So I am acclimatizing to the breakfast culture, today this morning it was Denney`s, I always order the same thing two lightly poached eggs bacon and toast, green tea, nothing else, just know I`m going to love those hash potatoes but not real for that just yet.

My 3rd day here in Gallway just a little North of Atlantic City has been 3 days of what it seem is a wait to start on my way, I have come down this side of the country to clear New York and travel South in hope to meet a not so uptight Americans, with the massive Spanish and Asian communities here hopefully I can make a start.

The Rotary Club Shelter Box Charity will be the ones that gain the monitory additions so with meeting up with a dear friend Ahmad Elzorby for Alexandra Egypt we have picked of a couple of Rotary Club to visit, as we are just turning up unannounced there agendas are already written, so the odd cough and nudge telling the other Rotarians that we are far more interesting peruses.

My last meeting being tonight and almost a 48 hour wait for a 2 hour dinner, I am well ready to move on, South or West just on realy.
Ahmad is has lived here thought out the summer for the past 15 years, and is responsible for the Egyptian Scooter Rallie the Cross Egypt Challenge witch is run in conjunction with the Egyptain Torist Board and Alexardra Rotary Club, I have done the rally twice now, and it been wonderful spending the past few days with him away from Egypt and the workings of the rally as he is quite a inspirational man.

Being around these sort of people give me a massive boost and we both see the way Rotary Club mixes all we are doing and turns it on its head. We have made a great team the past 4 days finishing off with meet the Major of Atlantic City, what a wonderful privilege and he tied his own bow tie now to me thats very cool, and what a great story teller with the history of The Famous Boardwalk that was just outside the room we were in, the stories of prohibition and the Canadians bringing liqueur into Atlantic City in boats as it was cut off by road, how 15 soliders sent it to sort out order in the town were shot, just an amazingly interesting evening ending with Ahmad showing me how to deal with the staff in an Apple Store

We part Thursday morning in the monsoon rain to Philadelphia, the baby has paper work to be sorted out so we part on the cobbled streets of this city

This next gentleman we caught a bus together and I didn’t want our journey to end we spoke for some 30 minutes and what a delight, I feel we both thought the same as we waved good to each other he seems to have shut his eyes as I snapped I can a sure you he had eyes, we both jumped on the wrong bus was we were talking so much we had to get off at the next stop.

Baltamore is where John Waters started his hitch hike from Waters is from Baltimore and he got onto Highway 70 all the way to San Fransico, I still want to head South and until this moment have not had a genuine stranger lift or hitch hike they have all been friends or friends of Rotary Club. John Waters made his trip at the age of 66, I am 10 years younger so should be fine. “>

Marcia in Baltimore

This bad boys going down with homemade horse reddish and chilli sauce

Marcia thank you for almost 2 wonderful days, I have to head WEST now on HIGHWAY 70 I have done my bit for Rotary Club and have taken the most wonderful hospitality but I have to crack on just looked on the map and its a bloody long way, Marcia answered my call and ran with it, not having any idear with a few searches on the internet to find out I was a proper person, her house and friends have been open to me.
I have as I always do fallen in love with a place and that’s Baltimore, I will return raving about it, its a foodies city and a no high rise city with most buildings not exceeding 3 stories.
The bistro opposite the house is wonderful mix of Lebanon food and American with great wines, and the locals have taken me to there heart and I want to move in across the road, next to Marcia.
Just a wonderful lady that’s treated me really specially just wish I could spell the words of the job shes does, but as the President of Baltimore Rotary you can imagine the kindness shown.

A nice early start from the house great big hug for Marcia and a wait for a #10 bus to clear Baltimore, $1.50 and I am 10 miles West oft he city, on the bus for a hour I try hard not to make eye contact with anybody as the bus is crisscrossing some very deprived areas, with the occupants of the bus looking at me as if I was a clown act stepping on there bus. Gang areas with a few members having there own type of conversations.
Bus stops at Walmart the end of the road and the start for me as this is Highway 70 all the way West, I walk up to the Diner and a good feed, a few people asked and they are interested in my trip but no body going West.

The next two hours was spent at the side of the raod where I am going to be for a while or so, with folks putting up there electric windows as soon as you make eye contact, funny some of the folks doing it I would n`t get in a car with.
There are a lot of homeless at theses junctions so I’m not 100% sure I’m in the correct place, one guys comes across and tells me he made $80 yesterday, payday he said, then a Black woman shouts out ” BITCH ” to me not sure what that’s all about.

After a hour or so a car pull up with a friendly face and drops me out of town a bit, I was so pleased as this in my first non friend lift

As he had been homeless he just wanted me safe, and its my first offical lift on this trip from the east coast, so i am on it, and about 10 minutes later K K picks me up After a funny two hours and playing her some of my music we stoped for food and then where we had to part, K K wanted to dump her hire car and join me to San Fransico, what a lady wild and We walked on the Wild side for a small part of my adventure thank you KK.

K K had pre warned the lady in the ice cream shop and a free ice cream awaited on the counter, with a very concerned Ice Cream lady the fact I am in the middle of nowhere drives me some 15 miles to a Christian Campsite

A bit of chat to the young lady at reception she rings her boss and a free nights camping ahead

Will write up later, but heres some photos, one with a homeless family of 12 lovely lady but not well, tried to talk positive with out being patronizing, 24 hours passed now an I have found myself in two extremes one of nearly giving up as 3 or 4 hours in one spot and looking around atabout 2pm for somewhere on the side of the highway to pitch up in 4 hours time just in case I have no lifts.
To finding myself in the good hands of an old friend Mike Shananburger whome I had called earlier in the day saying there is not a chance in hell of us meeting up on this trip.
Whilst trying hard to get out of Monneroville some 25 miles North of where I realy wanted to be, and up and down to the FedexPrinter, where theday before I had dumed my English number plate signs the kind staff have been printing me up different signs with the help of passing drivers that have stoped and given me advice on how it should read, final advive from the dumpster men that pulled up at the lights where I have been for a while, all three in the cab agreed that I should have the words San Francisco there somewhere, and Bingo.
I picked up one of many wire and card housesale type signs that litter the roads, washed it off in the MENS toilet in the Fedex shop using the used paper towels in the bin to dry it, just thiught that was fare as they had been so helpfuff, back around for Den the niceman to double sidetape the lamentated sign onto it so its strong and stiff.

Then and only just then folks would roll there windows down and shout GOOD LUCK blow there horns as I now had a bit of gig in me with this instant 2boost, funny how a word in a sign change the outlook on people, I had gone from becoming a problem of the state to becoming a interesting novelty on the side of the road, as somebody shouted out WHATS YOUR STORY much nicer than the blak lady that shouted out BITCH.

Just noticed in rewreading that I write B instead of D so please for give, also the first time was the other day when Marcia whome I stayed with in Baltimore pointed out it read at the top of the home page The writtings of Steve Burbidge, everybody else just took it as normal that was funny and distressing at the same time, so folks enjoy the typos and as its never going it make a publisher then you will just have to stick with it .

Sorry I have gone hush but no plugin UBS here or internet WiFi on my travels, but the trackers working and there sa cool map up in the bakery shop with a stickman showing my progress.

I have now managed 12 states, 12 lifts, 2,000 miles and visited 7 Rotary Clubs been offed food many many time, offered money and a bit sort on the lift. Theres a cold front coming down from Canada that has changed things over night. Yesterday I spent the whole day in a Pertol Station shop and became a celebrity for a day as the local T.V station turned up Channel 5 Des Moines and spent a hour with me which made for a great day.
The girls on the check out were asking folks for me if they were going WEST, saving me worrying the customers, many stopped and talked but no lift, until Mike Lewis and his daughter turned up they were off to a Collage football game that Mikes son was playing in, I met mike at Rotary at 8am that morning and he had given me a card and said if your stuck I`m going Omaha Nebraska.

Behind that wall is GARY Indiana for the 10th year in a row the murder capital of the USA

Very bad weather bus to Des Moines

Sorry Kathy no picture of you

Above is my planning office for the day.

I am going to head SOUTH now with a feww big days behined me if this was going to happen I was going to ride further South, I wanted to start as far south as possible but only made it to Baltimore, as my desternation point half way though the trip was Alberqurque and The Golden Crown Panadari owned by me two dear friends Platt and son Chris Moreales

9 hours away, hoping on an early lift so off I go bye x

Well that was disastrous, I left here 3 days ago and have returned to the same hotel, at Flying J`s the young man has let me use the internt, I am just going to post a load of photos, of the past 3 days stuck at Johnsons Corner Loveland

Theses two lovely people just jumped of this train Cheyenne

Last photo a truck ran over my drink

So there’s the past three days Photos, I am in a Motel the same one as I was in 4 days ago, as I tried as you make see to go South to visit Albuquerque, managed a lift with the Young man very interesting guy, bought his own truck and trailer, and is delivering fancy cars for fancy people across the country side, he droped me at Johnsons Corner where I spent 2 days tiring to escape from, then Lar Voss came to my rescue after some 12 hours in the Sun. He took me out into the country side then to Loveland Rotary Club my 8th Club visit the managed to give me about 5 minutes to talk which was fantastic.
They are also going to donate the days collection to my crossing.

Then Lar drove me back to Cheyenne to get me back going West, what an interesting man he was, a real giver in time to others, I do hope one day we meet again, while in the Rotary meeting I managed to book an Airbnb room and met my next lift at the Shadow Bar a few beers later, off we go back to the house, and he cooks me the best Rib Eye stake I have ever eaten, with roast veg, we talk light a fire outside, and leave in the morning 8am, he drops me back into town, breckfast then off walk about visiting the Cheyenne Museum a private collection of all Western, amasing place and very well put together.
Then a lift back to Flying J`s Truck Stop where I did have 4 bites but not a catch, 4 drives pulled over but all going North, getting hot and desperate to do laundry I book in at 3.3pm.

Tomorrows another day, sorry no names to faces but this is a rough copy and just wanted to update just a bit. Another day and off up to the Highway junction where I have had a few bites the day before, after about 30 minutes a trailer stops the door opens, and a voice says STEVE JUMP IN, as I franticly throw my bag in, and don’t understand how these folks know my name. A couple off days earlier I had talked to them in a bar in Cheyenne while waiting to meet my Airbnb host for the evening.
So I am away again, how far do you want to go, how far are you going, FAR WEST, FANTASTIC please please yes.
So we together have crossed Wyoming Utah through Nevada now into California , three most baron states crossed and some 950 miles, and with the offer of a lift to the finish I am happy to except, as its been not that easy, hitch hiking, so together as a group we have had a really cool road trip, I am sleeping outside under the trailer, as I don’t want to encroach too much.
Brian and Mary have been amazing hosts, they travel the country doing quilt shows, Brian says quilting is bigger than fishing over here with thousands of people attending, funny we have almost crossed the country at the same time,as they came from New York, and had a show in Des Moines the same time I was there,

3,500 QIUTING SHOPS 1200 GUILDS in the USA, with 50,000 fifthy Thousand people going to a show , with 10,000 at the samer shows, more money in this than Sports fishing, Brian has invented a magnetic quilt hanger, that’s taking off.