After spending Christmas in Fulton, New York with my family, and New Year’s Eve with my friend Kristy, I headed south again. I stopped in for one night at my brother Ben’s in West Virginia, but from there I had no plans other than to wander and see where the road took me.
I passed through Tennessee for the first time. I wanted to do something there since I had never been, but wasn’t sure what. I ended up finding a little bar in Erwin and decided that would do.
It was a small place with pool tables that reminded me of a bar from my hometown. I sat down and started talking to the locals. One guy there named Jeff just happened to be from Oswego, New York, where I had lived before my travels began. He posted on Facebook that a hippie chick from Oswego who was rolling all over the U.S. happened to stop in his lonely bar to say hi. He didn’t say my name, but did post a selfie of us together. One of my parents’ neighbors commented, “Is her name Teagan?” It truly is a small world — an amazing tapestry of threaded connections.
I spent the night chatting with him and a new friend, Thomas. Thomas even got me up on the stage doing karaoke to Taylor Swift. I’m glad I ended up choosing that bar.
My next stop was Asheville, North Carolina. When I first arrived, I found a spot to park that was only a few blocks from downtown. I walked around exploring some stores and taking in the murals on multiple buildings. Eventually the sun started to set and it got colder. I decided to go back to the bus to find a place to sleep, saving the rest of the stores for the next day.
I loved Asheville, but it was hard finding a place to park overnight. The Walmart kicked everyone out, saying “go to Lowe’s,” but when I tried Lowe’s, a very angry manager told me to leave. I tried a pull-off on the side of the road, but another man parking there casually told me that not only was he the cousin of Ludacris, the rapper, but that he also used to be a murderer. I decided to move on.
I ended up settling in a movie theater parking lot, which was nice enough, but websites warned of vandalism and burglary. I figured I would be safe with my animals though; they had all protected me at different times. I made dinner and then slept safely without incident.
The next day I finished seeing the stores downtown. There were so many crystal shops, which are my favorite. I tried to focus on buying crystals that I could use to make wire wraps. I saw an artist in the street selling his paintings. I stopped and asked him how he did there, thinking it would be a good place for me to sell my art and jewelry. He was very nice and told me the good spots to try.
The next day I woke up early so I could try selling. I brought a blanket and set it up on the sidewalk next to a bench. I couldn’t find the exact spot the other artist had told me about, so I figured this would do. It ended up being an area full of very interesting people.
One man sat next to me on the bench for a little while. We mostly sat in silence, but chatted here and there. Suddenly out of nowhere, he started making only what I can describe as lizard faces, darting his tongue in and out, stood up, started yelling and throwing his stuff, and then left. Later he walked by again, but dressed in a completely different outfit and carrying a whip. He was whipping everything he passed. I continued to see him throughout the day, wearing a different outfit every time.
Another woman came along pushing a shopping cart. I looked up as she walk by, which prompted her response of, “If you look at me again I’ll f$&*%^g kill you!” Then she instantly added “Oops, sorry.”
Another man came and sat on the bench next to me for a bit. He was very nice and told me that my aura was rainbow and sea green, and before he left he told me I looked like Drew Barrymore. I liked him.
There were a whole bunch of other characters who came through, one being a man who told me a story full of helicopters, bad guys, and mind reading, among other things, and it lasted over half an hour. It was hard to follow, but also very entertaining. He claimed it all to be true, but it seemed rather far-fetched.
I didn’t necessarily feel safe in this spot, but sales were going well so I kept debating about whether to leave or not. The last straw was a woman who came up and bought a magnet with my drawing on it. She talked down the price a little, which wasn’t a big deal, but then she went on to tell me that she was going to scan it and blow it up, and sell it for money. She kept saying how good it was, and to not let people talk me down on prices, which would have been nice if she hadn’t done exactly that. She sat there for the next twenty minutes going on about how she was going to sell my art for money and how I could obviously sell this small magnet for ten thousand dollars, so I clearly must not want to make money. All the while she was harassing every person that walked by. I was not selling any more art with her there.
Just as I was thinking I would call it a day, the other artist who I had talked to the day before came up. He could see this woman was bothering me, told me this wasn’t a great spot to sell, and that I should move. He told me of a much better place. I was very grateful and packed up my stuff immediately.
The other spot WAS much better. It had more traffic, seemed safer, and had people busking nearby. I set up my art near a guy playing drums, who introduced himself as Adrian. Having music made the entire experience so much more fun. Before I left, we started chatting and he told me a safe place I could park my bus; it was near where he parked his van. Since I had not found a single other place that seemed safe, I decided I would try it out.
It ended up being a good spot to park, and it was right by a little river. The next day I went over to Adrian’s van and we hung out all morning. We had really good conversations and it was nice hanging out with him. That night he took me over to his friend's house where I was able to shower, for which I was incredibly grateful. I desperately needed one.
I spent the next few days hanging out with Adrian. We walked the dogs on different walking trails and he showed me a little around the city. I loved all the murals that were randomly placed on the sides of buildings.
Before I left we went out to a sushi restaurant. We got so much food that it covered the entire table. I ate as much as I possibly could, but I still had enough leftovers for a few meals.
Although I enjoyed Adrian’s company and having someone to hang out with, it was time to hit the road again. I wanted to go to Skooliepalooza: the ungathering, a “non-event”, which was really an event that did not have a permit, taking place in Ehrenberg, Arizona near the end of January. It is for people who live a vehicular nomadic lifestyle, especially those living in converted school buses. It would take 32 hours of driving to get there from Asheville.
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