r/vagabond • u/hickjack • 2h ago
Road Update 13
Got a ride from Steubenville to Pittsburgh with a guy named Turtle. He followed the Grateful Dead for years and met tons of famous musicians. He also went to prison for making massive amounts of LSD. I learned a lot about how to (theoretically) make it on the drive.
Stayed with a friend just outside the city. Got to cook / eat some Indian food. It was divine. I’m so tired of gas station food, Taco Bell, and peanut butter with tortillas. Went to the Andy Warhol museum and got in trouble for smacking the balloons too vigorously in the cloud room. Went to the Point. Strolled the streets downtown.
My friend dropped me off in Blairsville, then I got a ride to Latrobe from a guy who empties port-a-John’s for a living. He told me he’s not worried about getting replaced by ai. Saw where the banana split was invented, then sat with mr Rogers for a while and had a good talk.
Was walking out of town when a guy pulled over and told me it was too hot to be walking. I agreed. He took me down the road a few miles and bought me a turkey wrap from Sheetz. Took off walking at dusk toward Somerset and a woman stopped and picked me up. She asked me tons of questions: if I was a serial killer, if I ever hit a woman, if I had warrants. No to all three. Instead of taking me to Somerset, we went to her friends house and hung out for a while. They were smoking blunts and chugging tequila and wine. I was so tired I couldn’t bring myself to even drink a beer. They had lots of questions for me. One guy got fired up because he wanted to know if I was homeless, and I wouldn’t give him a direct answer.
We left around 11 and stopped at the Indian gas station / electronic gambling hall. I watched a guy feed 7 or 8 twenties into one of the machines. My new friend only blew about $15.
She took me back to her house and let me stay in her she-shed out back. I slept on a moist couch beside a hot tub. Her 130 pound Rottweiler, Thor, occasionally came outside to bark at me throughout the night.
She dropped me off on the side of the road the next morning, maybe 5 miles from where she picked me up. Got a ride to Somerset, then another to Frostburg, Maryland, and another to Cumberland. Slept behind a church across the road from Sheetz.
Next day hitched through Bedford, martinsburg, and hollidaysburg. A man from Philly driving a U-haul truck full of shopping carts drove me a long ways. He drove the large truck as though it was a small sports car. We made great time. Camped out in a field beside a river that night.
Ended up in Huntington the next day. By 10am it was already in the 80’s and since I just so happened to be near a cheap old theater, I beat the heat by watching Obsession. The A/C was nice but it put me on edge. I’m not used to watching movies anymore. It was slightly overwhelming.
Took off across town. Was dying of heat exhaustion when a guy stopped and took me to Mt.Union. Hung out at McDonalds till I cooled off. Caught long ride with a former marine and his wife and baby. Took me all the way to Chambersburg. Camped out in a thicket of trees in the middle of a corn field.
Reached Gettysburg the next day. Had no idea the battlefield was so massive and that it surrounds the entire town. Got some writing done at a bar / restaurant called Gettysburger. An elderly couple bought me dinner and drinks. In exchange, I had to listen to their religious spiel, which was a good trade. It didn’t last too long.
Camped out in the woods near a pasture. I encountered no ghosts, but I did have strange dreams. Two Clydesdales woke me up the next morning by clopping around. While I was packing my tent I realized I was right next to an old munitions dump.
Headed south. Virginia next, then more West Virginia 👍
