oneonta to ithaca

my spirit was feeling much more clear the next morning. i felt pretty sure that i was going to head on to western PA. i might even make it all the way to joseph jenkins' house in one day! i was feeling optimistic.

i had another nice interaction with a customer at the deli before getting on my way. fond farewells and i rode off to try hitching on a smaller highway that parallels the interstate. i tried a couple spots without any rides for about an hour. i decided to go over to the entrance of the interstate. there were not many people getting on there, but eventually someone stopped for me and drove me to bainbridge, about 30 miles on.
here are a few quotes from the good conversation i had with this man russel:

'god's too big to put in a box.''i just want the world to be a better place.'
'i believe in everything.'

there in bainbridge i ran into a guy at the gas station with a long, single beard braid like mine. he said he had been growing his out for four years, and it was not much longer than my 10 month beard. i told him about the community and deli in oneonta and imagined him showing up there and telling them he had met me. they'd get a kick out of it. the guy and his wife were travelers and he believed god would provide anything he really needed in his life. he said, 'you can find a blessing in anything if you look for it.'
another kind woman coming out of the station store spoke to me for a minute, curious about the trip, and said she had traveled across the country when she was younger, seeking something...
while trying to hitch back onto the interstate a cop came by and hassled me. all kinds of questions, and he wanted to see my id. it turned out i didn't have it because they had forgotten to hand it back to me at the border patrol headquarters. this made the situation less comfortable, but after he ran my name he told me, "good enough" and left me alone. i sat there for a long time and felt less and less optimistic. i was working on a bracelet and decided that if nobody had picked me up by the time i finished it i would go across town and try hitching in the direction of ithaca.

the time came without a ride, so i packed my bike and rolled on. on the way to the other hitching spot i had a few nice interactions, one of which was with a couple old ladies curious about my trip. they saw the spirit in me and wished me good luck. a woman across the street from where i set up to hitch came out and asked if i needed anything. we talked for a while and she was very kind-hearted. i was feeling more and more optimistic, my heart opening up again through these interactions.
after about fifteen minutes i was picked up by a couple in their truck. i got to sit behind them in the small cab seat. we got started right away with the catting and hardly took a break the whole ride. they were going to drop me off some distance from ithaca, where i could ride from, but then decided to go to dinner in ithaca so they could take me all the way! YAY!
here are a few quotes from martin, who was driving:

'people around here, they'll talk to ya.'
'if i wana wipe my ass outdoors with a leaf, i can do it.' because he is not living in close proximity to neighbors.
they do have a beneficial neighborly exchange going with someone who farms nearby. he provides them compost for their large vegetable garden and also storage vegetables in exchange for martin's help hauling manure, soil, wood, etc. and help with the farmer's house. this sounds like the kind of coming together that is going to help us through hard times.

when i got to ithaca i quickly found my way to the twelve tribes' cafe there, where i was joyfully received. a street musician was playing some beautiful violin when i arrived and i watched for a little before walking with one of the men to their house several blocks away. yonah showed me their abundant vegetable garden and i picked a few zucchini. he and i visited for a while, having some really good conversation, before a small but very potent evening gathering. some members of the community were sick with a cough, so they were quarantined.
i had a really nice visit with the community in ithaca, especially connecting with a few of the people there who i spent more time with. after dinner at the cafe and joining in the contra dance happening in the commons that night(!!!), i was shown one of the waterfalls next to the university.