God Bless America.

“Trust yourself.  You know more than you think.” – Benjamin Spock

 

Headed towards Saratoga Springs.

Pete picks me up as I walk through Glenville, a small town north of Schenectady.  I was looking for a place to rest for the night and eat my turkey and bacon wrap from a local grocer.  I wasn’t hitchhiking but just walking.  He stopped at a side street and asked where I was headed.  He was heading home from work to Saratoga Springs.  I put my rucksack in his backseat and we rode.  I got no strange vibes as we pull off.

Chet, the Hitchhiker.

Pete smoked a lot of Marlboro Red cigarettes as we drove.  One after the other.  He had met this great guy last year, Chet, whom was doing a similar trip to me.  Pete liked Chet a lot.  Chet had great stories.  “It just seemed like he always was lucky.” Pete repeats some of Chet’s stories, laughing and smoking.  Although, I can’t repeat the stories… it did seem like Chet was pretty lucky.  Then as we rode, something happened.  Pete didn’t proposition me or try to harm me, but it definitely seemed like he had underlying motives for this ride that he was cleverly disguising in his Chet stories.  

Health, History, and Horses.

On the surface though, it was a normal interaction between two males.  Approaching Saratoga Springs, Pete describes the city for me, “Horses, History, and Health.”  The oldest continuously-operating Thoroughbred race track is here in Saratoga, as well as mineral springs which reportedly have healing properties.  Plus, 15 miles south of here was the Battle of Saratoga, the turning point of the Revolutionary War.  

Of course, I don’t get to see any of it.  Pete drops me off at a truck stop a little north of town with a wave and a smile, as the sun is setting.  Pete slipped under my radar, yet I am no worse for wear.  I find a good place to sleep and am going to get up early tommorrow and hit the road, according to my phone Burlington, Vermont is about 2 and a half hours by car.  

Create Our World.

Ben

“Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way.” – Florence Scovel Shinn

Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, create our world, hitchhiking, intiution, roadtrip around the USA, saratoga springs
Categories: Hitchin Stories.

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