Day 24

    I woke up on Friday morning in some grass next to the railroad tracks in Dunnigan, CA. All my stuff was wet from the morning dew. I sat up and tried to let my eyes adjust to the brightness outside. 
       A black dog wandered up next to me from out of nowhere. He came up next to me and I pet him a couple times. Then he ran off into the alfalfa field after some birds.
       I walked up to the tracks and brushed my teeth. I sat there for about 15 minutes waiting for my stuff to dry in the sun. After that I went down and packed up. 
       I started walking towards the truck stop across the way. My legs were sore and my thighs stung from chafing after the 17 mile walk the day before. I got to the truck stop and found the wifi had been out for 2 weeks and I had no way of using Internet. I was kind of bummed by that.
         So I went outside to sit by the gas station with my north sign. The place was really busy with campers and travelers so I hoped to get a ride out that day. 
       I sat there about an hour when a lady walked up with 3 puppies. She let them down to walk around near me. She asked how far north I was going? I told her Washington or Oregon. She said she was heading to Orlin and could take me there. I didn't know where that was but she told me about an hour north. I asked her if there were any stations to get a ride out from there. She said yes. Then I warned her that I smelled really bad and if she was sure. She laughed and told me it was ok. 
          So I put my things in the trunk of her Subaru car and hopped in. I was exited just to be heading north. We headed up the 5 and talked in the car. Her name was merylynn. When she was little her mother took her and her sisters to Mexico to escape an abusive dad. They lived in basically a shed there and were poor. Her father eventually hired a private investigator to find them, and he did. Her father was wealthy and brought them back to the states. He was changed and better to be around. She works now as a therapist in natural healing in napa. She also has a string of solar farms set up in and around Orlin. 
       So we made it to Orlin. She offered me to take a shower at her house from when I told her I stank. I told her I would love that. We went to her house and I showered. She also did my laundry which was awesome. She was really nice and smiled as she was able to help me out. 
        She made me a bowl of cereal and cut up some fresh pineapple for me as well. We ate together. I was starving and it was probably the best bowl of cereal I ever had. She also showed me a book she was writing about her adopted daughter. I read some of her story. She found her daughter in a cardboard box in Mexico on the side of the street and adopted her. It was a pretty cool story. 
        After we ate she took me up to her ranch to feed her dogs and horses. It was beautiful. It was up in the hills west of Orlin and I got to hangout there for a while. The horses were really cool as I pet them and took some pictures. There were about 10 of them and 4 were youngsters.
         We headed back to the house. She asked if I knew how to install spy ware and if I could put it onto her computer. I told her I would try it by googling directions. So I ended up figuring it out and set that up for her. 
       I folded my laundry and packed my things. She also made me a salad to go. She was heading to chico to pick up her daughter and would drop me off at a gas station in next to highway 5 in Orlin. She dropped me off. I thanked her sincerely and really appreciated all she did for me. We took a picture then hugged goodbye. She said she was happy to meet me and that she felt like she connected with me. It was cool.
        So she took off. I went across the street to a burger king to write. I literally sat there 5 minutes when two old gentleman walked up. One man asked me where I was headed. I told him and he said he could take me to redding as he was headed home there. I said "yeah!". I picked my things back up and jumped into his Toyota car outside of burger king. I was exited. They were driving different cars. The older man was in an el camino. 
        We took off heading north. His name was Ron. He was heading home from Sacramento. Him and his wife's uncle (the other man) went there to pick up the el camino, which Ron was restoring for him. We drove about an hour and a half up north. I couldn't believe my luck with two rides in one day!
      Me and Ron thought much alike. He was a really cool guy. He was a vet and worked in a charity now called people restoration and helped improve peoples lives. He told me working in that is like having a litter of 12 piglets and only having 8 teats. But all in all he really loved it. He thought what I was doing was great and courageous. He said he was a believer in god and sharing with others was what his life was about. I was really happy to meet him and hear his story. He went through a time where he experienced my same thoughts. And now he is very happy and living in peace. Gave me more hope. 
        Ron stopped off an exit south of redding where his wife's uncle departed, then we got back on the road to redding. When we got to redding me and Ron stopped at a harbor freight. He had to get a tool there. Then we went to Costco where he had to pick up a printer for his wife (she was a professor).
        After that Ron took me to reddings biggest tourist attraction; the sun dial bridge. I never heard of it before. It's a 38 million dollar bridge that is made of glass. It goes over the Sacramento river and is only for people, no vehicles. It was really cool. We checked out some of the history and things about the bridge. It's actually an accurate sun dial (tells time with shadows). It was really interesting. 
        Me and Ron hungout a while there then he took me to the nicest mcdonalds I'd ever seen. It had couches and was like a restaurant. They had wifi there for me to use. Ron came in with me and got an ice cream. When he left he said he was very thankful to meet me and he would be praying for me. He gave me a brochure to his church, which was down the road, and said if I was still there Sunday to stop by. He hugged me and left. It was great to talk to Ron and amazing of him to show me around. He was a nice man and we really connected. 
         I stayed in mcdonalds for a while. An older couple walked up to me asking where I was going? I told them my plan. They sat down at my booth to hear some of my story. The mans name was Wayne smith, I can't recall his wife's name. They were very kind people. Wayne told me that even though we only talked for 5 minutes, he felt connected to me and really liked the sense he had of the kind of person I am. That was so cool to hear. And it was the third person who told me they loves being able to connect to me that day. Pretty random but very cool also.
        I shared with Wayne my thoughts on faith. He said he was happy to hear that I'm seeking truth. He also was a missionary insouth America many years on a similar spiritual journey. He told me he was nearly at the same point as me at one time. He told me keep being honest and do what I'm doing, and that what I seek will come. I thanked him for that. His wife seemed very worried about me not having a place to stay and having no money (my money has run out by this point). I told her not to worry but she was unsettling still. It was nice. We exchanged information and they shook my hand and left.
        I left mcdonalds at around midnight. I went next door to a taco shop to find a place to stay. There was a shed where i could be hidden just behind it. I sat there for a few minutes to see how I felt about it. There were roaches crawling all over the concrete so I decided no way I would stay there. 
       I walked to the corner of the lot behind mcdonalds. I sat behind a tree there to feel it out. I noticed right away a man laying down near me. He was holding a beer up in the air and talking to it. He was saying "your the one who understands, this world isn't good enough for me". He said more but I took of and wasn't gonna stay there. I was really tired and there wasn't much around there for places to sleep. It was mostly commercial buildings in all directions for a couple miles. 
       I went by a carls jr where I saw their lobby was open 24 hours. I figured I would go in and see how long I could stay there. The streets all around were full of roaming tweaks and I didn't know where to go. I set my stuff in there and sat down. I put my journal in front of me and fell asleep leaning on my hand with my elbow on the table. I slept hardly at all that night and seriously woke up for 10 minutes every 10 minutes (roughly). I had a really bad headache also from being so tired. I heard the manager at one point say "he can stay here, he's ok". That was pretty nice to hear and even though I was restless, I was comfortable.