In the summer of 1973, I took a copy of Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book", $20 dollars, and used it as a guide to get from Warren, Ohio to San Diego and back by thumb. A friend and I broke many laws, begged for a lot of food, met dozens of policemen, and learned more in the four weeks it took to make the round trip than in the first two years in college.
If you tried to make that trip today, you'd probably be killed. There was a whole lot more love going around back then.