Kicks in Savannah

Fresh off the bus I was excited to explore; my friend Cameron had a friend here in Savannah as well, Jill, a girl he's know since high school. I walked from the bus station towards her place, she lives above a bar that her roommate manages downtown. I did a lap around the neighborhood while I waited for her to get back. I met her and we headed to her apartment, she offered me a beer and then we went out in search for food.

In Savannah, unlike most other places I've been, you can drink outside as long as it's in a plastic cup. We grabbed some Mexican food at a place nearby and got to know each other a bit, she was a cool girl as Cameron had promised, a designer, self proclaimed nerd and party girl.

We grabbed a couple beers at the Eco Seed, the bar she lived above, she gets free drinks there in exchange for some design work she's done for them. After that she showed me around town, we walked by the river in the tourist area and then atop a hotel bar so she could show me the view. It was a really foggy night, there wasn't much to see in the distance, but the fog rolling around in the lights was good by me. We headed back to her place so I could grab my bag, she then drove me to the spot I was supposed to be couchsurfing.

A few knocks and phone calls drew blanks, but right as I was going to abandon, a roommate appeared and let me in. The house was a big one with four or five guys living there that went to Savannah College of Art and Design, SCAD. They told me of massive parties they'd thrown there with 100's of people packing in and around the house.

I hopped in the car with a couple of the guys, the one I'd been in touch with in order to stay there was at campus having car issues. We got there and pushed his car into a spot, he said it wouldn't start and someone said something about a spark plug, and jumping it wouldn't work. Someone turned the key after all this and it started up without a problem, perhaps it worked all along; the guy was on 5 ambien, so could have just turned the key wrong or something and assumed it didn't work. We hung in the parking lot talking for a bit before heading back home and crashing out.

I woke up the next morning and headed to the heart of Savannah, I grabbed a tea and relaxed for a part of the day. Towards the afternoon I did some more wandering around town and finally got in touch with Jim, my next couchsurfing host in town. He was conveniently at the Moon River Brewery very close by. I met him there and talked over a nice stout, he was a regular there and carried on with the friendly bartender girl for a while.

He was also hosting an italian woman, she called and we walked a few short blocks to his place nearby where she was waiting. His place was pretty impressive - perched right above a main street in town, big and spacious enough that he had a full on basketball hoop in his living room. He also had his own keg that was always stocked, usually with something from Moon River, currently it was their IPA. I enjoyed some of this while the three of talked for a while.

After some games of dominoes, a frequently played game at his place as he told me, we were off into what would be a great night.

The three of us met some of his friends at a bar, the kind that was seemingly in a residential area. They had aarogant bastard on tap and we got pints of it. After some beers and stories we were marching to Sweet Melissa's, the drunkards late night pizza place of choice in Savannah. After a slice we headed back to Jim's place where him and the italian started to wind down.

I'm not sure what time it was, but I still had a hunger, partially for food, but mostly for action. I filled up a cup from the keg and ran back onto the street, giving the SCAD guys a call from the night before. One of the came and scooped me up and we were off to the dorms, I had to quickly flash my drivers license as we rolled by security as if it were a college ID, then we were in.

We went to one room or a few, drinking beers and meeting various people, some beer pong broke out which is always a good time. The night spun along and around, soon everyone had disappeared, all at once or a little at a time, I can't recall. I found myself on a balcony in rattling conversation with a girl who's eyes caught mine throughout the night. It's likely clear by now that a wild set of eyes is all it takes to set me off; hers were the kind with suspicious intrigue, matched with a cautiously inviting smile that'll get anybody going. We enjoyed each other for a time, then finally parted. I was off to figure out where I was and where I was going.

I got off campus, I think, then realized I hadn't gotten her number, barely a name. I decided to run back, tearing through the security stand, a woman shouting at me about ID, I think I flashed my drivers licence again, disappearing into the stairwells before I could be pursued. What I had somehow forgotten, was I did get this girls number, it was already in my phone even. Before realizing this, I knocked on various doors I thought might be hers, greeted by different kinds of folks in different kinds of moods.

At last I reached in my pocket to find my phone, which I'd also thought I'd left behind, but then discovering that I did have a way of contacting her, although I never would see her after that night. I put my hood up and followed closely with a girl past security again on the way, then started to try and orient myself and to find out how to get back to Jim's. I walked by a minibus with no passengers and asked the driver about the streets, he could probably easily tell that I had a few and told me hop in, he drove me exactly where I needed to go. I climbed up to the apartment and fell out on the couch until the next afternoon.

After a shower the next day, I relaxed for a while in the apartment. In the afternoon I walked over to Jill's place and waited for her to get ready, we were going to a kickball game for her friend's birthday. It was sort of a theme deal, her friend was in a 70's style pink dress with shades, Jill whipped up a cave woman outfit complete with a club, we were off.

The kickball game was a good time in Forsyth park, the added bonus of beers in hand, a Savannah special. When dark finally came, we all dispersed with intentions of regrouping at one guys house. A few of us first went to Jill's where another girl put together a costume. Jill through me an afro wig and some 3D glasses so I'd at least have something, then we were off to the party house.

We played some drinking games and shared some laughs for a couple hours or more until everyone was ready to hit the town. We all headed to the Eco Seed, a few of us made a stop at a nearby apartment for a quick smoke, then were off to the bar. Sometime around midnight I was wandering back to Jim's, him and the italian woman were winding down, he went to sleep and I talked with her for a moment, she was to catch a bus early in the morning. I filled up a cup and ran back out into the night.

The costume crew had regrouped at a different spot and I met them there, we ran around a little bit more. Eventually I was off in my own direction, which led to the madness outside Sweet Melissa's - a line that went far out the door and groups of drunks stumbling around laughing with each other - I fit in nicely. A pretty blonde southern girl latched on to me for a bit, everyone was laughing, Savannah was kicking.

After a satisfying pepperoni slice and some more rattling on with folks, I finally found myself back to the couch, buzzed on good times and thoughts of the road ahead in the morning. 

Thumbing to Savannah, Unpredictable Lodging and Good Times

I woke up well rested in Northern Virginia, freshly showered, my clothes clean and packed, my mind on the road ahead of me, I could only guess at what my thumb would attract. Jamie had a pot of coffee going downstairs, I poured a cup and she joined me at the table with a cup of her own. We talked for a while, somehow the idea of a traveling bus came up, something I'd been tossing around in my head and aloud with others for a while. In Salt Lake we'd almost got into a green veggie oil powered bus, going as far as watching Candice test drive thing around downtown. Jamie liked the idea as much as I did, we shot ideas back and forth for a while getting more excited, everything from how the bus would be powered, to the furnishings inside, to the places it could go.

Some time slipped by and Jamie gave me a ride down I-95 to a good spot, we kept talking about the bus and looking at every school bus and RV we passed in a new way. I waived goodbye and walked towards the on ramp, the first rush of cars brought one that pulled into the shoulder and waived me over. I hopped in and we started going down the freeway, the driver was a Marine heading back to base a good ways down the road. We cruised on down, half way there he got pulled over for speeding and was not too happy about it, he has to report all tickets back to base, and had already gotten one ealier that month. He debated whether or not he'd report this one, I think he settled on reporting it whether than running the chance of them finding out on their own somehow.

He eventually had to make a turn down another road and dropped off at some cross roads. We'd looped around a bit too far, so it took just a little walking and crossing the freeway to get back on 95 South, but not much. I alternated between waiting at decent spots along the freeway and walking further down the road in search of new scenery. I landed at a nice looking onramp near a gas station as the sun went down on me. I took a seat in a group of tall trees and had a couple brownies, Jamie had given me a container of those and some cookies before I'd left.

What happened next was a Hobo 2.0 moment, I got a text from my friend Cameron in Salt Lake City. My phone had been silently updating my location automatically in my pocket via Google Latitude, my status in gmail was showing that I was near Wilson, North Carolina, and he had friends nearby. He made a call or two and in no time I was waiting for one of his friends to come pick me up, my sleeping bag in the trees would have to wait for another night.

Josh was his name, he picked me up along the freeway and we headed for the hospital. Their friend had just had a baby, I peered through the glass at the newborn boy while congratulations were thrown around for a few minutes, Josh and I headed out shortly after. I contemplated this for a bit, starting the day with the idea of going to Savannah, then somehow appearing in a North Carolina hospital amongst the first to see this baby boy whose family I'd never known.

We went back to Josh's place for an easy night of TV, beers and a smoke in an attic room. I slept on the couch and was up by 8am the next morning, a quick shower and we got going. He took me to a drive through place where I had the best sausage egg biscuit of my life, then dropped me off down I-95 by a big truck stop.

I got a ride from a guy in a pickup truck for about 20 miles, he told me about how his work in construction had slowed quite a bit, poorly timed with the recent birth of his third child. I waited a while more with thumb out until a small white car pulled over, I through my bag in the backseat and hopped in as the guy, clearly in the army, asked where I was headed. I told him Savannah, so as far south as he was going. He said he'd skipped work today, for no reason in particular, and that he'd drive me a couple hours or so for lack of a better idea for the day. When he found out my timeframe, that being none, he asked if I'd just want to stay the night, go to a bar or two, and he'd buy me a greyhound ticket to Savannah the next day. I didn't have to think to much about an answer, he got on the phone with Greyhound and gladly bought me a ticket for a 1:30 bus the next day.

He'd just moved into a trailer, I'd pictured something like an RV, but this was basically a small house that happened to have a trailer hitch. I helped him unpack some boxes from his car - plates, coffee maker, microwave - things like this, his place was empty besides some unpacked bags and suitcases. We made a run to Walmart where he got an air mattress I could use for the night, along with some other house related items. We got a whole bunch of food, he kept telling me to just grab anything I liked and throw it in the cart. I'd mentioned country fried steak earlier, so he got what was needed to make that happen. His generosity in all this was pretty amazing, again I wondered how sticking out a thumb could so often result in these unpredictable circumstances.

We headed back to his place and I cracked open a beer, he'd bought a few movies too, but the sound on his laptop was pretty low. He wouldn't have it, we were back in the car in search of a pawn shop, he quickly picked out a TV with a built in DVD player and we headed back and watched Boondock Saints. He cooked up the country fried steak, then we watched Fear and Loathing. It was a little later now and he was ready to go to the bar, I'd already knocked back a few pale ales, but he was waiting for the bar and his beer of choice, bud light. Before we went he through a wad of cash at me saying was for the bar, insisting I take it. Funny thing is, he bought the first round himself, and most of the rounds after that as well.

Both bars were within walking distance of his place, although we drove there anyway. We played several rounds of pool, then threw darts for a while at the first bar, called Pirates. It was a pretty big place, which really just made it feel emptier given there was only half a dozen folks in there drinking. We crossed the street to the Swamp bar, a smaller dive sort of place with a friendly bartender. We sat at the bar talking with her over a few beer, I did a couple shots with her, Jon, the army guy, said he wasn't into shots himself though.

They had a pool table there and we played a game or two before heading back across the street to Pirates. They were shutting down, but still gave us one more drink. We downed that and were back in the Swamp. A group of 4 girls and one guy came in, thus doubling the total amount of people in the entire bar. The bartender said the one on the end was the cuter one in the bunch, Jon found someone to play a round of pool with and I sat down next to the girl.

We talked for a minute and I fell in love the way I do, I was really just a guy hitting on her though, as she said. I knew it was something more, and less than that, gathering from the piercing looks of her friends I could tell this girl wouldn't be able to step outside for a half a minute without being followed by her protective group, I wasn't expecting much more than a conversation. I called her out on every hair flip and facial tick until she understood my understanding. Her eyes changed, looking into mine instead of at them, and for a solid time we were in sync discussing things I've since forgotten, left with only an imprint of a memorable connection.

Jon and I took off, he'd disappeared for a while, but returned from wherever he was. He put on another movie and cooked up these chicken bites, anytizers he called them, I got through a bunch of those, another beer, and faded to sleep in front of the movie. My phone's alarm went off in the morning, surprising because I couldn't remember setting one or think of why I would of. I knocked it off and remained laying there, it had woke Jon up too who'd passed out on the floor across the room. He shot up and I could hear him cooking, I slowly rose up in time for him to hand me a plate of bacon and eggs. We both ate up and watched the end of the movie from the night before.

I grabbed a quick shower and we were off towards the Fayetteville bus station. He dropped me off there and made sure I picked up the ticket without any problems, I thanked him for the hundredth time, and he was off. I waited a bit and was soon on a Greyhound bus just 5 hours from Savannah. It went like a typical Greyhound trip, routy people in the back shouting between jokes, complaints and heated arguments here and again, and a disgruntled driver accustomed to these types of things, numb to a point. It got me to Savannah and I was ready to enjoy.

Washington DC means Kilkenny at the Dubliner

A four hour bus ride landed me in the middle of DC amidst a light rain. Armed with a fist full of tea bags, I went into a starbucks and got a hot water, a free way to take a load off and wait out the rain for a bit. I was waiting for a girl from couchsurfing to get back to me about a place to stay for the night. The rain died down and I aimed myself towards the Dubliner, a pub my friend told me was the only spot in the US to serve Kilkenny on tap. My parents had gone overseas when I was young and brought back a can of this beer as a souvineer for me, because of the name, I'd later tried it in Kamloops on my way from Alaska to Vancouver a summer or two ago.

I walked into the mostly empty bar, the bartender gave me a questioning look, probably because of the backpack, I sat next to a pretty girl and ordered a Kilkenny. We all got to talking, I explained the backpack and some of my travels, along with the draw of the Kilkenny. The bartender was particularly interested in the work I'd done on the pot farms in Northern California, "That's routy man, that beer's on me, he gave me half a plate of food after that too. I talked to him and the girl, along with a few other people working there for a little while, answering some familiar questions and telling some stories from the past couple years. I had some more Kilkennys, the girl took off leaving her name and number on a napkin offering her place to stay if things fell through with my other plans.

Soon a group of three guys came in excited about the football game, a young guy with his dad and uncle. They ordered a round of Kilkennys, I held up my glass and told them it was a great choice. Turns out they were mostly from Connecticut. The bartender, perhaps by accident, but maybe not, gave me one of the three beers, I still had a little less than half a beer in front of me. The mistake was funny enough to the guys that they decided to put it on their tab.

The bartender was replaced by another one, a tall blonde girl with an intriguing smile, she looked at me as if she knew something about me and was waiting for me to recognize it. I carried on with the guys about football, they asked the bartender what her favorite Irish whiskey was an ordered 4 shots for all of us, the Jets game was underway. I grabbed a pint or two more of Kilkenny and started to wonder about where I'd be sleeping. The original couchsurfing girl never got back to me, and the number on the napkin ended in her voicemail. I got in touch with a guy John, a friend of a friend who lived just south of DC down the blue line, he said I could stay with him.

I finished the pint I was working on, ready to go and sure I'd spent a decent chunk of money despite the free drinks thrown in there. The girl behind the bar poured me another one though saying it was on her, that smile never left her face, I couldn't help from smiling myself too, it'd been a great time. I finished the beer while watching the end of the game, the Jets won, my bill was less than I expected, I was off to the subway.

A couple girls with small backpacks smiled near the subway pass machine, they showed me how to get the pass that I needed and were going the same way as I was, or at least decided to at that point. We rode in the same car, after some talking they asked if I wanted to go get a drink with them, they even offered to pay. I had to turn it away though, it was getting a little later and I needed to meet up with John if I was going to have a warm place to sleep for the night. One of the girls took down my number with talk of a tomorrow night that never came, they bailed out at the next stop to transfer to whatever train they were supposed to be on.

John picked me up at the end of the line, he was a laid back programmer of sorts who'd met my friend Larry in Phoenix a little while back. I walked into his home, the aroma of pie and brownies filled the air, his wife Jamie was in the kitchen with a warm and welcoming smile. They were both beer lovers and the contents of their fridge proved it, he mixed a stout and raspberry beer together he'd brought from Oregon, the three of us talked a while over a few beers, ice cream and brownies.

I slept in a bit and had an easy going day relaxing in their house. I thought I may have ended up heading back into DC to meet my cousin, but he hadn't gotten back to me. I took the day to do things like laundry and catch up on some writing. John got back from work that night and Jamie whipped up a great dinner, we followed that with some card game, a mix of uno and rummy, along with another game later before finally getting to sleep. The next day I'd be heading south, sticking my thumb out for the first time in more than two months.

A quick trip to Philly

I arrived in Philadelphia at 30th Station via Megabus by night fall, I walked a mile or so down to South street and found the apartment I'd be couchsurfing at. No one was home, so I grabbed a slice of pizza before heading back where I met Ronie, one of the guys I'd be staying with. A little TV and talking, I was soon passed out on the couch awaiting another morning.

I wandered the city streets the next day, soaking in the vibe of Philadelphia. No one is in a hurry in this city, everyone seems to be on an eternal lunch break from their indifferent jobs. I grabbed a cheesesteak from a cart on the corner of Spruce and Broad, a Save the Children girl stopped me on the street with her clipboard, I ate my sandwich while she went on about children in need, finally asking me for money I didn't have. From there I wandered the streets some more, poking my head into the Foodery, a deli looking place with a wide selection of unique beers.

I opted for a $1 Pabst at a bar on South street I'd been to a couple times in the past, then headed back to the apartment. I got in touch with an old friend of mine, Joe, who was living in Philly, I met him half a lifetime ago, but hadn't seen him in more years than I can remember. We grabbed a couple beers and caught up on those years, as well as thoughts for the time ahead of us, which for him was a potential move to California for surfing and design sorts of work.

I headed back to Ronie's place where he was with one of his roommates watching TV. I sat with them for a bit until we decided to run into the night. He first took me to a bar called Bob's and Barbara's, the draw being live jazz music and a $3 deal that bought a PBR and a shot of Jim Bean. The Jazz was great, the drummer seemed to barely have a grip on the stick that dangled from his left hand, yet played quick and tight during 5 minute solos, all three of the musicians were as old as anybody, their instruments were just extensions of their body by this time in life.

We stayed for a few rounds listening to the Jazz and sharing a few stories, then headed to bar called Oscars for another beer, then to Good Dog, a place I'd actually been before with a girl from town for sweet potatoes fries. We pointed back home, a girl shouted at Ronie from the open window of a cab rushing by, someone he knew, once home we passed out fairly quickly.

In the morning we went to a diner, I just got a coffee and toast, we met up with Joe shortly after and went to a place called Ten Stone just down the block for a sandwich and a beer. I drove around with Joe for a bit after that until heading for the bus station where he dropped me off. The bus shot me up to 28th and 7th Ave in Manhattan, I walked at a speedy pace to Grand Central, stepping on to a 6:07 train to Connecticut as the doors were closing. My mom picked me up down the line in New Canaan, we grabbed some food and headed for the house were I relaxed for an hour or so before I headed right back to the train, there was a cable I had needed to pick up for my phone.

I got back to Astoria later that night, Mark and Sean were gone, probably in or on route to Connecticut themselves, Carl and Kelly were quick to sleep, I did the same shortly. I was up early the next day, I had a 9am bus to catch to Washington DC. Showered with my bag packed I ran for the bus, some good times were fast approaching just down the road.

Boston, NYC and a missed bus to Toronto

I was off to Boston, the start of my 2,700 miles worth of megabus tickets that I got for a total of 50 cents. It's a bus that's usually pretty cheap to begin with, but is having some ridiculous special I took advantage of. The four hour bus ride was nice, dozing in and out of thoughts and sleep while listening to music until we reached Back Bay Station.

I hopped on a subway that took me to harvard sqaure, waiting for me there was a guy with a tech background who was interested in talking to me about Trip Hopping. We grabbed some pretty good burgers and then went to the Dudley House on Harvard campus where he went to school, it was like a fancy study hall building with couches and little rooms as far as I could tell.

We sat in front of our computers for a little bit talking until Natasha called, a girl I'd stayed with last time I was in town and would be staying with now. We met her and came back to the Dudley House where the three of us talked for a while, eventually Natasha and I went on our way back to her apartment just across the water. We relaxed the night away until finally sleeping, I had a night of dreams that I was waking up where I actually was and carrying on for a portion of the day, restarting again and again more realistic than the last.

I really woke up early the next day and left as Natasha did on her way to work, taking the subway back over the water where I got out near Quincy Market. I made the cold walk to the Boston Public Library and relaxed their for a good chunk of the day, leaving and coming back once for a food run.

I met Natasha back at her apartment that night, she cooked an amazing dinner while I handled beers left in her fridge she said she would never drink. We toyed with the idea of finding and crashing an MIT party, but remained home for another relaxing night.

We both slept in the next day, she awoke with cleaning on her mind, she'd recently moved to the place she was living and wanted to get things organized. We headed into the city midday, I was on a mission to get a corndog from Quincy Market, an homage to Mark who said he'd had his first there a long time ago. After visiting flavor country on a stick, I parted ways with Natasha as I headed for Back Bay Station to catch the megabus back to New York.

The next day Mark, Sean and I wandered down Steinway street for sandwiches, Sean picked up a couple big cans of beer and I grabbed a bottle of Jameson. I did a shot or three Sean, then Shana and Luke arrived, some people I stayed with a couple times in Vegas who were temporarily living in Long Island, planning a move to New Orleans by the month's end.

We shared a few more shots and drinks before the three of use went to the subway headed for Manhattan. It was 'no pants subway riding' day, we laughed at and with the few dozen people who were showing up on the subway in their panties or boxer shorts, not everyone on the train knew what was going on.

We eventually got to the Patriot, a bar far downtown I'd been to once when I was working in the city with my coworkers. It was a night I remember well, beer was cheap and Mark had crashed the party and we'd stayed long after my coworkers left, challenging british guys to darts and chasing topless bartenders around the bar. I'd stayed so late I had to go directly back to work, wandering through an eerily empty times square to get to the building above Grand Central where I was working. I'd gotten there an hour early so slept under my desk in full suit and tie, woken up by a girl kicking me and laughing, she found me before my alarm had gone off... it was a long day after that.

Anyhow, this night the beer was as cheap as I'd remembered and the pitchers started coming, shots were poured... and then I have a bit of a gap in memory. My next recollection was standing on the opposite side of the subway car from my friends rolling into Astoria, and after that coming into the apartment where Mark and Sean had some people over. I have flashes of passionate conversations, lot's of laughing and shouting, being pinched very hard by the girl from the second floor, and taking off into the night with my backpack much later.

I woke up on the futon, however, pretty early, feeling extremely refreshed in the context of months of time gone by. My right bicep was entirely covered in a purplish black bruise, Mark emerged from his room with a smile, filling me in on some of the good times and ridiculousness from the night before.

At that time I realized I'd forgotten and missed the bus to Toronto, it was 9am or so and the bus had left at 8. I smiled at that, I was smiling at everything, it was the free bus ticket anyhow and I was only going to be there a day or two had I gone. I took it easy all day, sleeping a bit here and there feeling generally lifted.

The next couple days were easy going too, hanging around Astoria. The night before going to Philadelphia Carl came back with some tasty beers and a couple of his friends came through, along with Mark we played a game sort of like beer pong, but with bottle caps instead of ping pong balls.

I woke around noon the next day, with a shower and a packed bag I headed into Manhattan and met up with a an old friend from school, I talked with her on a bench outside the hospital by York and 70th while she waited for her mom to get out of surgery. I walked from there to Penn Station where my bus was, stopping for something called raspberry Hamentachen, a sort of cookie my friend had recommended I get, it was good.

Soon I was on the bus headed for Philadelphia, a town I've always enjoyed, this coming trip would be no exception.

Shrinking bags and simpler travels

Technology and experience are further breaking down the barriers associated with the life of a permanent traveler, and reducing the weight on our shoulders. To the people who've met me or regularly read this journal of sorts, you know I've been traveling North America for the past two and a half years seeking out good times in a manner some people question heavily, but eventually come to a smiling understanding with.

I set out on this lifestyle to escape the stagnant routine I found myself in, "leading nowhere" doesn't say it right, it's the fact that I could see where it was going that got me off it. Predictability can be comforting, but doesn't lend itself to my best memories.

I've always loved technology, the internet especially sparked my interest along with a lot of the world, every day we're more connected. This further swung me towards a life on the go, I can easily stay connected with people I've known and continue to meet. I shoved my laptop in a backpack along with every other conceivable possession I thought I'd need for this new hobo lifestyle: clothes for all climates, tools, camping gear, toiletries and all kinds of others gear I thought I'd need.

Experience and technology have helped me shed a whole lot of it. At first, my backpack was stuffed to capacity, and in fact had my sleeping bag hanging off the outside, plus, I had two other smaller packs slung over my shoulders. Now I just have the one backpack, which has become increasingly more spacious.

Here's some of what I've gotten rid of, what I've learned and what's coming down the line to slim things down even more for the permanent traveler.

Shoes take up a lot of space, I started with a couple pairs and learned that all I need is Keens and smartwool socks. Keens (and I'm sure there's other brands of equal quality) are like sandals with the toe intact, smartwool is a great material that stays dry and warm. With this I've played basketball, hiked many miles in places like the grand canyon, floated down rivers, enjoyed the beach and trudged through the snow on NYC sidewalks. Extra shoes take up valuable space, unless you're into fancy ballroom dancing or something otherwise specific then there's no reason to have two pairs of shoes.

Smartwool is great for more than just socks, but underwear and shirts and more. It repels water, which means stink, which means you can get an extra couple days use out of your gear before washing, and that means you can pack less.

Like I said, technology is my friend. When I first started out, I had my laptop and two hard drives that stacked up to half the size of a toaster. Those eventually got replaced by one small enough to put in my pocket. Now it's gone all together, my photos and videos are stored online at full quality, thanks to Google. In fact just today they announced that Google Docs will now be able to store all types of files. Not only is this less weight, but better peace of mind, as a hard drive can be lost, but Googles servers cannot be... if they are I'm sure the world will be in flames and we'll be reaching for the whiskey as we watch it all come to a blazing end.

Even my laptop will soon be retired, as Android phones have caught up to be as powerful as the average computer was just 4 years ago, and are only getting better. Laser keyboards and mini projecters can provide the same full keyboard and screens we're used to without taking up the space, meaning your entire computer fits in your pocket.

As I get rid of more things I see opportunity to drop even more, combine more. I've long dreamed of a sleeping bag that functions also as a jacket and a backpack by unzipping at the waist. This is something I see happening this year, the idea has been stewing and resources are coming together. All and all this will cut my current load by a third or more while providing a warmer jacket than I currently have.

The less I have, the easier I can move about and with less to consider. More important than this is the barriers being broken down and the opportunities arising to aide travelers. Couchsurfing was one of the first sites I found for traveling specifically, allowing millions of people to go just about anywhere in the world and have a place to stay in the home of a friendly local. Google will help guide me to anything, and my own site, Trip Hopping, will show me all the people driving around who have an empty seat in their car for a passenger like myself.

I learned how to make a site like that just by poking around the internet for tutorials and answers; it's getting easier for people to get their ideas out there to provide great services. This is especially awesome now that the internet is on our phones just a pocket reach away. There's even a site for dumpster diving (which isn't nearly as nasty as it sounds, look into it), so even food can be more easily found.

While advances in mobile phones, websites, smartwool and sleeping bag jacket packs are at the surface of lightening the load, it's the common understanding that people of this planet are coming towards that has been igniting good times in all directions. We have access to more information now than any other time in our recorded history, communication gaps are narrowing and development is rapid as a result.

I'll continue to ditch, combine and shape my gear until it's next to nothing as long as I'm traveling, but my comfort comes from knowing good times don't care if you're traveling or how much crap you have, they'll find you and be waiting to be found anywhere at any moment.

For those interested, this is more or less what I do have now in my pack, in 3 sections:

• Clothes
• 5 or 6 shirts, including the airplane one with buttons
• Pair of jeans
• Pair of quick-dry shorts, double as swim suit
• Pair of long johns underwear
• 3 more pairs of smartwool, under armour and camping boxers
• 3 pairs of smartwool socks, plus one thin pair
• gloves, beanie, baseball cap
• sweatshirt
• rain jacket/windbreaker
• Sleeping bag, 0 degrees + gortex bivy sack (waterproof layer) + mosquito headnet
• Camelback daypack
• laptop in case with charger + waterproof bag that holds laptop and more
• android phone (with extra battery, coiled cable and combo car/wall outlet charger)
• waterproof pack cover
• water filter
• small cooking pot
• chromatic harmonica
• small flask
• camping towel (compresses to size of golfball)
• toiletries
• shampoo
• dr. bronners (use for everything, soap, laundry, even tooth paste)
• deodorant
• foldable toothbrush + tooth paste
• chapstick
• nail clippers
• small electric razor with regular blade attachment (the kind you need shaving cream for
• passport
• spork
• multitool
• solar charger for phone
• book of matches or a lighter

I may be missing something, but that's the bulk of it, and there's always variables like granola bars and whatnot too. Trip on travelers.

First week of the decade

New Years Eve was a good one, and a week later I'm in Boston. I started the 31st in Connecticut excited for the night to come. After part of the day there and a dinner with the family, I was on a train with my brother headed to Grand Central.

I'd snagged a couple beers for the ride knowing we'd be meeting with Mark and Will who were probably way ahead of us, it turns out even that was under estimating the situation. A subway ride took us into Queens, and a bus took us further. We walked a few blocks and met Will outside and went up to an empty apartment, empty except for us and one table with a record player and scattered liquor bottles with varying fullness.

Mark was laughing when we came in with another friend, pouring a few concoctions of one thing or another in big cups for us. Blake had a few drinks and was done, a preference for beer he said, my drink got taller. I knew I was behind, but later sounds vomiting in the bathroom proved that they were more ahead than need be.

Eventually Will disappeared to the bathroom when we were ready to move on, it was barely 9, hours shy of midnight. He went silent despite us pounding on the locked door, I slid a credit card down the crack of the door and got it open to find him lying on the ground with a smile, we roused him up and were on our way.

A confused bus ride later (mark following in a taxi for reasons I forget, but know were senseless), we landed at Will's family's house after some time. There we had some more drinks and food, midnight hit with cheers all around and we were ready to get to something in the city.

Things got hazy at this point, but a few of us managed our way into Manhattan apparently drinking beers on the subway ride, we weren't alone in that. I didn't realize until later, but Mark and Blake had shaken out to make their way back to Astoria where they found Sean and co. at the tail end of a champagne fueled night. Mark told me later he'd fallen asleep on the train and headed back to Astoria out of habit when he saw the 59th and Lexington stop.

The few of us managed our way to the upper east side though, a party that was still raging on, ending for some bodies seen passed out in dark corners, bottles everywhere and smiling faces wandering about. I found myself out on the patio in the back at some point, talking to the various travelers attending the party. A small bag of coke appeared in my hand at one point, dropped from who knows where or who, bottles swung through and by.

At some point I turned my head to see the twinkling eyes and bright smile of a girl from Germany, I'd been talking to her traveling buddy apparently. Before long the three of us were leaving the party in search of a continuation of the night. A hazy time later I found myself wandering the aftermath of times square with them, filled only with us and a bit of a cleanup crew, along with just a few others staggering through the wide open space.

We got into a few conversations, one with a comedian that the German girl later told me was "the New Yorker she'd been looking for". We got half way to the Blarney Stone in search of a beer before we got turned back around to the subway, hints of the sun reminded them that sleep could be a decent thing. We parted ways in the times square subway station, I headed for Astoria and passed out quickly after munching on some refrigerator gold.

I woke up in a haze with a dopey smile on my face, an unidentified wrist band and my friends looking at me with a laugh. Blake and I split for the train station, the cold air felt good, but I passed out as soon as I got to the train. Back in Connecticut I passed out again for only an hour before I was back in a car headed to my dad's place, passing out again over there. I awoke gently finally feeling a sense of my surroundings again and we headed back to Connecticut for the night.

We dropped my brother off at the airport the next day at JFK to go back to California, I let out in Astoria where Sean was hanging out and had an easy day. I shaved my grizzly beard the next day, then headed a few blocks away to watch the last sunday of regular season football with some friends. My friend from Montreal was in the city, she made her way over for an hour or so as well, I had to buy her an IPA to prove great beer is brewed in America, not just bud and coors. The night raged on over football and drunken jenga, ending in a nearby bar with a few rounds of darts after the games.

I stumbled back into the apartment at some odd hour waking mostly everyone up with various shouts suggesting they come on out. Sean entertained this, although not entertained, Kelly followed, I went on about the idea of someone wanting to travel whilst dealing with the love for a girl who kept him stable and so forth, thoughts that couldn't be construed as questions, answers or statements. Having done his part, he went back to sleep, I stayed up in a fit of madness talking to music, myself and the world. Mark apparently laid awake baring witness to my midnight ramblings from a room over.

I rose up in the late afternoon, showering into sanity. Carl appeared with a bottle on his mind, we went and got one, shots went around to all who entered the kitchen. Mark came back and told stories of my ramblings from the night before, Kelly had a shot or two coaxed by Carl and his girl. Eventually Sean came home with chili on his mind, but I was soon out the door headed to the upper west side.

An hour later I arrived, the German travelers invited me over to where they were couchsurfing for some home cooking, German Spaetzle. I met the guy they were staying with along with a couple other travelers, we had a quiet night of eating good food and ended with watching Pink Floyd The Wall.

The next day I trained it back to Connecticut again and spent the night there, picking up a shirt and some other things, the following morning getting a haircut and a good meal before training it right back to the city for an easy going night at the apartment. The next day I'd be going to Boston.