Hitchhiking

I'm starting to learn to hitchhike. I need to do this because if I spend money on the bus or a shuttle I'll have nothing left in a year or so. Not a recipe for sustainability. But I need to travel to Halifax at least once a month to meet a very special lady. So yesterday I found myself at the side of the road under the hot sun trying to make my way to New Glasgow.

Happily I'm easing into hitching. My first attempt I traveled with a very seasoned hitchhiker who taught me to walk to the end of onramp merging lanes before setting up shop. Thank you Amber! That time we only had to get from Truro to Halifax and did so in pretty quick fashion; we even were offered a ride in a Hummer. Never thought I'd find myself driving along in one of those. I mostly thought of throwing bricks through their windows. But the driver was so nice it was hard to hate him for destroying the planet. But then again we all are playing our part in cooking the earth, aren't we?

So I want to tell you about my trip. First off, as I was informed by one ride, hitchhiking in Ontario is pretty impossible. People aren't friendly, especially in southern Ontario. I'm sure that in northern Ontario it would be fine. I wonder what it is that makes people stop. I was thinking that perhaps they remember a time when they didn't have much money so they want to help out those who don't as well. Maybe it's just a small town, rural thing to offer rides. I'm reminded of the great documentary, the Power of Community about how Cuba survived Peak Oil. The government mandated that anyone with a vehicle had to stop and offer rides to anyone who asked. If you didn't you would be punished. It's nice that in Nova Scotia you don't have have the government force everyone to act kindly.

So my first two hours were pretty crappy. I was so close to home and no one would stop to pick me up. It might have had something to do with the RCMP vehicle that was parked maybe a hundred feet away (investigating a break-in to some vehicles). So I spent two hours before getting a ride with a nice fellow about 7 km down the road. Not a great start. This was when sadness started to set-in. Hitchhiking is about highs and lows. When you're getting rides it's great, when you're not or getting pathetic little steps you feel like shit (and that probably impacts your ability to get rides).

But then a nice man who worked for the roads department stopped. I'm sure that government policy is not to stop but I'm so happy he did. He drove me all the way to the Canso Causeway. When I got there I walked across to mainland Nova Scotia. Pretty cool experience I think. Not many people have done that--partly because there is definitely no sidewalk.

Then I stopped at the gas station and little restaurant and the nice lady filled up my waterbottle and even gave me some ice. So nice. Then a nice older gentleman picked me up not long after I set up shop. Turns out he was from Judique and knew a bunch of people I knew. Small world.

I was feeling good when he dropped me off near Tracadie. I was dancing and having fun trying to convince people to stop. It was nice to see them smile even if they were not stopping. That's when you know you're enjoying hitchhiking. My next ride was a young guy who drove me to Antigonish in relative silence, apart from the blaring satellite radio.

The last ride was the sweetest. I had literally just gotten out of his vehicle when another man stopped to drive me the rest of the way. We had some lovely chats about dog shows and politics (don't worry I didn't mention the problem of civilization). He drove me all the way to Jane's cottage and now I'm off to the beach. Sweet. Another warm day. We'll see how warm the ocean is.

So what's the lesson in all this? I don't quite know. Hitchhiking is actually quite fun and it's nice to know that we're all not totally divorced from one another. We can still support one another when we're all going the same way anyway. Now I just have to hitch all the way to Halifax one day. And winter is coming. Hmm. Maybe the bus will be my winter ride of choice. Or maybe I'll get my driver's licence.