Luckin' Out

Last night could have gone several ways.

Being alone and having little idea of what to do next, I sort of tried a little of everything. Before I left the Starbucks where I had been, I shot an email off to someone on Couchsurfing, hoping to escape the windy and rather cold night of Santa Barbara, CA. But with night fast approaching I figured I'd also try my hand at thumbing a ride. I packed my gear and walked a couple blocks down the street, hoping if someone would help me out.

For the first few minutes, I felt like a jack-ass. Sitting there, holding a sign, thumb half-way out in traffic, you feel pretty stupid. But after a few minutes you realize those people see you for a few seconds and then promptly forget about you. There's no real judgement and you quickly conclude that it really doesn't matter. The only people who matter are the ones who will stop.

One person did stop, but they weren't going the direction I was headed. And unfortunately, that was the most success I had all night. It had grown too dark and windy and I decided my chances of hitching would be much better in the day. I had made the decision to try sleeping on the streets. I wrapped my wool blanket around me and tried to grab a couple hours of sleep, but it wasn't happening. After an hour or so I decided to go back to the Starbucks to see if my Couchsurfing request gained any traction.

It had.

Unfortunately, I had missed my contact who had come to the Starbucks to pick me up. Damn.

Luckily, however, he was still checking his emails and a couple minutes later I got back in contact with him. He told me he was but a few blocks from my location and I walked North to meet him. Finally, as I approached the block, a man on his bike greeted me. It was my host for the night, Remy Younes. He brought me to his place, set me up on the couch and even made me dinner.

Remy came to America from the area of Biarritz, France. He had previously lived in Iowa and moved here, working as a computer tech. He had a great sense of humor and was beyond friendly and helpful.

I was, and still am, beyond grateful. Sleeping on the street definitely sucks. Hopefully if I have to do it again, I'll have the ability to pitch my tent.

So what's next then?

Well, I still need to keep getting North, and according to Remy, hitching in SB is tough. I attributed my lack of success last night to my trying to hitch at night, which doesn't seem to work out too well. But I can't ignore the mindsets of the places I go either. For now, the plan is to try to hitch again and see if I can get out of here. So we'll see how this pans out for today.

I'm still working on gathering enough video to make a film. I'm sure my first attempts at this will be rough, but I think I'll be able to improve as I go along.

Wish me luck!