020508

                                                                                             Houston, TX to Vinton, LA

Tuesday February 5, 2008

     6:53am  I woke up around six in Diana's apartment. I got seven hours of sleep last night. 6.53 I'm just waking up. I didn't walk that much yesterday.

     7:22am  I am up and at 'em. I packed up and left my sister's. She's still sleeping.

                   My sister is hella-brainwashed.

     8:27am  I just walked up to Holcomb Boulevard. I'm going to turn left, I think to go towards town.

     8:33am  I got a courtesy ride to the transit center from the nice #2 driver. I'm going to catch the train. Sweet, the driver even gave me a daypass. I appreciate it.

     8:43am  Train.

     8:45am  I just instinctly got off in front of the Methodist Hospital. I'm going to smoke a cigarette.

                   Oh yeah, my sister gave me twenty bucks. That might be busfare.

     9:51am  I came to the 137 bus stop on Travis Street.

     9:57am  I'm on the bus. I'm getting off at Uvalde.

     10:25am  I just got off the 137 at Uvalde Road.

     10:41am  Just walked up to a Walmart. Surprise, surprise. I'm going to buy some food.
                    
     11:09am  I've got ten dollars left. I just bought me a big pack of Poptarts. Eighteen pouches. 'Smores flavor. They were only $2.79. I also bought me some peanut butter and a loaf of bread. I bought some Vienna sausages and a burger and chicken sandwich at McDonald's. I ate the burger and I'm going to save the chicken sandwich for my next meal-break. I'm walking now.

                     It was cool taking the express bus out here. It hopped on the highway and was hauling ass. We came far and it's still thick Babylon out here.

     11:35am  Taking off from the Mobile. The next gas station is two miles East. I'm all loaded up. All this food I bought is heavy. I never told you I am doing my balancing act again. At first I took that blue backpack I found at the Perry house and attached it to my big frame pack. It was way too heavy with all this food. I remembered how I used to balance my packs. It's a great workout. Weight training. I ate my chicken sandwich at the Mobile gas station and I'm up walking. Two miles I think.

                     I'm coming up on some railroad tracks. I'm going to walk the highway shoulder. I just might. Some guy warned me about the cops. I’ve got weed on me. Screw it, I have protection. I’ve been smoking weed on this entire trip. Every time I smoke a cigarette I take a hit of weed. I still have a lot left.

     12:10am  I’m, talking to this homeless brother Mike. I walked past him and offered to smoke him out and we came under this bridge nearby to toke. I’m telling him my story and Mike has a rap. Mike, “My name is Michael and I’m here to say I know a good way to kill your teacher today. First you get a banana and then you throw it on the floor. Then you watch your teacher go sliding out the door. Singin’ the honkey rap, honkey rap. My name is Michael and I can honkey rap. I said if water was beer and I was a duck, I’d swim to the bottom and never come up. The water is not beer and I’m not a duck. Let’s all get drunk and listen to honkey rap. My name is Michael and I can honkey rap. I said the sun went down and the night began. I couldn’t find no pussy so I used my hand. Singing honkey rap.”

     12:23pm  I am up from my pit-stop with Mike. I’m walking a little East with Mike. There’s a truckstop eventually. They told me there would be gas stations all the way to Beaumont. I might walk all the way to Beaumont.

                     Passing Dell Dale Avenue. There’s a Mobile gas station.

     1:30pm  Leaving the gas station.

     2:00pm  I got to the Chevron. There’s a Wendy’s right next to it. Sheldon Road. That’s where I am.

     2:09pm  Taking off walking. These boots are made for walking. I weighed myself not too long ago. I weigh 160 pounds now. I hadn’t been walking that much in San Antonio. Time to trim down again. I am hauling a shitload of weight now. I’m a lot stronger than I used to be. I’ve been flying too.

                   Random shot
 
     2:29pm  Hell yeah, I was just walking on the side of the highway and I see some kid standing up on the walkway that goes across the highway. I get closer to him and yell up, “Hey, bro. Do you want to smoke some weed??” He said sure and came down and I gave him some drags off my special cigarette. He said he was waiting for his friends on the school bus and he said they all smoked weed. Some high school kids. I’m going to tell them my story and smoke some weed.

                    I thought I was going to tell them my story but when those kids got off the bus they wouldn’t listen to me. I just gave them my website. I’m going to keep walking the highway. More weed for me.

     2:53pm  About to pass sign that says there’s a truckstop coming up. Like a half mile away.

     2:57pm  Coming up on the Magnolia Avenue exit.

     3:03pm  Passing billboard saying Flying J truckstop Exit 79, five miles.

     3:12pm  I just walked to the Key Truck Stop. I sat down to rest.

     3:37pm  I came inside the Key Truck Stop. I went to the restroom and tagged havethisbook.com all over it. I took a picture of it. It was surprising that someone else had tagged VIC too.

     4:05pm  Exit 77. San Jacinto Monument and Battleship Texas. I’m going to stop there.

     4:12pm  Stopped for a break. My shoulders are tired. I need to rest my shoulders.

     4:27pm  Up walking.

     4:35pm  Exit 77.

     4:43pm  Mile Marker 78.

     4:52pm  I have a visual on the truck stop. It’s calling me. Like a mile away.

     5:09pm  Coming up on Exit 79, finally.

                    Flying J, TA and across the street is a Pilot.

     5:15pm  I’m about to go in the TA.

     5:38pm  Not too long ago some guy recognized me. He said he had seen me walking earlier. I asked him for a ride East, but he’s not going that way. He might give me a ride to the next gas station if I tell him my story, hehe. I’m pretty rested up. I aired out my feet and dried them out.

                   Somebody told me that today was Fat Tuesday.

     6:10pm  It was kind of lame at the TA. I’m going to try the Flying J. I think it’s the next one. The manager there came out and told me shit. She was all, “Are you a driver?” Umm, do I look like a driver?

                   I ran into another hitchhiker named Nate. I got warned. I just got rescued. I would’ve gone to jail tonight if I would’ve started walking the highway. After the manager told me shit at the TA I started walking towards the highway. All of a sudden this dude yells out to me, “Don’t walk the highway!” Like more than one other person has told me that cops will throw you in jail for any little thing in these parts. Anyway, I went back and made a friend. This guy Nate. I offered to smoke him out. Nate’s got a joke. Nate: “These two old ladies. Miriam and Ethel. They’re sitting out in the back of the nursing home having a cigarette and it starts to rain. Ethel pulls out a condom and slips it over her cigarette. Old lady number two Miriam says to Ethel, “What’s up?” Ethel tells her, “If you put a condom over your cigarette and it starts to rain, your cigarette won’t get wet. Ethel asked her where she bought it. “Oh, any drugstore,” Ethel said. The next day Miriam and Ethel walk down the drugstore and says to this twenty year male clerk, “I’d like a box of condoms, please.” The male clerk leans over in a professional attitude and says, “What kind would you like?” Ninety year old Ethel replies, “Don’t matter, so long as it will fit a Camel.”

     7:24pm  I came to the Flying J. I had a good little pow-wow with this dude. I told him my story. I even sung the lizard song and recited the Note From the Rich.

                   Truckers I told my story to.

                   Hell yeah! I just ran into some hippies in a van! I’m going to New Orleans! I got rewarded for that awesome presentation I had just had. It’s cool how I got rescued. I got all these warnings about the cops.

                   We stopped at some Shell station. I don’t know where I am. Maybe I’m in Louisiana already. We took the first exit of Louisiana. Ahh, I really couldn’t get my story out to the kids in the van. I didn’t even try because everyone was talking at once. I smoked them out with my little cigarette, but they wanted me to load a bowl. Anyway, it was already getting late. They’re going all the way to Baton Rouge, really far. I started thinking how I need to be taking my time. I have a lot of ground to cover. They just stopped right now to buy beer so I took that as my sign to detach. I don’t want to be in a van hauling ass going seventy on the highway with these kids drinking beer. I just got all my bags and told them I was going to try and find a place to sleep and crash out. I’ll wake up early in the morning and start walking again. I can’t believe I got all the way through Texas with weed the whole time and didn't get arrested. Fuck the system.

     7:34pm  I am in Vinton, Louisiana.

     7:59pm  I already secured my campspot. Underneath the bridge. It started raining hardcore while I was walking away from the gas station. Luckily the bridge was closeby. I’ll take pictures in the morning. It’s pretty loud. It’s pretty private though. I hope I can get some sleep with the noise. The cars are loud. I’m going to smoke some weed and go to bed. I’m going to eat something too.  You can see where I peed in this picture, hehe.

Next day..