Roughing it
08/31/2009 - 09/01/2009
Vanessa:
Notes from Meeting people in New Places:
1.) One of the cops that found us camping at Medieval Times made fun of our backpack. "I told you no man would ever buy that." I tried to explain to him the my mom bought it on clearance, but he seemed to have already come to that conclusion...
2.) The video at the war memorial of Joe squirting blood was seriously coincidental and not preplanned, and now that I realize the connection, highly inappropriate. He would have done the same thing at any fountain.
Joe:
Moving on, we rode down a backroad with huge mansion estates. Very pretty. We decided that parking is the key to camping for free. We've got to park somewhere that a bike could stay all night and then walk to a park or forest. We found a 24 hour Jewel Osco grocery and walked about 3/4 mile with camp gear, backpack, and laptop to a wetland between developments that we had picked out. We couldn't look suspicious so we used tactics like carrying some snack food and smiling at people. We trekked through super high grass when the street was clear around 9 after sunset. We found a clearing in the woods and camped uncomfortably. We also thought people found us a couple times, but it was just people and cars passing on the street. When we wake up we don't care if we get caught, so we're louder. I found a walking stick that I chopped and carved. The rough free camping was a success, but next time we'll leave the back pack and bring the inflatable mattress suitcase. 
Joe, that is an okay one-time thing, but if you keep doing it, eventually your luck will run out and you'll be eaten by a bear.
And squirting blood? I thought Joe's silhouette was bathing in the public fountain. Which is funny and appropriate to your situation. Not the sick and twisted that you were apparently going for.
by ndwitkin