041908

                                      Lake Wales to Tampa to Saint Petersburg to Gulfport, FL

Saturday April 19, 2008

     6:47pm  I got 9.41 hours of sleep last night. I got almost ten hours of sleep last night. I crashed out good.
                  
     7:44am  I am up and at 'em. I am all packed up and am leaving no trace. Except for a worn out tennis ball, my marker. Hey, I just might make it to The Blueberry Patch by four twenty. Hopefully today. I camped in this orange tree orchard last night. There was trickle tape and stuff. There's no fence and it's right off the highway. I'm going to keep walking now. Actually, I haven't taken a shit this morning. I don't have to go that bad. Hopefully there will be a gas station soon. I had an apple for breakfast that that beautiful girl Sarah gave me yesterday. I ended up giving the whole bunch of bananas to the Puertorican guy who picked me up. I thought they would weigh me down, but I wish I would've kept it now. Wait, I keep forgetting how much money I have in my wallet. Let me count it again. Forty three dollars.

                   4000 SR 60 West, Petersen Industries, is where the orchard I crashed at was.

     8:26am  I couldn't find a concealed place to take a shit at, I had to go real bad. I hopped a barbwire fence and I found a place to take a shit. Mission accomplished. Right where I hopped the fence there's a white plastic chair next to the highway. I'm going to sit down and eat and smoke a cigarette.

     8:39am  Leaving from my break. I sat down in the plastic chair and ate this cheese bread this lady gave me a the Pizza Hut yesterday. I still have a hundred calories of apple crisps Sarah gave me.

                   This truck just pulled over, not for me. I walked up to him and asked him how far the next gas station was and he told me right up the road. It's not that far. Like a mile away.

     9:10am  I see the Circle K. About three quarters of a mile away.

     9:22am  I walked up to the Circle K. I'm going to use the restroom.

                   I spent five dollars at the Circle K. I bought some snacks. I bought me a Jimmy Dean's ham, egg, and cheese hot muffin. I got two Ramens, sevnty cents each. I also bought a thing of Mother's cookies and some crackers.

                   I got clearance for asking for rides. They were real nice in there.

     10:19am  In no time, I went in front of the Circle K and thumbed it for a little bit. For like ten minutes maybe. All of a sudden Mark pulls over for me in his Jeep and picks me up. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks a lot.

                   Mark also known as Meatloaf.

     11:24am  Oh yeah, that was magical. I am already in Brandon! I am already in the Tampa area! I just got dropped off at the bus stop at the mall here. I'm waiting for the #8. Hell yeah! That was so awesome. He even told me, "I had a feeling about you." He turned around and came back for me. At first he was just going to take me to Zephyrr Hills, he was going skydiving. Then he agreed to take me to Tampa! He said, "It's like forty miles out of my way, but I don't mind." I tried to tell him my story, but his Jeep was loud, because there are no windows. He's got my website, though. I took his picture at the end. That's so awesome that I'm going to make it to The Patch by four twenty. I was trying to yell my story to him over the noise. He told me, "I am really envious of you." I asked him, "Wouldn't you rather be free than rich?" We even went to the Checkers and he bought me a combo. I've got tons of food. When he picked me up he gave me a cold McDonald's breakfast sandwich. I am so happy right now. I am elated. Awesome, awesome. The bus comes at eleven forty. It's eleven twenty eight right now.

     11:44am  Leaving on the bus going to Tampa.

     12:32pm  We are driving through beautiful Ybor City. I was here at the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. I've never walked around it. Maybe I should. It's a really pretty city.

     12:44pm  MTC.

     12:46pm  Damn, no buses to St. Pete until Monday. That sucks. I'll miss four twenty at The Patch. But, there's a Greyhound station and I've got cash. I'm going to go see how much a ticket costs.

     12:57pm  I just bought my ticket to St. Pete at five thirty. I could be leaving at one, right now, but I'm going to try and score me some weed. I'll be alright. I'm going to go score some weed downtown.

     1:30pm  I came to the Sykes Park in front of the police station. This black dude who recognized me is already getting me some weed. I hope he comes back.

     2:23pm  I scored me a dimesack eventually. The guy with the weed came back finally. I got to talk to the prostitute girl, Pat. I remember Katrina telling me she was Tampa's best hooker. I got to tell her part of my story. I told her the Note from the Rich and she loved it. I'm going to go smoke some weed somewhere.

                   I came over to this concrete amphitheatre that I came to a while back. Stoners supposedly hang out here. I'm going to see if there are any. I'm going to check my tag too. I tagged WPTMJ with havethisbook.com. I took a picture of it. Let's see if it's still there. I had taken a picture of it.

     3:02pm  I came to the bathroom at the Greyhound station and ran into Nation. He volunteered me some food. He's Native American. What tribe? Micmac, it sounded like he said.

     3:14pm  I made a friend. I met him in the bathroom when I was washing my hands. I just told him my whole entire Odyssey outside. He did art and stuff, so I told him he should come check out The Blueberry Patch. They'll let him hang out there for like a day and then he can catch the bus back to Tampa on Monday. I gave him nine dollars for his bus ticket. He's coming with me. I didn't work for that money. It wasn't mind to keep.

     5:23pm  We are in Saint Pete.

     5:40pm  That was beautiful Kim I took a picture of. She listened to my story great. I could probably keep going with my story, but I'm smoking a cigarette.

     5:57pm  I had a great presentation with this beautiful black girl Kim outside the Greyhound station.

     6:32pm  We stopped at the Serenity Garden to smoke, where I've come before. Wups, I just broke a bench. Sorry, guys.

     7:12pm  Leaving from the Serenity Garden.

                   That dude Nation, when I told him my story, right when I told him the spirits part he actually said, "You've got confirmation!"

                   That pretty black girl Kim I told my story to, she actually complimented my hair. Nobody has ever complimented my hair before. That was awesome. I didn't say thank you because I was kind of taken aback. I told her, "I just leave it alone and let it grow by itself."

     7:44pm  Nation and I walked all the way to the Central Terminal and I had a badass presentation with Mark. I took his picture. He's got a peace tattoo on his calf.

                   Mark just walked back up to me and told me, "That made me think!"

     8:14pm  We got off the bus at 55th Street.

     10:19pm  I am doing Dave-O a favor. Buying him some beer. I had two dollars left over so I bought some snacks. I hope my friend Nation I brought along doesn't piss anybody off here. He's loving it too. He is enjoying it a lot. I told him, "You haven't seen nothing. Just wait until you see it in the daytime." He's probably going to stay until Tuesday, the big party. I did Dave a favor and walked to the store and bought some beer for him. Three four-packs of Natural Light. I got some snacks too. I'm going to share them with Nation. I saw beautiful Demi. She's so beautiful. She doesn't think I should put the picture of the dead guy from Fort Lauderdale on my website. Screw it, nothing but the truth. I'm still going to do it.

Next day..