We figured that was our best bet.
We went back to the movie lounge in the truck stop and watched dodgeball. At around 9:30 we decided we should hit our spot and go to sleep. We wanted to get up early the next day before anyone came into work at the tractor dealership. They opened at 7 so we wanted to get up at 5:30. So we headed out of the truck stop and walked that way. On our way out there we ran into a backpacker who was looking at a map outside. He was a young guy with a pitt bull. He said he was headed to Oregon but had never been on the west coast. He was confused looking at the map. He asked if we knew where to stat dry for the night. We told him where we were heading and he asked if he could join. So he and his dog followed us. Be had a bad limp and said he got nailed by a semi two days ago. He was a trip.
We got to the overhang and made our beds up. I fell right asleep. We had all slept a couple hours. At around midnight a voice woke us up saying "hey, you guys can't stay here". It was a cop. He said he got a call and had to come and get us off the property. We woke up and packed our things quickly. He was cool about it. We told him we were just trying to stay dry and we would get out of there right away. We got our things and left. Me and chuck headed to the firework booth. The rain had stopped and we decided to see if it was dry enough in the booth to make our beds there. We looked back for the other dude and he disappeared in the dark and was gone. He must have left the other direction down the road.
Inside the booth it was still pretty wet. We found a stack of cardboard by a dumpster. We dug down until we found some dry pieces. We took them into the booth so we could lay our beds on something dry. We passed out again. About an hour after that the sprinklers to the grass next to the booth turned on. Chuck woke up yelling and was pissed because the water was running through his cardboard and he was getting a little wet. He moved to a dryer spot and went back to bed. I fell asleep again too. We were lucky it never rained again or we would have been on a mission to find a dry spot to go. Given the conditions I slept pretty good.
I woke up Monday morning on a park bench. I heard some people walking around me. It was a crew of people picking up trash for the city. I woke up and noticed there was a bunch of trash next to me. I didn't want them to think it was from me so I picked it up and threw it away before they got there. I packed my bed up and headed to Starbucks.
I wrote there a little while and was texting Ashley. I also ate so much pizza it was coming out of my ears. I was there for a while. I finally decided around 4 that it might be cooling down a bit outside and I would walk the rest of the way to the 49er truck stop. So I took off from Starbucks.
I walked an hour or so in the heat and finally got to the truck stop. I headed right to the empty firework booth near the truck exit. When I got there I saw a man laying down with gear like mine and a women next to him with some bags. The woman was dressed nice and didn't look like someone living on the streets.
I sat near the exit and put a sign out that said north. After a little while the man woke up and saw me. He asked where I was going and I said Oregon or Washington. I asked where they were going. The guy was heading to salt lake and the woman said she's just going wherever. I had a weird vibe from her. The woman left her stuff there and walked to the station across the parking lot. The man came over to talk to me. His name was chuck. He asked me a few questions about my travels. He was coming from new mexico. Chuck was a retired marine of 14 years. I asked him who the lady was. He said he just met her that day and that she is crazy. He said she kept talking about how she stays away from tv's so her family can't read her thoughts back home. I asked him where she came from and he said outer space. He said even though she is beautiful that she was seriously so looney he was getting sick of her. I saw her talking to two guys in the parking lot and wondered what she was saying to them. She eventually came back to her bags. Chuck said he was going inside to get a drink. I told him to take a few slices of pizza from my bag so he did and said thanks. He went into the station.
The girl eventually came over to me and asked where I came from and if I was having fun. She said she was thinking of heading to Santa Cruz. Then she walked away. I didn't really talk to her because I felt uncomfortable from what chuck told me.
I sat by the exit for a few hours with my sign. It was pretty slow and my butt was numb so I took a break and laid on the grass. While I laid there near the girl a security guard walked up to the girl. He told her he had multiple people saying she had been soliciting sex to them inside the truck stop. He told her she needed to get her things and get off the property. I couldn't believe it. She was really quite and didn't say much, she just grabbed her things and went across the street to a chevron and sat on a bench.
It was about sunset. Chuck walked back out to where I was. He said he had a good spot to crash if I wanted to be somewhere safe. I was originally thinking I would stay in the firework booth but kept thinking that the people selling fireworks would walk in the morning. So I decided I would go with chuck. We walked towards a storage unit property down the road. We walked by the lady and she came up and walked with us. She was asking if we wanted to get a hotel room with her and that she had money. She had no camping gear and I kept wondering where she has been staying at night. Either hotels or trucks probably. We both said we had a spot already and no thanks. She went into the super 8 down the road.
Me and chuck found a good spot between the storages and highway 80. Chuck cleared out some sticks so we could put our stuff down. We made our beds and laid down.
Me and chuck talked for a while and I learned about his life. Before he was born his father died in Vietnam. He was raised by his grandfather in Indiana on a dairy. He got his girlfriend pregnant when he was 13!!! He also had kids with her when he was 15 and again at 18. She was 2 years older than him. His oldest son is 31 and he is 44. For some reason I laughed for like 10 minutes about that. He has 6 kids total all when he was young. He joined the marines and served 14 years in 7 different countries. He walked really slow and obviously had many injuries. He was run over in Iraq and also blown up. 60% of his spine is made up of dead peoples bones and put together with pins and plates. He was a tough dude. He owned a house in Indiana but gave it to his daughter. He has money that he gets every month and is not really poor. I asked chuck why he was on the road and he said since the military he has severe PTSD and can't stay in a place more than 2 days or he feels like he is in prison. He said the road is his therapy and he would rather camp outside then stay indoors. Sleeping indoors made him crazy.
He had a sharp mind and some really good views on the world. He has seen a lot and was educated. He said he is not homeless. He shed his blood all over the world to call this place home and he stays wherever he wants. This is his home, the home of the brave and he has earned that much. He was upset because cops give him trouble about holding signs. He never asked people for anything but only displays information. He said it's no different than a pizza place with a guy outside holding a sign, except his sign is cardboard and homemade. He said he has been through a lot serving this country and has earned the right to do that. And that the authorities who give him trouble usually have no idea. They just think he's a bum.
He told me new world order is in progress and it has been slowly trying to take our freedom away for a while. That Obama is only placed into the presidency as a piece of that puzzle. He predicted that when Obama is re-elected a skin head will shoot him and it will cause a start of a revolution. A revolution we need. He believes that people like me who lived on both sides of the fence and are young can be a leader of survival when that time comes. ( I'm just telling you what people say to me ). He was telling me about the world leaders. 18 people who control 98% of all the globes money. That they decide when wars happen because they fund them, and they fund countries. But our revolutionary war will happen in the next 5 years.
He was really giving me respect for what I was doing. He thought it took courage and thats what I'm finding in life some people will never figure out. He told me I am lucky to be figuring it out this young. He said that when you give up everything the world then gives you a reward and a life full of happiness. I didn't have a strong opinion on anything he said but just mostly listened. But I sure feel like since I have made this decision, it's been a miracle what has come my way. I thought this place was full of dark and that by doing this it was gonna be much harder and more painful. But it has actually been 100% opposite then what I expected (mentally).
Me and chuck really connected and were able to bond on many thoughts and certain subjects. He is a great guy and I was lucky to meet him and hear his story.
Chuck smoked a bowl of weed so he could sleep from all of his pain. We finally crashed at about 11
I woke up sunday morning under some trees in a park. I was still in Sacramento. I heard something walking near me so I turned my head to look and saw a German shepherd. It was on a walk with it's owner and had ventured to me. I heard the man yell for the dog.
I packed my things up and headed to Starbucks down the street. When I got to Starbucks I washed up in the bathroom. I was gonna spend a good chunk of the day catching up in sending my journals to my cousin now that I had Internet again. I typed for a while sending them over.
A woman came into Starbucks and ordered a water. She sat next to me and plugged her phone in. She sat there a while then eventually asked me questions about my sign that said I was on a journey. I told her about my journey and why I was doing it. She was amazed and thought it was very brave and courageous. She then really opened up to me about her story. Her name was kim and was 41. She was a crack addict from the age of 16 to 39 and has been clean now two years. She grew up poor her whole life and was in the party scene early on in her teen years. She was homeless by 18 and has been living on the street since then. She said all the years she was on crack she was a soldier for the devil. She came to a point in life where she broke down and begged god to take drugs away from her life. Since she asked that she went through a series of events that ended in sobriety. She has been a believer of god since then and says she has joined his army. She never goes to church or reads the bible but has god watching over her 100%. She now shares much of the things out of little she has. She said since she has done tha,t things she needs have come to her much easier than ever. She said it's so important to give back and that is how to spread gods love. She lives in a tent down by the river in a park with her boyfriend. She has been happier than ever since she has been clean and when she let god start to work in her life. Her words were really powerful and I had goosebumps many times during our conversation. At the end of us talking she said she thinks I am a strong soldier for god and that meeting me gave her more power in her faith. I told her I am searching for truth and what this world really is. She said I will find it and she thinks I already have been. Her certainty was really strong. It was cool to hear that from someone like her who has lived through the dark side of this life so long and has now come into the light. It feels like people who have lived that way have a stronger sense of the struggles of getting through the dark side. To me that is fascinating and the stories are so amazing to hear. We talked for 2 hours. She gave me half an orange she had. Then she took off.
I continued to write my emails. A man and two kids sat outside and were eating. They had a box of pizza and were all grubbing. I kept looking at the pizza and it looked so bomb. I wondered when I would eat pizza again and figured it might be a while. That's for sure one of my favorite foods.
I sent emails all day until 8 when Starbucks closed. I went to a laundromat down the street to use their wifi and sat down for a while. A security came in and sat down. He asked me if I was traveling through and said he never seen me around. I told him I was heading north. He asked some questions and we talked a while. He was really cool. At this point it was about 10pm. He asked how I eating the road and I said I kinda snack or hit value menus here and there. He asked if I ate dinner? I said I had some trail mix but not really a dinner. Then he said something that shocked me. He told me if I go behind the building at 11, little Caesars next door takes all the Hot and ready pizzas out to the homeless for free. When he said that I thought I would check it out. We talked a while then he had to make his round and left. When he left It hit me. I remembered the guy and his kids eating pizza and me watching them at Starbucks. I got goosebumps.
The security returned about 20 minutes later and said he talked to a kid that works there and he would make sure to have a few slices for me. I was pumped!
So at about 10 minutes til 11 I went out back and sat by there back door. I sat there a minute or so when I saw a homeless man walk by. He was barely staying on his two feet and talking to himself. He would stop once in a while and crack up laughing also. It was freaky and his laugh was like a witch. I saw him sit by a fence and pull something out of his coat. It was a piece of tin foil. He put something into it and then he lit a light to heat the foil (freebasing). He did that for a few minutes then he was ko'd up against the fence. I took a picture but it came out black. I also noticed a man I saw drinking coffee in Starbucks earlier walk up. He was in clean clothes and was cleaned up pretty good. He walked up to the dumpster and jumped right in. I was surprised. He moved stuff around and then jumped out. He pulled out a can of something and cracked it open and drank it. That was really out of nowhere.
After that a little car drove up and a young kid asked me if I knew where to get coke. I told him no. Then he drive off quickly.
The back door of little caesars opened and a employee saw me sitting there and closed it right away. He opened it again and said I couldn't sit by the door. He told me to stand by the dumpsters across the way. I told him no problem and I did.
There were two guys on bikes over there. They told me that a few days ago a homeless crackhead rushed the door when they opened it and so they don't want anyone sitting there. So a few minutes later the employee came out and he had a huge stack of boxes. I was thinking they would bring a box or two and I was going to split it with the two guys. There were 12 pizzas! Full hot and steaming pizzas! There were also an order of hot wings and breadsticks. I was shocked! I honestly couldn't believe it and I was laughing. Especially from seeing the people eating pizza earlier and really craving it. Each of the two men took two pizzas each and left. I was hungry so I kneeled down and munched a slice right there. It hit me all of a sudden, I was next to a dumpster eating pizza off of the ground as a homeless man. I had a big cheeser smile and was extremely happy. Never thought the day would come in my life where I would enjoy that as much as I did. It was pretty amazing and again I had goose bumbs.
I packed two pizzas into a grocery bag and stuffed them into my backpack. It felt weird leaving 6 untouched pizzas in the dumpster. I left walking towards the truckstop and had a huge smile on my face.
On my way a man on his bike stopped next to me and handed me a prayer sheet. He said god bless and peddled off. It was random but I told him thanks.
I walked about half way to the truck stop and stopped at a Starbucks to use Internet one more time. From there I went to a park I found on gps and fell asleep on a bench. I was out.
2 I have had a lot of emails this week asking about my story before this journey, and my plans for the future. So I wrote down some things an will use this weeks reflection to go through some of that.
About 2 months ago I had just about every material thing I wanted by the time I was at that point in my life. I have never been a huge dreamer but more of a realist. I had the things I set out to get. I rented a nice house by myself, had a new truck I bought, and also a brand new dirt bike that I enjoyed riding. I had a good job and made good money and lived a life where money was never too tight. But there was one thing missing, me feeling happy.
I have always worked hard to feel truly happy. Whether it was working hard for money, buying nice things, going to church, going through counseling, finding it in relationships, or using meds. I have tried almost everything to be happy but honestly have never felt more than just a glimpse here and there that would eventually fade. I was told by many people that life is tough and you just need to appreciate the little glimpses of it to keep you happy. As much as I wanted to believe that and feel that, I just couldn't. I could never appreciate things that much to be able and use it to get me through the time where I wasn't happy.
I have seriously been miserable about 90% of my life. I'm good at hiding it and have never wanted people to see that in me. I always felt like I was only living life the way I was because that's how your told it's supposed to be. I found myself not even enjoying things that I should have been. It honestly felt like my life had become automatic and I was just following a script. It was a feeling of being dead inside.
I came to a point in my life where I hit rock bottom. I was completely tired of living and it was like my body was still here and alive but my soul was gone. I felt like I had nothing inside and there was no hope to recover. I had just tried so hard to find the right answer but never truly found it. The advise I had around me was to take meds until I felt well enough to work and that would get me through it. Well I felt inside like that was crazy and would only make my life worse. I had money and nice things but if you can't even enjoy them then what's the point? Just making more money would not work for me. Money doesn't matter to me if I can't really be happy. And I am not one to just force myself through something if it's not real. So I gave up that kind of life in search of something real.
I quit. I stopped everything and decided to hit the streets. I had many offers from family to just stay with them until my spirits were back up. But the truth is my spirits were never up in the first place and I was really just burned out from fighting it. I knew staying with someone was really just taking the easy way out and really giving up. Like I said before I have always wanted to find my truth and I still didn't want to give up. I know i'll find my truth, my happiness, somewhere in this world. I just didn't know when or how.
So I hit the road. A place where I don't need to depend on anyone. A place where I wasn't a burden to anyone, and where I wasn't anyones inconvenience. I would have to see real life for myself and see who I really am.
Let me jus say, this has been the best thing to ever happen in my life. I made a choice that I would travel to Japan and help people there also in the near future. I know that helping others has always made me feel alive and happy. But I really have never had a good opportunity to do that as my life was clouded with too many other commitments. And I want to help people in a truly sincere way. Nothing where I'm trying to make money for myself or a company. Nothing but pure help. I realized quickly that I could do that anywhere people are. I have experienced helping others just through spending time to talk with them and understand them. I don't get paid and most people I deal with are homeless, but there are some really great people out here that deserve it just as much as anyone.
I am very lucky to have met some of the people I have met on the streets. And even if I am helping them, they really are helping me just as much if not more. They have helped me to feel alive and to feel like I am actually living life now. It's been a miracle and I honestly am finding happiness in the last place I expected. My body is sore and hurting everyday. I have bug bites all over and most of the time smell like monkey butt. But I feel richer than I ever have and wouldn't change anything about this decision. I feel so much hope now and have an awesome support system, all over the world! I never thought my life would come here and I am just shocked in what an amazing thing this has become.
I want to thank everyone again for your support and I really hope to give back in the future. I want to share my happiness with others so they know it's real. Im a believer now that all you need in life to be happy is a few things on your back, and the courage to never give up. And that courage definitely is not only your own. I have had help all over in this journey and can't take credit for hardly anything. I know it hasn't been long since my journals started but this journey actually started a couple months back. I know also that this doesn't mean I am fixed for life. I don't even know that I am fixed. But I do know that I have been given the courage I needed and now have a much more clear sight of what this life means. I see now that I have grown to find a piece of truth. And that money is something, but it is NOT everything. Thanks to everyone for all you have helped me with. I will never forget it and plan to share the love as long as I can.
I woke up around 9:30 in the baseball field. I was really exited because Ashley and my cousin Jeremy were coming to visit me. Ashley was driving from Modesto and Jeremy from the bay area. I woke up, cleaned myself an my stuff and headed to Starbucks.
I went to a taco bell right next to Starbucks at around 10 to eat something off the value menu. I sat there and wrote for a while. Most of my writing is not just my daily journal but more of what is in my mind through this all.
I met Ashley at taco bell at around 12. We took off to check out old town Sacramento. We walked around there a while. We went to a train stop where they were unveiling a new stamp with mark twain on it. We checked it out and I took a picture.
My cousin Jeremy met us in old town and we went to a Starbucks. Jeremy brought me an extra iPod touch he had so I could get back up online. We needed to figure out a few things to get it working right so he brought his laptop and dialed me in. We left there and walked around old town a little more before my cousin Jeremy had to go. It was really great to see Jeremy and give him a hug. I love my family and the fact he came out to help me and visit really made me feel good.
Jeremy took off and me and Ashley headed to a park. We hung out and talked a while there and enjoyed cool shade together. I really feel like I have known Ashley for a long time and for some reason feel really comfortable around her. We stayed there a while talking and connected.
We took off to go eat dinner and she again insisted in taking me out. I still felt really weird but was just really happy she was happy to visit me. Ashley told me that seeing me is the best part of her week and that really made me think, and smile. We went to a Mexican restaurant in old town and it was really good. We sat on the second story which looked over the street there. It was fun and we saw a bunch of interesting things.
After we ate we headed to the same park I stayed at the night before. I walked out to make my bed under some trees and she ended up laying down with me for a little while. We talked a little but and realized it might be the last time we saw each other for a while which bummed me out a little. I walked her to her car and kissed her goodbye. She headed home and I headed back to my street life. After seeing my cousin and her in one day, I felt really alone when I laid down to sleep. It was weird.
I went to bed around 11 and slept really good.
I woke up in the firework booth at around 930. I slept really good and for 11 hours. It always feels good to get good rest and almost reset. I packed up my stuff and left.
Just down the street I spotted a laundromat. I was gonna have visitors the next day so I decided to clean up again. I bathed in the laundromat restroom and washed the clothes I was wearing as they were dirty especially from sleeping in the dirt 2 nights in a row. I asked a lady inside the laundromat if she knew of a bus that went to the mall. She said there was a stop across the street that would go there. So after I did my laundry I went to the bus stop to catch a ride.
I took the bus to the mall. It took me about 20 minutes to get there. I got to the mall and headed in to find the apple store. I was really upset about my phone not working and wanted to figure it out so I could get all my outside contact back. I went into the apple store and had to make an appt. Luckily they had an appt available in about 20 minutes from the time I got there.
They checked my phone for free. While they were trouble shooting it I used an I pad there to check my emails. The man who checked my phone came back and said my wifi card was fried in my phone. I was pretty upset but told him oh well. I thanked him and headed out of there. I was bummed out and it was hot so I decided to hit a pool I saw the day before for a swim to cool down.
When I was waiting for the bus at the mall an older lady asked me where I was going. She said I didn't look homeless and she could tell by my eyes that there was something different. I told her about my journey and the purpose. It seems like whenever I share my journey with someone they suddenly open up to me and hit me with a ton of truth in their lives. She began to tell me about her lipo suction and her struggles with obesity. She said she had been through many surgeries and weight loss attempts but nothing has worked. Then she said she had just started a few days earlier a new attempt. She said she is fasting and praying until she has the body she wants. I was very hurt about that. I worked as a personal trainer for a few years and knew that was an absolute terrible method. She will damage herself much more by trying to do that. I didn't feel comfortable saying anything to her about it because there were many people around and I didn't want to tell her that. I was pondering it though until she said she would see her doctor later that day and talk to him about it. I prayed her doctor would be able to help her and that she would be put on the right path to weight loss.
I got on the bus and headed back to north Sacramento near where the pool was. I got off at a stop near there and walked to the pool. It was 4:15 and the pool closed at 5 so they let me in for free. I changed and jumped into the pool. It felt really good. I just really enjoyed the cool water and sat there in the pool very comfortably. I stayed in the pool til they closed at 5.
Afterwards I laid in the sun on the grass outside of the pool area to dry off. I ended up taking a nap and woke up around 7. I walked to the park right near there and made my bed behind the backstop of a baseball field. I laid there a while and heard a few people come walking up behind me. A group of teens sat on the bleachers right behind me and smoked some weed. They were right there next to me but don't think they ever saw me. They took off. Another man came by and smoke weed also on the bleachers after the teens left. I don't think he ever saw me either. I fell asleep about an hour later.
Me and the boys (Chaz and Ray Ray) woke up at 6am in the dirt field. By that time ray ray had already gone to hustle some more money and got a coffee. We rolled all of our beds up and walked out of the field.
We checked out the north freeway on ramp but the boys said it was no good and that we should go north to the next one. So we took off again along frontage roads to the next exit/onramp. We saw a sign when we approached it that showed the businesses at that exit. Chaz yelled out "KFC!". He said that KFC serves homeless people for free and that the old man left it in his will when he died. I didn't believe that until it would happen but I figured I would give it a shot.
We got to the onramp and they were both upset and said that it wasn't any good for hitchhiking. They seemed to be in a hurry to get a ride and were much more upset than I was about it. I am in no hurry and am just living each day regardless of what happens.
We stopped there and ate the sandwich. It was good. Chaz needed to take a dump all of a sudden and started clinching. There was a Porte potty next to us from a construction job. He did the clinch walk to the blue house but there was someone in there already. He came back and was pissed and said it was hurting. The guy was in there a while. Finally the construction worker came out and Chaz clinched back over there. Right when he got close another worker came from the other direction and went in right before Chaz got there. He was so pissed and he kicked the dirt. Me and ray ray were dying! Eventually he got in.
After that ray ray said he was headed back to the truck stop and Chaz was gonna walk on the freeway. So we did a three way hug and said goodbye. Chaz said good luck my sons. It was cool. I headed to a Safeway down the street that had a Starbucks. I tried to use wifi but it didn't work. So I wrote in my journal a while there.
At around 11 I decided to go to a Starbucks down a little ways to try to see if the wifi there would work. Before I took off though I wanted to try the KFC thing that Chaz told me about. I went in and asked them if it was true and what Chaz told me. They said they don't have that policy but they would let me do it that time. The way it happened was almost like they will do that but aren't supposed to tell anyone. It was interesting. But anyways they asked what I wanted and served it to me. They also piled on extra food that I didn't even order. I thanked them very much and took Sheeba, the girl who took the orders picture (above). I grubbed out and it was amazing.
I thanked them again and headed to the next Starbucks. I got there and my wifi still wouldn't work. I asked a few IPhone users and nobody could figure it out. I was pretty bummed about that because I couldn't talk to my family or friends, or Ashley.
I left walking towards the apple store in the mall downtown but it was pretty far away. I walked a few hours. On the way I took a break at a bus stop. A car pulled up next to me and gave me a donation. Her name was Rae and she was really sweet. I told her a little about what I was doing and she wrote down the website. She also offered me a smoothie she had just bought but I told her I was full but thank you.
After walking a ways I found another empty fireworks booth. I decided to stay there the night. It was still early but I was tired from walking and the booth seemed like a good safe spot to sleep. I made my bed inside of it and crashed out early.
I woke up at 7:30 hearing lawn mowers. They were mowing the grass in the park and were getting closer to me. It was Wednesday. I woke up and sat in the bleachers behind the backstop to brush my teeth. I had some cardboard I got from Starbucks the day before and I wrote "Oregon or Washington" on it.
I walked a couple miles to get to the 49er trucks stop. By this time I was stinking pretty bad and could use a shower and a load of laundry. I got to the truck stop and went inside to check it out. The showers there were $10! And laundry was pricy too. I was bummed about that but wasn't gonna get a ride very far smelling like cow dung. So I bit the bullet and paid the price.
Afterwards I sat in the tv lounge for a while. When I sat there my sign was next to me on my backpack. A guy walked up and said "yeahh Oregon" and gave me knuckles. He said he was headed there too. He told me to go outside with him and smoke a joint then make a plan to get out of there. I told him I don't smoke but il strategize with him. He said he had been hitchhiking 25 years and will help me. So I followed him.
We walked outside towards a firework stand in the front of the truck stop. He said he had been here a few times in the last couple years and he knew the security there. They actually let him stay in the empty booth and fed him also. He had his stuff inside there, a backpack, sleeping bag, and guitar case. He brought his stuff out and we sat in front of the booth. I asked him where he came from. He was coming from Venice beach where he played a gig. He was a musician and sang and played guitar. He pulled out some pictures from his backpack and handed them to me. There were pictures of him with Willie Nelson, kiss, bb king, and his band playing shows on stage. He had a band named "chaz slaughter(his name) and the Dino diva wrecking crew". They were big back in the 80's and opened shows for kiss and other bands. He also had pictures of his Phd credentials and of a business he owned, an archeology business. He owned a yaht in Florida too where he lives for parts of the year. I was pretty shocked. I asked why he was out on the road? He said that's all he has ever known. He hitchhiked his entire life from gig to gig and never traveled with his band. That was pretty interesting to me. He was definitely a unique guy.
Chaz rolled a spliff and smoked it. After he smoked it he took his time making a sign similar to mine. He kept saying we would go to Oregon together and would get a ride before the day would end, so I decided I would stick with him and his experience. He said we would chill till about 4 when the trucks really start to roll out of there. We went to a grass area and sat under the trees there in the shade. It was really hot out so we tried to stay cool. We both ended up falling asleep for a siesta from about 2 to 4.
When we woke up we sat behind the booth in some shade where the exiting trucks could see us and our signs. We sat there for about 30 minutes when Ray Ray walked up. Ray Ray was a 24 year old guy coming from Austin Texas. He had been dishonorably discharged from the army and his girlfriend had just went into prison, so he decided to hit the road. He was heading to Humboldt to work on a weed farm for a guy he knew. He was looking forward to smoking all the weed he could and drinking beer on the California beaches. He asked if we had weed and me and Chaz said no, even though chaz did have his tobacco bag with weed mixed in.
Ray Ray randomly knew Chaz and said he saw him play in austin before. Chaz said he had played there many times and that he actually has a statue downtown. Ray Ray said he had seen it.
We sat there a while talking when ray ray said he was going to get some beer. He said his buzz was wearing off and he needed more alcohol. He left his stuff with us and went to the store. He came back about 10 minutes later and said he made 10 bucks asking for change then bought 2 tall cans of beer. He pounded them down. Chaz pulled out his guitar and started to play. He ripped on it and played awesome music for a while. He covered pink Floyd songs too and nailed them. We were both thankful he played for us.
Ray ray was talking about his girlfriend and said he was bummed she got locked up. She used to travel with him and hitchhike also. He said they would use all drugs together and party a lot. He also mentioned how he used to make money having her flash random guys for money. He was pretty entertaining. Apparently she tried to stab her step mother and that was the reason she was went to prison. She was sentenced to 5 years and just went in.
We sat there a while but had no luck getting a ride from any truckers. After a while Chaz said we needed to walk up a few miles to an on ramp and try to get a ride. We all kind of randomly decided to stick together. So we packed our things up, ray ray got a tall boy for the walk and we left north around 7pm. We walked a couple miles up to an onramp on highway 5. We decided to make a bed next to the freeway in a dirt field for the night. We sat our stuff down there then all headed back towards a shopping center nearby. I wanted to go to Starbucks and the guys went to beg for money. I don't think I could ever ask for money and would rather starve then do that. I was in Starbucks about 10 minutes when they came back with about 30 bucks! I was really surprised. They went to the store there and ray ray bought 3 more tall cans and also bought a huge hoagie sandwhich for all of us to eat in the morning. We then went back to the dirt field.
We all made our beds and laid down. Me and Chaz went to bed but Ray Ray drank his beers and was singing to the skies for a while. He was drunk.
He actually fell off the curb a few times earlier during our walk and into the street. He was pretty lucky no cars happened to be passing by.
I fell asleep around 11 in the dirt field with my two fellow homeless companions. It was pretty funny how that day ended up like that. Never thought I would be sleeping in a dirt field with two homeless guys when I woke up that day, or even in my life for that matter.
I woke up getting blasted by sprinklers. I was in north Sacramento in a park sleeping under some trees. I drug my stuff onto a concrete slab in the park. All my stuff was pretty soaked from being hit multiple times during the night. I gotta say this was probably the most frustrated I've been since being on the road.. I hung my stuff up on the fence to dry at about 8:30am. I sat in the sun also so that the clothes on my back would dry up. I sat there about an hour an listened to music. The sun was pretty hot already and my things were pretty much all dried up after an hour. At that point I was able to kinda laugh about it. I packed up my things and headed to Starbucks down the street.
When I got to Starbucks I was outside using the wifi. A security walked up aggressively shaking his head and said "no no no! Get your stuff and get out of here!" I nicely asked him why? He said "I won't have anyone pan handling here so pick up your stuff and move on!" i told him I don't ever ask anyone for money and I'm using the Internet. He said to me "I've heard it all, cmon, pick up your things and go before I have to make you leave". At this point he was being pretty rude and probably power tripping. So I told him I'm gonna go inside Starbucks and get a drink. He shook his head and got onto his radio as I walked in. I ordered an iced water and sat down by the window. I didn't see him outside. I pulled out my journal to start writing. About 5 minutes later he walked by the window looking in. I held up my water and gave him a big smile and thumbs up. I think it pissed him off.
I wrote and ended up staying at Starbucks for most of the day. I met a few people in there who I talked to about my journey very briefly.
At around 7 I left there to head towards a truck stop. I got about half way and I decided to stop at a park I came across. I laid down next to some bushes and decided I would stay there for the night. I laid down and closed my eyes. I heard someone walk up to me about 10 minutes later. It was an older white guy wearing only Jean shorts and was tatted up pretty good. He came up and asked me if I smoke weed? I told him no. He started to walk away saying sorry man, I don't want to ruin your life. I told him it's all good and I don't have anything against it but that I just don't do it. He came back and talked to me for about 15 minutes. His name was Norm. He was 58 and homeless. He had a camp down by the river where he stayed. When he was in his early 20's he started a chain of bank robberies. He worked alone so he didn't have to worry about snitches. He robbed 25 banks and in his mid twenties he finally was caught robbing number 25. He was sentenced to prison, a year for each bank robbed. He was to serve 25 years but only did 18 and 6 months. He told me when he got out he was an old man and didn't know how to live. All his life he had women taking care of him or the prison tending to him. When he got out the first 3 months were very tough on his own. But eventually he learned to eat out of dumpsters and take medicine. He learned to get by. He said he now works for a grower selling weed legally to make a few bucks. He lives a straight life now and feels great. He was drinking beer from a weird looking mug he had and said he enjoys a few beers everyday and smokes his weed here and there. He took off to meet his boss at a grow house.
As I laid there I saw a heavy set guy with little shorts on and no shirt swinging a golf club. He was an older Mexican guy with long hair. He was hitting a golf whiffle ball through the grass in the park. His swing looked a little rough and he only hit the ball a few feet each swing. Every time he would swing and barely hit the ball he would yell "$hit!". He did that about 10 times in a row. Finally he nailed the ball, it flew so far it went into some really tall weeds where he probably wouldn't find it. When he first hit it his face lit up and he was pumped. Then as soon as it landed deep into the thick weeds he yelled "$hit!". I was cracking up to myself as he looked into the weeds for about a minute before giving up. He took off into a housing track after that.
I ended up moving my stuff to a backstop of a baseball field and making my bed. I listened to music and passed out. At about 1:30 I woke up hearing some teenagers who were walking behind the backstop. One of them said they were pretty drunk and they were all giggling. They walked through the dugout and onto the field. They walked right near me and when they finally saw me they screamed and took off running. I heard them stop a ways off saying "that was a dude just sleeping there". I laughed a little then passed out again.
The last day and a half have been eventful. I'm not around wifi but do have my entries in my journal. As soon as I have time to email my entries I will. But I have to go for now
I woke up on a sidewalk outside the mission at about 6am. A generator had started right across the street and a construction crew began their workday. Before I left I wanted a picture with big Moses. But he was still sleeping so I just took one of him asleep then took off.
I walked to a mcdonalds 20 minutes north and stopped there to brush my teeth and order something off the value breakfast menu. I sat down to eat and a young Mexican man sat next to me. He asked me if I was homeless along with some other questions. He was also homeless. He asked where I stay at night. I told him I'm alway moving during the day but the previous night I slept outside the mission. He was local and said he used to sell crack at the mission when he was 13. That was only the beginning of his drug dealing. He sold drugs ever since then. 3 years ago him and his girlfriend made over 300 thousand selling drugs in a year. He said they drove nice cars, had all they wanted, and were buying a house. I asked if he was happy and he said "he'll yeah!". Around that time in his life a lady his girlfriend knew asked them to watch a kid. So they did. Turned out it wasn't even her kid and there was actually a missing person report out for her. They ended up getting busted and were charged with kidnapping. They were faced with 15 years to life. He said he paid a bunch of his savings for a lawyer and eventually got it dropped to 2 years. So he and his girl each served their time and through it lost all Their money. They also lost their Child during it all. When he got out he couldn't find a job and became depressed. His girlfriend had become mentally Ill and would talk to walls all night. They eventually split up. He began using dope to deal with his depression and has been on it since then. He said he's hooked now and his life has no hope. He felt like it was karma for all the drug dealing in his life.... He stood up abruptly and sat his hash brown on my tray then said he had to go. He walked out. It was a crazy story and he seemed like an honest guy.
I stayed there at mcdonalds a little longer writing in my journal. A white man walked in with tattoos and a shaved head. He also looked homeless. He walked by me and went into the bathroom. I noticed him eying my stuff and my wallet on the table. He came back by and sat near me a few minutes later. I had a vibe that he was up to something. Right then a security walked in and told him to leave if he didn't order anything. He was pissed and took his time leaving. The security said he knew he's up to no good and to get out of there. For a second I thought I was gonna have to shank a fool trying to rob me.
I walked north from there and crossed over the Sacramento river. I made my way to a Starbucks and relaxed there for a part of the day. I used the Internet and wrote a little more.
I left there around 8 and headed to a park up the road. There were a bunch of guys playing basketball there. I made my bed next to a baseball field. I laid down and fell asleep there. I got blasted by sprinklers 4 times through the night! And these sprinklers had heavy water pressure and I was soaked. All my things were drenched wet and I hardly slept through the night as I kept moving and getting hit over and over.
