3.15.2009

Twitchhiker

Twitchhiker. Heard of him? If not, you should definitely check him out! His real name is Paul Smith and he's trying to see how far away from his home (Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK) he can get in 30 days, relying solely on the kindness of Twitter users. He's also raising money for charity:water. He started March 1 at home and tonight he will arrive in San Francisco. Not bad for two weeks travel! I'm not quite sure where I first heard about this. I thought it was pretty neat, though, and I've been following him on Twitter for a week or so.

Paul arrived in Austin very late Friday night. I was ready to offer up an air mattress if he didn't find a place to stay Friday night, but someone offered him a bed at the Hilton downtown. Much better than our air mattress!

He got a flight from Austin to San Francisco today, but didn't have a ride to the airport. So, I volunteered! I picked him up downtown and dropped him off at the airport 20 minutes later. He's quite nice, but the poor guy seemed awfully tired. Not much sleep to be had, it seems, on his journey. Sadly, I had my camera, but forgot to get it out. But, Paul got a pic of me at the airport when I dropped him off, so I may appear on his Flikr photostream.

I recommend checking him out. It's really fun to see where he gets and how he gets there. This is such an interesting experiment. And really, what a fun way to travel!