Category Archives: hitchhiking

Little America in Hot Water

April 2, 2012 – 8:55 pm

In early September 1973 I was hitchhiking back from the West Coast across the USA. My good friend and I stood on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley with a horde of other hippies flocking home after a summer on the coast. Nick was headed to Oklahoma, where his BMW had been repaired after a crash in [...]

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135 IN THE SHADE by Peter Nolan Smith

March 22, 2012 – 10:49 am

In late-July of 1975 Andy K and I left California on a cool morning. Our summer vacation had come to an end. We hitchhiked east from Pomona at the end of the Valley. Leaving LA wasn’t easy for long-hairs. The locals were the sons of Okie rednecks, but a young Mormon girl stopped at the [...]

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HIPPIE BEACH BUMS by Peter Nolan Smith

March 21, 2012 – 2:10 pm

Every evening the breeze off the Pacific wreathed the coastal towns north of San Diego in a thin mist. The clear moisture clung to the flowers and fruit trees of Encinitas throughout the night and the dew lingered on the pedals well into the morning. Some time before noon the sun seared through the fog [...]

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AMONG THE REDWOODS by Peter Nolan Smith

March 2, 2012 – 6:42 pm

The noon sun shimmered off Monterey harbor, as a lone fishing boat motored to sea. Scores of moored sailing boats bobbed on its wake and hundreds of pleasure craft wavered in their slips, as I walked toward the ghost of Cannery Row. The decrepit waterfront had been immortalized by two of John Steinbeck’s Great Depression [...]

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DOWN THE COAST By Peter Nolan Smith

January 24, 2012 – 6:20 am

Skyline Drive crested the steep bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the bright California sun crowned the hills with a golden nimbus. Hundreds of identical houses snaked up the streets of Daly City and trails of smoke floated from countless backyards, as suburban families celebrated Memorial Day with barbecues. A seared hamburger would have tasted [...]

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