Hitchhiking Log

29 May: Stuck my thumb out on the highway in front of the truck stop at Rock Island. I waited a whopping 10 minutes for a ride, this time from a woman -- Nina. She said she "doesn't ever pick up hitchhikers," but she had seen me walking earlier in the day from Wenatchee and thought I looked like a nice guy. She drove me the entire 35 miles to Ephrata, which was on her way to work. Thank you, Nina.

24 May (2 rides): First, a couple miles east of Index I stuck my thumb out. I got picked up in about 15 minutes by Jonathon, who said he picked me up because he was reading Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods," and seeing me standing by the side of the road with my pack on reminded him of that. Jonathon drove me 45 miles, over Stevens Pass, to the Shell station at Cole's Corner. At Cole's Corner I made a sign that read "WENATCHEE" and stood near the exit driveway that the most cars were using, which fortunately exposed me to cars passing by on the road, as well. In about 20 minutes, Bernardo stopped and picked me up. Sadly, Bernardo did not speak enough English to tell me why he'd stopped for me. He did, however, drive me 17 miles to Leavenworth, and pointed to where I could catch a bus that would take me all the way to Wenatchee -- that's 22 miles -- for $1.25!! (I didn't use the bus.) Thank you, Jonathon and Bernardo.

22 May: Sitting at a Shell gas station on Paradise Lake Road near its intersection with Washington Route 522, between Woodinville and Monroe. I got a piece of cardboard from the station, bought a large black Sharpie marker, and made a sign that said "MONROE." In less than 30 minutes, I got picked up by David. He had also bought me an ice cream sandwich. He drove me all the way to Bothell, and said he had picked me up because his mom & dad believed in Jesus, and they used to pick up hitchhikers and sometimes bring people home who didn't have a place to stay. David dropped me off in front of a car wash about a half mile from "downtown" Monroe. Thank you, David.