Hitchhiking-Once part of the American dream(Share Your Hitchhiking Stories)

www.msn.com ^ | April 6, 2004 | Robin Dalmas

[LadyShallott]

In Douglas Adams' hilarious Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, fictitious characters thumb a ride through space to meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed president of the galaxy; Marvin, a depressed robot; and the Vogons, a warlike race who compose poetry about whatever they find in their armpits. Down here on Earth, hitchhiking was never quite so colorful—but talk to some baby boomers, and their eyes roll back with delight remembering the joy of soliciting free rides.

[LadyShallott]

*Just For Fun Ping*


I know that we had lots of fun on the (should be dead if you are over 30)thread when we looked back on our days of childhood. Have any stories?

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[MD_Willington_1976]

All uneventfull...Crazy fisherman that always tried to drive 20mph over the posted speed limit was the most memorable...

[Eddie Dean]

After gradualting HS my best friend and I misspent the summer before we both went into the Army, thumbing all over New England - Maine, Cape Cod, The Greens, The Whites... etc.

Way to much young, dumb, fun.

[Alberta's Child]

I once picked up a hitchhiker on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. He was going the other way, but I turned around and picked him up anyway -- just to have a excuse to drive along that magnificent road again.

I generally avoid picking up hitchhikers, but this guy was obviously not a typical one -- he was dressed up in cycling gear, so I thought his bicycle had malfunctioned. Turns out he and his wife had left one of their cars in Banff, and parked the other one in Jasper, and were cycling from one to the other over the course of several days. But he left the Car #2 keys back in Car #1, so he had to go back and get them. LOL.

[LadyShallott]

*Just For Fun Ping*

In case I missed you on the first ping. :) Have a good day!

[AntiGuv]

I've hitchhiked once before, but only when I needed to get somewhere without any reasonable way of anyone ever figuring out that I'd been there..

[not-alone]

I get really scared just thinking about it and my son sometimes reads my posts. I remember getting left off outside a Mass. Town and because of local law having to walk a long way. My Guardian Angel was over worked many times.

[hellinahandcart]

When I was fourteen, a girlfriend and I wanted to go to a little jewelry store we both liked. Actually, it was more of a head shop, but they did have some really cool jewelry.

Her mother refused to drive us. So we hitched.

One of the neighbors was driving along the highway in the opposite direction, and saw us standing there with our thumbs out. She called our moms as soon as she got home. We only had about two minutes to shop before my friend's mom drove up, breathing fire...

[RonHolzwarth]

I never hitchhiked myself, but years ago, used to give rides once in a while.

Most of the hitchhikers were not to interesting, but there was one that I will never forget, his name was Bob.

Bob told me an incredible story, and maybe there were more that I don't remember. Bob's brother was rather well off, I guess, and used to buy a brand new car every year or two. Anyway, Bob borrowed his brother's brand new car once, and was driving it on a road somewhere near the Everglades, he thought he was on a road, went over a ridge, and PLOP!

The car was up to the windows in water! Although it didn't really get smashed up, he had TOTALLED his brother's BRAND NEW CAR!!!

It wouldn't be all that unusual of a story, except that it was a:

1957 Chevrolet convertible, BRIGHT RED, white interior.

[ßuddaßudd]

I once hitched from northern VA to Columbia MD to witness a (take a guess)concert for the weekend back in the 80's. Took me 3 cars to find someone going to the show. What an experience, with no problems at all.

ßß

[funkywbr]

I hitchhiked about 26K miles during my teens (30 years or more ago). Only been tried to be killed once. Otherwise did it all basically pennyless and was helped out by freaks, hippies, fairies, police, preachers, preppies, truckers, bikers, blacks, whites and drunk driving Grannies.

Those were the days!~}

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Ditto, funkywbr. Same experiences and probably same number of miles. Lots and lots of stories and experiences and lived to tell about all of them!

[LadyShallott]

Care to join us? I know you have hitchhiking stories.

[zook]

I used to hitch a lot between Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, and Detroit. My stories aren't as good as my friend's, but I had a couple. One involved being picked up by a stoned black guy in a Plymouth Fury. I got all the way to K-zoo going about 90.

I used to have long hair, down to my shoulders. In winter, I wore a stocking cap. Some guy picked me up, but as soon as I took off my hat he pulled over and made me get out.

Once my brother and I picked up two hitchers on Southfield (Detroit area). After we went a few blocks I could see one of them took out a knife and just held it. I didn't say anything and we all just kept talking as if there was no problem. We dropped them off on Warren, they smiled, said thanks, and that was that.

[Cboldt]

Used to hitch-hike alot. Indiana to Louisina and back, Indiana to North Carolina and back, home to school (100 miles one way -- weekly "commute" more or less). Met lots of interesting people. Have some hair-raising recollections too. There are sub-cultures in the US that few people are well-aware of.

Most of my hitch-hiking was from 1972 to 1976. Wouldn't dare to do it today, unless necessary due to emergency.

[OneVike]

When I was in Europe back in the 70's I hitchhiked around Germany & France. I even picked grapes for about a month in Puegetville France for a Former member of the WWII French underground.

After I was divorced I hitchhiked across America with a backpack. always had money or worked for it when needed.

Quite often I have been advised to write a book about my many exploits, some fun some miserable.

I have forgotten more stories of my many hitchhiking days then I remember. Sometimes I will see a place in the paper or on the TV and a fond or bad memory will seep into my mind as to what I did at that particular place when I was there. I was your typical long haired maggot infested dope smoking hippie.

I am now a hard core conservative who, sometimes forgets haw bad I really was.

[Darlan]

Funny hitchhiking story? My girlfriend and I were going to a club one night and saw a guy standing on the side of the road. Remeber, this was a long time ago, and we were young (18). Anyway, we picked him up and dropped him off on the way to the club. A couple of days later I saw him again. I stopped, we talked and went shopping! He found out I lived at the YWCA and came to see me the next day. We got married two years later, had a son who is now 20, and are still together to this day. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been if my girlfriend hadn't said to me, "Let's pick him up?" BTW, she is still my best friend.

Darla

[dakine]

I hitchedhiked all over Detroit area in my youth...I also went to Virginia from Detroit when I was 14, for some reason my folks weren't amused when I was arrested in Lebanon Va.....