As I was driving to work today, I noticed a man on the side of the road, thumbing for a ride. I know this used to be a bigger thing years ago...and not too many people engage in this sort of thing nowadays. Have you ever hitchhiked? Have you ever picked up a person that was hitchhiking? Any interesting stories?

My dad used to (back in the late 60's) hitchhike home from college every weekend for like the 1st year of college. It was like a 3 hour drive.

I know personally, I would never feel comfortable picking anyone up to give them a ride. I've seen/heard too many horror stories regarding this sort of thing.

I hitchiked once when I was 17 - with a girlfriend, in broad daylight. We were lucky  ::)

Here is a shocking story that happended here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Milat

I hitchiked once when I was 17 - with a girlfriend, in broad daylight. We were lucky  ::)

Here is a shocking story that happended here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Milat
















ohh...creepy! :o

Sorry - I can't resist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FioNrMTrVXk

You still see hitchhikers around colleges but not so often in the sticks anymore.  People are too fearful to just hit the open road like my sister and her boyfriend did in 1981. 

On the other hand, I don't feel comfortable picking up hitchhikers.  What type of person hitchhikes nowadays?  I've been advised to pick up female hitchhikers to save them from the SICK-Os, but the women crazy enough to hitchhike might be really twisted!
:-\\

There is a general consensus about which I am skeptical: There are too many sick people out there today. 

There were plenty of perverts preying on teens in the old days.  There were plenty of violent sociopaths on the highways.  It's just harder to do things unnoticed these days, so we notice it more. 

Most of the Interstates prohibit hitching, but a hitcher on the Interstate is either desperate or stupid or both.  Probably not somebody you'd like to share your personal space with.  You can still thumb it on the old U.S. routes and state routes, but do you really want to be out there?

I guess people who came of age in the '60s and '70s were a lot more trusting and communitarian than those of who came of age in '80s!
8)

Then there is this classic, one of my all-time favorite Twilight Zone episodes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t8QrB5PINM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1a6b-2CYLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-7qTppwMUc

First time I hitchhiked, I was with a friend (who had a famous father-if anyone is interested, they can PM me). We were about 13 at the time or so. We didn't get a ride (which I was grateful for because I wasn't every keen on the idea but it was REALLY cold out).

The second time was basically a joke. There were 9 of us walking and we decided to stick our thumbs out and had a laugh at the looks on people's faces when they see all these people. "Sure, I have room for 9 extra people in my car." What was a shocker was someone stopped.  :o :o :o It was a friend of someone in our group-and there were already 2 people in the car (and it wasn't a big car to begin with-I think only 2-door but it did have a back seat). It seemed like we were trying to break a world record as to how many people we could get into this car-the 9 of us plus the 2 already in the car. We did it-how? I have no idea and no one ended up in the trunk or on the roof either.  :D ;D ;D ;D

There have been a few times when I was offered rides even though I wasn't hitchhiking. Sometimes I took the ride (this was when I was in uniform and if the person offering me a ride was also in uniform). The thing was, I met someone who became a dear friend that way.


As or picking people up-I remember my mother did once when us kids were in the car. There were 2 people in uniform and it was raining. Any other time would be if I knew the person.



Cat

I never hitchhike.  If I'm walking, I'll keep walking.  The only time I ever got rides was when someone I know would drive by.

During the 60s hitchhiking wasn't a big deal.  Lots of people did it, then the stories of sick people killing hikers, and the police enforcment of hitchhiking laws put an end to all of it.  I did quite a bit of it, but would never suggest it to anyone now. 

(To toot my own horn, I hitchhiked alone from Bath, England to Paris, France in 1974. It was quite a trip, good and bad. Wouldn't suggest it though.)

During the 60s hitchhiking wasn't a big deal.  Lots of people did it, then the stories of sick people killing hikers, and the police enforcment of hitchhiking laws put an end to all of it.  I did quite a bit of it, but would never suggest it to anyone now. 

(To toot my own horn, I hitchhiked alone from Bath, England to Paris, France in 1974. It was quite a trip, good and bad. Wouldn't suggest it though.)
what an adventure. that's cool.  In the early 70's hitchiking was no problem. If we didn't have a car we'd stick our thumb out and get a ride. We hitchiked to and from Yosemite National Park 2 seperate occasions. I had my backpack with sleeping bag and we hitched to the park and camped for a week, did some hiking. When standing on the side of the road hoping someone would pull over and give us a ride, we never felt fearful of psychos but things have changed a lot since then, and there are a lot more sickos out there  :D 

During the 60s hitchhiking wasn't a big deal.  Lots of people did it, then the stories of sick people killing hikers, and the police enforcment of hitchhiking laws put an end to all of it.  I did quite a bit of it, but would never suggest it to anyone now. 

(To toot my own horn, I hitchhiked alone from Bath, England to Paris, France in 1974. It was quite a trip, good and bad. Wouldn't suggest it though.)

Any trouble getting a lift across the Channel?
???

True story from the hippie days.  This goes back to 1969.  My parents and their pals had a Day-Glo facepainting party.  Then their friends' VW bus broke down on the Mass Pike.  Groggy from weed and with their faces still painted in psychedelic Day-Glo hues, they had to try to thumb a ride on the Pike in the middle of the night!  Who other than than the state fuzz was gonna pick up six painted freaks on I-90?  Fortunately for them, a hippie college student in a van offered them all a lift within 15 minutes!
8)

I did some traveling around Greece and hitchhiked everywhere without any problems. I don't think i would do it alone though,that time i was with my ex and i've also hitchhiked with a girlfriend of mine when we went to Mallorca everyday we would get a ride to the beach and back to the hotel. I've met some cool people that way. There was this one weirdo who wanted us to go on a trip on his boat but we got out of it pretty easily.

Any trouble getting a lift across the Channel?
???




This old truck driver picked me up.  He was overweight, teeth were pretty bad, but he was a nice guy and I he let me on as his "helper" for the channel crossing from Calais.  He talked about his family and stuff, and I told him about mine.  When we got to the other side he was getting another truck and returning and I was going on, but he asked me a favor.  Could I hold his hand and give him a "peck on the cheek" over where his mates could see?  Well, I know what he was going to say, but who cares.  I did it and he just looked so happy.  His mates would think he picked up this young thing(black, no less), and had a bit of a party with her.  I thought it pretty funny, myself. 

Once a couple of years ago, my dad had driven my best friend and me to Subway to get lunch and we picked up a hiker and drover her to the edge of town. She was gong to her grandma's house.

I've never hitchhiked, but my dad says he did back in the 30's and 40s when he was younger. But it was the 30s and 40s, people were nicer.  :(

I have once or twice back in the day but I wouldn't dream of it now.


I never forget driving along and seeing a bride and groom thumbing a lift, we didn't stop but i did wonder if it was a joke or for real..........

Along those lines is quite a funny book called 'Around Ireland with a fridge'  by Tony Hawks. Basically the author drove past a guy hitching with a fridge by his side and was telling the story at a party where he got dared to do it himself........so he did!

This old truck driver picked me up.  He was overweight, teeth were pretty bad, but he was a nice guy and I he let me on as his "helper" for the channel crossing from Calais.  He talked about his family and stuff, and I told him about mine.  When we got to the other side he was getting another truck and returning and I was going on, but he asked me a favor.  Could I hold his hand and give him a "peck on the cheek" over where his mates could see?  Well, I know what he was going to say, but who cares.  I did it and he just looked so happy.  His mates would think he picked up this young thing(black, no less), and had a bit of a party with her.  I thought it pretty funny, myself. 
well that sure was sweet and daring of you, & you made him look like a stud in front of his pals  http://bestsmileys.com/kissing1/22.gif

so I remembered hitchiking with a friend when we were about 18 years old. My friend's dad gave us a ride to Antioch, California. He then dropped us off at "a friend's house" and himself went to the horse track. We said we'd get a ride home. We then bought 1/2 a kilo of weed from "the friend" and hitchhiked home with that, saw a couple of Highway patrol drive by and we tried to look all innocent with our backpacks hitchiking. we made it home and shared our treasure with the townfolk; well, we didn't actually share. we did make a profit  ;)

well that sure was sweet and daring of you, & you made him look like a stud in front of his pals  http://bestsmileys.com/kissing1/22.gif

so I remembered hitchiking with a friend when we were about 18 years old. My friend's dad gave us a ride to Antioch, California. He then dropped us off at "a friend's house" and himself went to the horse track. We said we'd get a ride home. We then bought 1/2 a kilo of weed from "the friend" and hitchhiked home with that, saw a couple of Highway patrol drive by and we tried to look all innocent with our backpacks hitchiking. we made it home and shared our treasure with the townfolk; well, we didn't actually share. we did make a profit  ;)


I wouldn't go noplace with a 1/2 kilo of weed!  Hi, I'm a walking prison sentence!  A friend of mine drove an old Volvo stationwagon full of kilos from Michigan to Boston! That took nerves of steel!  You gotta be fogging nots!  He didn't get caught, though!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/08/sagrin.gif

I wouldn't go noplace with a 1/2 kilo of weed!  Hi, I'm a walking prison sentence!  A friend of mine drove an old Volvo stationwagon full of kilos from Michigan to Boston! That took nerves of steel!  You gotta be fogging nots!  He didn't get caught, though!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/08/sagrin.gif

When did he do that? that's a lot of smoke. Your pal had nerves of steel for sure  :o  as for me, a 1/2 kilo is what? 1.1 pounds. Not that much, but it was a lot to me  ;D  and I smoked most of it. I am so lucky, fortunate, blessed, whatever we wanna call it that I didn't get caught and have to go to jail, and not collect $200. but I was willing to take the chance so i could have me a big bag of dope  8)  that was probably back in 74-75

so what would have happened to the driver that gave us a ride hitchiking if we'd been pulled over and the cops found all that weed. I'd say it ain't mine  ::)

Cash, gas, grass, or ass: Nobody rides for free.



Cat

When did he do that? that's a lot of smoke. Your pal had nerves of steel for sure  :o  as for me, a 1/2 kilo is what? 1.1 pounds. Not that much, but it was a lot to me  ;D  and I smoked most of it. I am so lucky, fortunate, blessed, whatever we wanna call it that I didn't get caught and have to go to jail, and not collect $200. but I was willing to take the chance so i could have me a big bag of dope  8)  that was probably back in 74-75
I mean, Volvo station wagon wasn't literally full of weed, but if this guy got pulled over and the cop asked, "Whatcha got under the tarp, there son?," he'd probably be out of luck right there.  It was a rather Cheech & Chong-level sufficiency!  As I recall it, it was his own hybrid hydro from his own growroom -- this stuff could make you see stuff that just wasn't there, man--and he lived off the proceeds for 18 months or something.  It was back in '88.  Yeah, he had to drag his azz at 55 mph from north of Detroit to north of Boston and yet he made it in a day-and-a-half.  Just keep the No-Doz handy and no sampling the product!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/01/azcrying.gif


so what would have happened to the driver that gave us a ride hitchiking if we'd been pulled over and the cops found all that weed. I'd say it ain't mine  ::)

Yeah, I don't know where it came from, ossiffer, you know kids these days like to hide their stash in the socks of complete strangers!
:D

I mean, Volvo station wagon wasn't literally full of weed, but if this guy got pulled over and the cop asked, "Whatcha got under the tarp, there son?," he'd probably be out of luck right there.  It was a rather Cheech & Chong-level sufficiency!  As I recall it, it was his own hybrid hydro from his own growroom -- this stuff could make you see stuff that just wasn't there, man--and he lived off the proceeds for 18 months or something.  It was back in '88.  Yeah, he had to drag his azz at 55 mph from north of Detroit to north of Boston and yet he made it in a day-and-a-half.  Just keep the No-Doz handy and no sampling the product!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/01/azcrying.gif
Yeah, I don't know where it came from, ossiffer, you know kids these days like to hide their stash in the socks of complete strangers!
:D
we tried to get speeded up on no-doz when we were like... 13 years old      I thought your "aquaintance" was smuggling a carload of bricks  ;D  but it sounds like he had more than enough enough and that he knew what he was doing agriculturally.

we tried to get speeded up on no-doz when we were like... 13 years old      I thought your "aquaintance" was smuggling a carload of bricks  ;D  but it sounds like he had more than enough enough and that he knew what he was doing agriculturally.



Best sh*t ever! But uh....oh never mind!
:-X