Hitchhiker's guide across America

I have recently picked up a complete and total stranger on my way home to Eastern Oregon. I am usually not one to willingly offer a ride to someone I don't know. I mean, do I really want to be stuck in a car with a stranger for four hours? But I decided why not? I could use the company since my radio is defective. So she and I set out on an adventure across Oregon. It turned out that she and I are practically the same person -- only she came along four years later. Imagine me as a Mexican (I know, huge leap) and you have my new found friend. She graduated from HHS four years after I did, is now attending Western, and plays sports. Sound familiar?

But she brought up an interesting idea that has now sparked my curiosity. She has a fearless attitude about hitchhiking across America, and now I really want to try my hand at it. It doesn't matter that I have three degrees and could potentially have job security when I eventually join the work force; I'd love to beg my way across the great US of A and meet all sorts of interesting people. Of course I'll have a buddy with me -- no sense getting ravaged on a gravel road in the middle of Kansas. The buddy system always works.

Now I'm ready to pack my duffel bag, smear some dirt across my face, wear holey jeans, and see who will pick me up.