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Gulfport to Miami, FL

Friday April 4, 2008

     9:24am  It's about time I made an entry this morning. I got 7.26 hours of sleep. Me and Mike, not Mike that lives here, but his friend Mike, he's giving me a ride to Miami today. I haven't eaten breakfast yet.

                   Oh yeah, Billy Beck gave me another Carlos Castaneda book this morning. The Eagle's Gift. It's like the fifth one in the Don Juan series. I'm reading them all out of order. The Teachings of Don Juan is the first one. A Separate Reality was the second one. Journey to Ixtlan was the third one. Then another one I don't remember the name and The Eagle's Gift is the fifth one. I want to read them all.

     10:17am  Echo has something to say. Echo: "Okay, Riverside Hotel. Michael Broderick, 954-261-4642. Say you're a friend of Echo's and see if he has a safe place for you to sleep. At least he'll feed you. Tell him Echo said to feed you. Michael Broderick owes me one."

                     Ready to go

     11:50am  Mike and Mike invited me over to the Gulfport Family Restaurant for breakfast. Thanks, guys. These people didn't like me last time I was here.

     1:07pm  At long last we are off.

     1:12pm  We came to the Exxon right here on 22nd Avenue and 49th Street. Mike is gassing up for our trip to Miami. Bye-bye, Gulfport. What a great ride Florida has been this whole time.

     2:03pm  We just stopped at some rest area off of 75. Way off of 75. It's a really inconvenient rest area. We're not far from Naples.

                    Umm, I kind of regret passing up so much ground and not visiting the towns in between here and Miami. Screw it, I'm going to Miami today. I can go to those other places some other time.

     4:59pm  We are coming into Miami. Shot taken out of car.

     5:03pm  I just got dropped off in Downtown Miami at this bus terminal. Mike hooked me up with a twenty dollar bill, hell yeah.

     5:12pm  I am walking down Highway 1/Biscayne Boulevard. I'm walking towards the tall buildings. I didn't try for a courtesy ride at the bus stop. Screw it, I'm going to walk. I've been sitting in the car all day long. Like four or five hours. I need to walk.

     5:18pm  I stopped at Biscayne Boulevard and 10th Street and I took a picture of downtown. I see a BP gas station across the street. I'm going to go buy me some cigarettes. Another picture.

                   No Buglers at the BP. I'm going to keep going.

                   Torch of Friendship

     5:33pm  I bought a small hotdog for two dollars at a hotdog stand. I'm going to keep walking now.

     5:54pm  I came to the bus stop in front of El Pollo Tropical. I'm going to ride the bus to the beach.

     6:09pm  What was your name? Tony hooked me up with a cigarette in Downtown Miami. I appreciate it, brother.

     6:20pm  Shit, I left my Carlos Castaneda book in Mike's car. That sucks.

     6:29pm  The C bus came and the driver let me on twenty cents short. She said, "Don't worry about it." I didn't even have to ask.

     6:56pm  I got off the bus at 5th Street and Washington. I saw a CVS pharmacy and they sell Buglers there. I'm going to go buy some cigarettes.

     7:39pm  Dude, I just rode the bus to Miami Beach and got off at the CVS to buy cigarettes. I went outside and smoked one and then kept walking. All of a sudden I hear this girl cry out, "Victor!" I actually ran into somebody I knew in South Miami Beach! What a small world. It was Jenn, this thirty seven year old girl I met the first night I landed at the Blueberry Patch. She's here with some dude named Will. They have a hotel room and we're going to go chill out there. How awesome.

                   I called Mike Stanley up and asked him to give me the other Mike's number.

     8:14pm  Hell yeah, I am already having fun. I was just riding the bus and I randomly got off. Well, I saw the CVS and knew they sold Buglers there. After that I ran into somebody I knew! At first I didn't recognize Jenn because I had met so many people at The Blueberry Patch. They invited me over to their hotel room. Oh yeah, Jenn had already made friends with this homeless dude with a rat. I'll get a picture of it. I'm in the hotel room now and I'm waiting for them to come back so I can tell my story. Welcome to Miami, Victor.

     8:20pm  I just researched Mike's phone number and I have to call him about my book. Right in the middle of my researching Jenn's friend Will up and hooks me up with ten bucks! I appreciate it, brother. I'm going to go buy some food at the Burger King now.

                   Vanessa in front of Hops hooked me up with some free food. I appreciate it, Vanessa. Some salad.

     8:52pm  I'm just walking around trying to find this guy. See, coming out of the hotel Jenn saw me and told me she had found somebody to get weed for me. She told me to walk 17th to Washington and walk down four blocks and they guy would recognize me. She had told him about me and my stick. I walked all the way to 11th and he never saw me. It's awesome, I got to leave my bags at the hotel and walk around free with my shirt well-exposed. It's so cool how I am actually walking around Miami Beach with my shirt on getting so many good reactions and passing out my website. I gave out all my flyers. I have to go back to the hotel and cut some more.

                   Oh yeah, I couldn't find the dude with the weed so I said screw it. Anybody who reacted to my shirt I asked them if they knew where I could get any. I got me a nickel sack real quick. I was going to buy a ten at first thinking it would be hard to get a nickel sack. This dude asked me what I wanted and I told him ten. He said he didn't have that much and sold me five dollars worth. Score. I'm going to go back to the hotel and triangulate my position from there and go to Burger King.

     1:32am  Man, what a blessed welcome to Miami I have had. I am just in awe how I get taken care of by the universe. I mean, I rode the bus out to the beach. The driver was cool and she let me on for a dollar thirty. I got off the bus to buy some cigarettes. Before I got off I asked the driver if the beach was far and she told me just a couple blocks. I got my cigarettes and walked down the street some more and I got recognized! I get to crash in a hotel room tonight. It's hot outside. This brother Daniel, who Jenn just met this morning. He's this homeless guy here in Miami. He's crashing at the hotel room tonight and I just told him my story. He just volunteered me a badass marijuana necklace. I'll take a picture of it.

Next day..