After doing a run of shows down the coast with my band, we decided to part ways early so I could meet up with my friend Allison to backpack the Lost Coast, a rugged stretch of untouched California coastline along the northern shores of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. The morning after we played the rural beach town of Bolinas, the band dropped me off in Point Reyes Station along Highway 1 to begin my hitchhiking journey to Eureka. On the drive to town we saw a dead deer on the side of the road that seemed to have been hit by a car earlier that morning.

My first order of business was two-fold; find a piece of carboard to make a sign and go see my friend at the local bakery to try to score some free food for the journey ahead. Once the sign and food were acquired, I began the steep hike to the edge of town where the nearest intersection was located. I got about 20 yards up the hill before a car pulled over to offer me a ride. 

Michael drove an old beat-up white Volvo sedan. He had gone surfing earlier that morning in Bolinas and was heading back to his home in Tomales, another small town about 30 miles up the road. He said he had hit deer on his way to the beach and was looking for a way to make up for his bad karma when he saw me walking along the side of the highway. I guess I have that deer to thank for my first ride on the road to Eureka. 

He told me his wife had spent many years hitchhiking and train hopping across the country as a traveling musician. He once had dreams about doing the same but said at this point in life he'd rather be the one offering rides than asking for them. He and his wife had a newly born baby to take care of. It was very important to him and his wife to raise their daughter in a naturalistic environment away from the noise and chaos of the city