Hitchhiking

  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    So, I was wondering what you guys thought about hitchhiking places, or if you've ever done it or would consider it. I know a bunch of people who have hitched all over the U.S. and spent years on the roads. I think that while I'd rather travel in a van with my husband and dogs, I would consider hitching to some place or some places at least once in my life. (With at least my husband!! Do not go alone, especially if you are a lady, that is not safe!)

    So, yeah. Have you guys done it? Would you do it? What do you think of it?
    February 8th, 2014 at 05:41pm
  • archivist

    archivist (660)

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    @ This.Useless.Heart.
    I hitchhiked the Galaxy once. Pretty nice; visited Alpha Centauri and Betelgeuse and plenty of other places, met some neat froods.
    February 9th, 2014 at 07:50am
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ hjalte.
    Well, I expected at least one Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference in this thread. XD But I was kinda hoping for real discussion, too.
    February 9th, 2014 at 11:15pm
  • oh bear

    oh bear (100)

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    I've never done it and I don't know that I'd ever be like, y'know, brave enough to do it?

    I think it'd be really cool to do, though and I reckon I'd like to do it at least once XD If I knew how to drive I might pick up a hitchhiker? Is that the right term for it? idk though when I was in Byron Bay w/ the fam we saw this really young looking guy (probably my age right now, if not a lil older) with his thumb stuck out. I don't know where I was going with that. lmfao

    Definitely agree on travelling in a van. I hope to one day own a VW Samba. tehe
    February 10th, 2014 at 04:12pm
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ scoevve
    Yeah, I meant to mention in the first post the question of picking up hitchhikers as well. My husband and I have picked up someone before because we were together (without the dogs) and it was clear that the guy was headed exactly where we were heading. I would only pick up someone if I was not alone, just like I'd only hitch with a companion.

    That would be sweet. Our dream car would be a VW bus, but honestly if we could get any kind of suitable van it'd be sweet.
    March 3rd, 2014 at 07:36am
  • nikkie rose.

    nikkie rose. (100)

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    I went hitchhiking with a friend of mine after getting stranded at a concert once. She and I probably looked like the most unlikely pair of hitchhikers ever. We'd both just turned eighteen and my hair was like vibrant purple at the time and Cassie had recently shaved all of her own hair off and we were both dressed from head to toe in black, so we looked pretty unusual even from a distance. I was surprised anyone offered us a ride; well, anyone who wasn't a serial killer. >< But some college boys from UK picked us up and got us as far as Louisville where some friends picked us up. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. Tad awkward, I guess, but I'd definitely do it again without hesitation.

    To be honest, I've always wanted to hitchhike cross country to California.
    March 7th, 2014 at 06:29am
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ nikkie rose.
    Well, that sounds cool. XD Hitchhiking across the country would be freakin' sweet, definitely one hell of an adventure! I know some people who, I think, have done it. I'm undecided if I would want to try it, but I think I'd like to hitchhike as a form of travel to at least one state.
    March 8th, 2014 at 04:18pm
  • the god of thunder.

    the god of thunder. (300)

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    I went hitchhiking for the first time ever last weekend. OMGYES In the states, you'd get axe-murdered, but I'm in Iceland and the crime rate is so low that it's pretty safe to do it here. I was with four people; we split up into 2's and traveled to a town five hours away, through isolated mountains and fjords on the only road here. It was so great. The longest we had to wait at a time was 15 minutes, but every other time, we got something in 2-5 minutes. It was an incredible way to meet people. We had five different drivers altogether; one lived on a farm, two were fishermen, one was from Norway, and the final was an old couple going to a summer home.

    It's actually so COOL for your perspective. It's like opening Christmas presents, almost. You never know which car is going to stop and who is going to be inside. A car could offer you a 10 mile ride, but if you get into it, you might miss out on the 100 mile ride possibly behind it. But if you say no, you might not find anybody to take you after. A couple of minutes can make you miss out on something you'll never know about. It makes you really think about things.
    March 31st, 2014 at 06:39pm
  • cannibal.

    cannibal. (145)

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    Hitchhiking has been illegal in New York for a couple years now so the two times I tried no one offered rides. My fiance at the time and I wound up walking the 10 to 15 miles to the next town so we could meet a potential landlord. The second time it was us (fiance and myself) as well as my cousin walking to the same town on Halloween. Honestly, it was incredible to do even if it was just to the next town over. I prefer walking everywhere now because of that experience. If I had the courage and it was warm I would definitely try hitchhiking across the country.
    March 31st, 2014 at 07:14pm
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ The God of Thunder.
    That is so cool! I'm glad you guys had good experiences with it! I had not given much thought to the idea of hitchhiking abroad, but that sounds way awesome. Hitchhiking definitely seems like a neat way to meet people; that's for sure. Smile

    @ Brita;
    Walking places is pretty cool, too. I don't have much experience doing it in the States, but we walked a lot of places when I was staying in Mexico. Yeah, I think hitchhiking is technically illegal in the state I live in, too, and probably in most states actually, but I still know people who do it and people who pick up others. Maybe Kentuckians just aren't so reluctant to break the law? XD
    April 14th, 2014 at 09:18pm
  • Kasi FM

    Kasi FM (105)

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    I've always wanted to hitchhike to California. But seeing as I have a baby and no one to go with me it wouldn't be possible lol. Still might do it one day but I don't know.
    April 17th, 2014 at 06:02pm
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

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    Hitchhiking would be something I would do if I was absolutely desperate.

    I've seen enough horror movies, watched enough news and done enough research on serial killers to know that that's how bitches die.
    May 28th, 2014 at 09:09am
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ valley girl.
    That sounds like an awesome goal. I hope you get to do that someday!

    @ CallusedSilk
    I don't know about that. I mean, it's definitely a good idea to exercise caution, but I've known quite a few people who have done it without problems. Not to mention, there's a lot of urban legend surrounding hitchhiking so it can be a bit hard to separate fact from fiction when determining its risks and benefits and such. Still, I get where you are coming from, and I would never do it alone unless I had to.
    May 29th, 2014 at 08:04pm
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

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    @ This.Useless.Heart.
    I'm not talking about urban legends. I'm talking about more than a half dozen serial killers that purposely targeted hitchhikers.
    May 29th, 2014 at 08:08pm
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ CallusedSilk
    Like I said, I know what you're saying; I know that stuff happens. I'm just saying that it doesn't happen as often as the average person makes it out to. I know plenty of folk who have hitched and are still here. I do, however, acknowledge that hitchhiking can be dangerous and that kinda bad stuff can happen. Like I said, I would never do it alone unless I had to.
    May 29th, 2014 at 10:05pm
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

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    @ This.Useless.Heart.
    And my point is that just knowing people that have done it and not died isn't exactly a good support for the activity either. I mean, it is one of the most high risk activities for very clear reasons. We're talking about a form of transportation that has no set destination time, or even expected destination time, and no real way to track where that person is going.

    Even beyond just serial killers, if anything, even so much as an accident, were to happen on that route? How would anyone know where you were?

    Checking in periodically could help, but then if someone needed to call the cops could possibly have a vague starting point to search from, and that's about it. Also, various states have different laws on whether you can hitchhike at all, so you could end up just getting arrested for hitchhiking in some areas.
    May 29th, 2014 at 10:33pm
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    @ CallusedSilk
    I never tried to claim it was the safest way to travel by any means. Also, the people who hitchhike are generally also aware of the dangers. I just think the dangers get played up too much. Literally every time I try to talk about hitchhiking with anybody besides those I know who have either done it or know people who have, serial killers get brought up. Frankly, I get tired of talking about serial killers when my intention was to discuss hitchhiking.
    You've made your point well, and I respect your position, but to be perfectly honest I was hoping for this thread to be more casual discussion and less intense debate (or maybe that's just my current mood speaking, either way, I'm kinda not feeling the debate. Sorry.)
    May 29th, 2014 at 11:51pm
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

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    @ This.Useless.Heart.
    Fair enough. Personally I'm not sure how you can have a discussion of a sometimes illegal activity like hitchhiking without addressing the dangers. Although, probably not winning myself any points here, but to me that wasn't an intense debate.

    Also in my defense, I also talk about dangers when it comes to all forms of transportation, whether it be driving, or taking the train, or riding the greyhound (I'd pretty much hitchhike before I ever rode on the greyhound), and various other forms of transportation.

    Basically, the moral of this newest reply is that the greyhound sucks, and that's super off topic. But yeah, hitchhiking > greyhound.
    May 30th, 2014 at 05:32am