Florida on my mind.

Late November, 2008
I had a bit of a fall out with my parents when they dropped my pack and I off in Shelbyville, IN a few miles from Joe Callahan’s home.  I had no plans but to go south.  Joe is going to come with me.  But, how will we get there?

December 1, 2008
It all falls together like dominoes.  Joe and I started our travels after a few relaxing days at his parent’s home.  It began with a ride from Jason who took us to Kentucky in a company truck.  A strange and kind fellow he was and he took us all the way to our next ride.  I found Jeff on Craigslist.  He is delivering two cars to Florida so he tossed us the keys to a nice Jeep Loredo and told us to follow him as he drives a silver Cadillac.  He paid all the gas!  I drove 12 hours from Lexington to Jacksonville, FL. 

December 2, 2009
I don’t think I’ll ever sleep!  Coffee, 5-hour energy shot and cigarettes.  up, Up, UP.  We hit a streak of some great music and our vibrations were high.  But, we got into the very NE corner of FL, Ferdinandina Beach, at 3am in the cold rain.  We had no lodging, no ride; nowhere to go and we each packed too much weight.  Two things drove me to Florida: the warmth and a 1983 Diesel Chevy Silverado that I purchased from a man in Old Town, Fl.  Unfortunately, Old Town is on the Gulf side of Florida and we were dropped off on the Atlantic Ocean.  Myra, the woman who’s Jeep we drove, let us stay in a dolphin covered guest room.  4 hours of sleep, $20 in our pocket from Jeff, and Joe and I hit the rode.  We stay near the coast…our first mistake.  I thumb and thumb for a ride.  No luck.  We are passed by Lexus’s and Mercedes who don’t look twice at these two young beatnik bums.  We walked and walked.  After a few miles and some delicious green peppers, we walk the beach instead of the unfriendly road.  Our packs are heavy and unbalanced.  Our bodies hurt.  I found a skim board, popped a hole in it, tied a pull-rope and dragged my gear along the Atlantic sands.  Such a relief!  We must have walked 10 miles or more all the way to the Nassau River.  We stopped and scouted for a place to camp.  We decided upon being okay with a cold night of staying on a bluff seaside.  Stretching was orgasmic.  When I was about to put up a tarp to break the ocean wind, we got a promise of a ride from a second Myra who lives in Jacksonville and I had previously contacted via couchsurfing.com.  She drove and hour to pick us up and took us to her humble abode with her lover and friend.  What a gift!  It got down below 20 degrees that night on the beach.  Not to mention, we may have been on an anthill.  Out of pure joy, appreciation and love, Joe and I cooked a wonderful meal and bought some beer from the local store.  We also found a whole lot of good food in the dumpster.  Chocolate and caramel-covered apples! 

December 3, 2009
We caught a greyhound into Gainesville, FL.  Jacksonville was not of much interest to me.  It is suburbanite haven.  We walked a couple of miles and then rested in the center of the university.  We stood out with our big packs and bare feet.  We sat beneath a tree for only a moment.  “Joe?” a lady asked.  Joe contacted Cecilia via couchsurfing and she recognized us quickly and offered us a place to stay. 

December 4, 2009
Her home reminds me of home.  It is so comfortable.  There are several beautiful people living here.  The home is open, full of food, friends, music, books, art and great conversation.  There is a hammock and a shack in back where Skeet lives.  Joe brought the party with two packs of red stripe beer.  My favorite!  He had the hiccups by the end of the night and at 2am I laid my weary head in the backyard hammock. 

December 5, 2009
Walking without our heavy packs is such a wonderful thing!  We walked and walked, ate Krishna food, wore shorts, napped in the park, and dumpstered clothes and more at Peaceful Step Thrift Store.  In the evening we rode bikes to a bar, Tim & Terry’s, to see Ryan, Cecilia’s roommate, play.  Here we relaxed with a few drinks and sat beside an other fellow couchsurfer also from Indiana.  He rode his bicycle across the country.  I find this inspirational.  I connected with Cecilia and spoke with her of love, marriage, and overcoming the self.  Afterward, we went to a bonfire where a wild party had been going on.  In bed after 5am. 

December 6, 2009
My lover saddened me today.  I do not want to write.
Joe and I rode Bikes around town.  We found a dumpster full of books.  Hundreds of books!  We jumped right in and spent an hour flipping through and picking out what we could take.  We later found a whole box of tea infusers and mints. 

December 7, 2009
Another day on bikes.  We rode to Paynes Prairie.  Beautiful!  We saw three alligators, birds, and two deer.  Upon return to Cecilia’s we had a feast of hummus, salsa, biscuits, and more…mostly found food.  Skeet is working on printing off large images and wheat-pasting them to the outside of buildings. 

December 8, 2009
I went to Tim & Terry’s to meet with an old friend from Hawai’I, Sun Kim.  Here, I unexpectedly ran into Storm.  Storm’s a wild man who crashed on our front porch in Bloomington for a couple of weeks only a few months ago.  He lent me his bike after some drinks and talk and I went for a blissful ride around Gainesville.  The trees breathed with me. 

December 9-11, 2009
I’ve been trying to get a hold of Daniel Delaney.  He is the guy who I purchased the truck from.  I was naïve enough to pay him in full nearly a month ago via wire transfer: $1,300.  I am having trouble getting in contact with him.  I may have to go hunt him down. 
(A separate moment) Lights, cop cars, helicopters, dogs…”get back into your home,” the cop yells at us.  I was sitting on Cecilia’s porch reading a book and did not see the stolen car fly into the front yard and the driver run into the nearby woods.  Such a silly game some people play. 

December 13, 2009
I borrow Tina’s bicycle and began my nearly 50-mile journey out to Old Town to find my truck.  I asked around the town for him and finally met him at the local post office after a sheriff questioned my presence.  I come to find that his family has a car dealership, D&D auto in Cross City, FL.  It was late after our talk, so I hung my hammock in a pretty patch of pines behind the post office and had a cold nights sleep.  I wore everything I had even my blue tarp.  I was disappointed.  Delaney, that crook!  He didn’t have my truck or my money!  This old backcountry bastard ripped off a young kid as I!  He said the truck was ‘accidentally’ sent to Miami to be put on a boat to be delivered to Germany. 

December 14, 2009
A ride back to Gainesville.  I am tired and the bikes tire is held together with duct tape.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever make it.  The duct tape is wearing thin.  I went and slept in the hammock while everyone else partied. 

December 15, 2009
A beautiful day!  Success.  Joe and I walked around trying to find a place to give away some of the stuff we had found.  No Luck and too much walking.  We did find some pizza and then I had an idea...  We went to Otter and Trout (a store) and traded about 16 tea infusers and some organic mints for $20 credit.  I got Jenna a beautiful necklace of Amythyst and put it in a deer skin bag.  Joe got several little things and gave me a piece of kyanite among them.  I made a necklace out of it.  Everyone should barter!  Paper money will burn holes through your soul. 

December 16, 2009
I have been working on making gifts.  I feel so good.  My senses seem heightened.  My awareness seems detailed.  We had a big feast - I cooked all evening with Cecilia.  Shrimp, fish, veggies, corn and more!