This Time, Matt Comes To Meet YOU

[matt35mm]

Hi all U.S.icans.

So, I am from California, and currently am living in England until October. I am strongly entertaining the idea of flying to Boston or New York and then slowly making my way across the country back to California, meeting VFers along the way!

I'm kind of testing the waters for now to see if there are enough VFers willing for me to come meet them and possibly let me stay with them for a few days. If I can stay, that location would probably be given priority over places where I'd have to arrange for accommodation, but if I can fit it into the route, I'd still like to meet people who can't house me.

So please let me know if you would like to meet me and hang out with me for a few days between October-Januaryish. Definitely note if you might be able to let me stay with you for any amount of time.

I don't really have any planned route, and I'm up for visiting anywhere, so it depends on which places have people to meet! Obviously I can't go through every state.

I have a picture of a very rough draft of what I might like to do. I'm willing to do some zig-zagging.



It could already be too ambitious or maybe it's not. I'm willing to spend about 3 months doing this. It may be the only time that I have the time and the money and freedom and desire to do this, so I figure I should do it.

I plan to travel by bus until I lose my mind, and then will consider other forms of transportation. I won't have anything but a big backpack. In some cases I may hitchhike if I've got nowhere in particular to be by any certain time. I'll also be doing a lot of couch surfing, so I'm planning to be able to shower and all that. Sometimes I desire to look like a hobo, but not this time.

Please let me know if you think you might like to meet me or possibly let me stay with you! THANKS.

[Buddha Belly]

What an excellent idea, I wish I could do something like that. Hope you get lots of positive responses. Please keep adding to this thread so it stays in the main pages.

Good luck

[beanstew]

I would like to travel across Canada by train one day.

Good luck Matt.

[Stu]

I would like to travel across Canada by train one day.

Did you see when Buster Keaton did that a few years ago? He used one of those tiny train maintenance vehicle things (like in Roadrunner cartoons, but not hand-powered), and was filmed going across Canada, getting up to all sorts of antics along the way of course. It was a sort of sequel to The General.

Oops, sorry for the digression.

[Edit: I found a link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOSbO...om=PL&index=30 ]

[DiaShel]

You have a place to stay in NY Matt!

[matt35mm]

Thanks so much! I'll definitely come stay. I'll let you know when I work out the details.

[Marrers]

I'd just like to say Matt is lovely and not a mad axe murderer! Just in case any of you were worried . . .

[matt35mm]

Thanks, Marrers. I would also like to say that I am lovely and not a mad axe murderer.

[DiaShel]

I feel completely reassured. I can't promise lovely but I can promise that I don't own an ax.

[terem]

I second the stay in New York, more specifically on Long Island. So you've got two places to stay haha.
This is really a great idea, sounds like so much fun!

[beanstew]

Thanks, Marrers. I would also like to say that I am lovely and not a mad axe murderer.

Of course not. We all know your weapon of choice is a chainsaw.

[RubyDuby]

wish i lived in a more interesting area... would love to meet up though! they have all the fun in the UK... great idea Matt. I'm envious!

[matt35mm]

Thanks, Terem! I'll definitely take you up on that offer.

How far away from the city do you live, RubyDuby? I'd be up for seeing upstate New York. Isn't it supposed to be very nice during Autumn?

[timberly]

That sounds awesome! By October I'll be back at college at Rutgers Newark in NJ and you are welcome to stay with me if you wish. One of my suite mates is vegan also. Unfortunately Newark, NJ is close to NYC so it looks like the people that have offered to have you aren't spaced very far apart. Good luck with this idea!

[RubyDuby]

Thanks, Terem! I'll definitely take you up on that offer.

How far away from the city do you live, RubyDuby? I'd be up for seeing upstate New York. Isn't it supposed to be very nice during Autumn?

I'm in NW NY... a good 6 hours from the city. It is gorgeous, but I'm sure the city is gorgeous in autumn too. It would be worth if it I lived closer to vegan friendly Ithaca where farm sanctuary is closeby, but we're a couple of hours from there too.

[matt35mm]

Timberly, thanks for the offer. I will take you up on that. Since I'm especially curious about the NYC and surrounding areas, I imagine that I will bounce around between all of the offers I'm getting from around that area, plus I want to meet as many of you as possible. This way, I can stay around NYC for a good week or maybe longer without overstaying my welcome with any of you.

Unofficially, I'm exploring possible places to live, as I intend to move out of California next summer. NYC and nearby areas is a possibility, so I want to stay long enough to pick up on the vibe and gauge how realistic it would be for me to live there, expense-wise. It might be the right time in my life to live in a big city, but I may or may not like NYC or it might be unaffordable or whatever. I can't know until I go there, and I've never been, so... the more offers to stay around there, the better! On Facebook I've got offers from friends to stay at several points along the route that I drew out, so NYC is not the only place where I have offers to stay/meet up with people, but I think NYC will be the place that I stay the longest during my trip.

Ruby, I think that might possibly be a bit too out of the way for me to visit, though if a more convenient opportunity to meet up presents itself, I'd love to meet you.

Although my original post said that I was just testing the waters, the response on here and on Facebook has been so positive that I'm definitely going to do it! Wheeee!!!

[Eat Y'self Fitter]

Well if you fly into Boston, I may or may not be able to arrange for something, regardless though where I live in CT is practically equidistant from boston and new york, so if you wanna stop over or see any new englandly crap I'd be happy to guide you.

I'm 120 miles from boston almost 100 even to nyc.

[matt35mm]

Do you mean arrange to meet me in Boston or arrange a place for me to stay in Boston or what? I'd be happy to come and visit you in CT. I am eager to see New Englandy crap. I've seen the straight-up Englandy crap, and it's time for me to progress into the new.

[Eat Y'self Fitter]

well I have friends in boston so its a smaller possibility I wouldn't really put a bet on it. But I mean if your passing from Boston to New York, I'm inbetween. Regardless I'm in the area, so if you do go to new york city I will be happy to see you there along with other VFers.

So atleast you know you have positive response in the north-east! I'd love to make promises, but its so far away. So just clue us up when it comes along.

[vercimus]

I love adventures, this is a really cool idea.

If you need a place to stay in north Texas, you could definitely crash at my place here in Denton for a bit. It's a college town just north of Dallas, so if you wanted to check out the city that'd be pretty convenient. I just hope you wouldn't be too disgusted with my roommate's leather sofas...

[Eat Y'self Fitter]

I must put a disclaimer as well, there is much leather in my house. If you were to sleep here you'd have to sleep on a leather couch or on the floor. I hate it but my parents didn't want to get rid of our "good leather sofas". Also my car has leather seats too, which I hate too but I justify these items by the fact they were purchased long before I became vegan.

[DiaShel]

but I think NYC will be the place that I stay the longest during my trip.

Yay! We win You know, the Matt prize

[Lord Perennialist]

Hey Matt, my name is Matt too! I'm actually thinking of doing something similar, going around the U.S. working at organic farms for a week or two and then moving on to the next one. I'll be traveling from Ohio up to Canada, down in Oregon and Cali this way, and then back. Sadly, I won't be around to offer my home, but you could stop in on one of the farms. They give you free accommodations and free food, and of course I'm only going to work for the ones that can provide vegan food for me. If your interested check out www.wwoof.com.

There all over the place!

[matt35mm]

Vercimus, thanks. I may be visiting some friends in Fort Worth, in which case I'll definitely take you up on meeting up and staying at yours. I don't mind leather sofas, but thanks for mentioning it.

Hey other Matt. Your plan sounds really fun, too. I've heard about wwoof before and have been curious about it. I'll look into it. Thanks and best of luck with your trip!

[IwannabeKate]

matt, that sounds awesome! I live in North Fort Worth, so if you want to stop by and say hello on your travels that'd be just fine and dandy with me. I can take you out for a night on the town! but i'm not sure about staying (as I currently still reside with my parents) but it'd be awesome to make a new friend!

[matt35mm]

Hurrah! A night out on the town sounds amazing. I can sort out another place to stay, that's fine. See y'all in a few months!

[Buddha Belly]

Have you thought of doing a mini UK tour before you leave to visit VF areas you have not been too yet?

[matt35mm]

Yes I have. I plan to be very busy this summer with a movie project, and I don't know what kind of time I will have. I'd like to visit Berlin as well before I leave. But yeah, there are still some major UK places that I haven't been to. I will give it some more serious thought.

[Lord Perennialist]

Hey other Matt. Your plan sounds really fun, too. I've heard about wwoof before and have been curious about it. I'll look into it. Thanks and best of luck with your trip!

Thanks and good luck with yours! I'm pumped about getting out on the road. It'll be like Jack Kerouac all over again!

If you are interested in spending some time at a farm, I'd be interested to know where. Maybe we could meet up!

[matt35mm]

BIG 'OL U.S.A. TRIP DRAFT TWO

Here's the new and improved plan. I've been crunching the numbers and seeing what I can afford/have time to do. I've had to streamline the trip to make it more, I dunno, efficient. Some things that were too far out of the way (such as Miami and New Orleans) had to be done away with. I still hope to go to those places, but this trip is just not the time. Also don't think this is the right time for WWOOF, because I'd like to make it home by Christmas (would be nice).

I had to limit it to about 30 places, over about 75 days (avg. 2.5 days per place, but some places I'll want to stay more than that and some places less than that). This is still packing quite a bit into the trip, so I'll be pretty damned busy. Here's a list of the places that I'm planning to visit.



boston, MA
somewhere in CT (hanging with EYF)
new york city + nearby jersey (hanging/staying with DiaShel, Timberly, terem and some old friends)
philadelphia, PA
richmond, VA
raleigh, NC
asheville, NC
athens, GA
atlanta, GA (hanging with PaintedXSkyline and some other friends)
columbus, GA (staying with a friend)
nashville, TN
bowling green, KY (staying with a friend)
indianapolis, IL (hanging with a friend)
chicago, IL (hanging with a friend)
bloomington, IN
st. louis, MO (staying with a friend)
springfield, MO (staying with family)
denton, TX (staying with vercimus)
fort worth/dallas, TX (hanging with IwannabeKate)
austin, TX (hanging with a friend)
san antonio, TX (staying with a friend)
santa fe, NM
albuquerque, NM (staying with a friend)
seattle, WA (staying with Lifeonmars)
olympia, WA
portland, OR (staying with friends)
eugene, OR
san francisco/oakland, CA (staying with friends/family)
santa barbara, CA (staying with friends)
los angeles, CA (hanging/staying with friends, plus I should get picked up here by family to go back home to Orange County or Riverside County).

Traveling via Greyhounds, Megabuses, Amtrak sometimes, and flying from Albuquerque to Seattle. Transport budget is $1500, which is an average of $50 per journey (that should be about right, as the bus fares average around $25, and the trains and plane will obviously be more. Food budget: $750 (average of $10 a day, which should be a piece of cake considering that I currently eat for about $3 a day). Another $500 budgeted for "thanks for letting me stay/hang out with you, i love you" meals or drinks or whatever. Another $750 for entertainment/hopefully very rare nights of having to get a motel room/misc. Total budget: $3500. Am I forgetting anything? I should have around an additional $1000 that I don't plan on spending but can serve as some sort of emergency fund. Hoping to not have to pay for lodging by staying with friends/family/couchsurfing. I'm more likely to rough it than pay for a room.

I THINK that I've budgeted to make this comfortably affordable for me, such that there is plenty of room for error built into the budget.

I will try to set off in early October and make it home by Christmas or New Years. Much of this is still up for change, so suggestions are welcome!

[Eat Y'self Fitter]

Yo, since I wouldn't mind going to Boston (more maybe) or def New York I really don't mind providing you with transportation to New York, providing of course you chip in for gas which will still be cheaper then a bus. Especially since there other VFers there. And if you need to stop over in CT your welcome to. Anyway worst case scenario I.E. I'm very busy with college we can hang out in New Haven and you can take the train from there to NYC.

[timberly]

I see you've added Chicago! One of my favorite cities, you should go to the Chicago Diner if you have the opportunity.

[vercimus]

Hey man, don't worry about food and drink when you're here, you'll be taken care of for sure. Denton is a great town with plenty of vegan and vegetarians and all that. Plus I love cooking, so, you pretty much would have to stay for a bit.

[matt35mm]

Aw man you all are so nice!

EYF, I would love to hang out with you in Boston, New Haven, or New York, or all three! Transportation would be amazing! Of course I'll pay for the gas.

Timberly, I will look into the Chicago Diner. I'm meeting up with a friend in Chicago, so maybe I will suggest that we go and have some food there.

Vercimus, your kindness really means a lot to me. Denton sounds pretty cool indeed, so you're right, I might just have to stay for a bit!

I'm not gonna lie: meeting such amazing people as yourselves is probably what I'm most excited about on this trip. Thanks so much for everything. I'll do my best to make sure that it's fun to hang out with me!

[IwannabeKate]

that is a kickass plan you've got, matt! also, denton is only like 40 mins north of ft worth so if vercimus isn't opposed, perhaps we could all do some hanging out together?

[vercimus]

I was thinking the same thing actually, sounds like a plan

[IwannabeKate]

hooray! i'm excited now! i guess we'll figure it out when we get closer to that time. i don't know when exactly you're coming matt, there's a possibility i'll be in the midst of doing a show. so i'll have to play it by ear...

[DiaShel]

I'm totally going to steal your idea Matt. Not until March though. How did you do that map thing?

[matt35mm]

Katie and Vercimus, that sounds awesome. I can't wait! I think I should be in that area around late November/early December. Just after Thanksgiving.

DiaShel, that's cool! I'll make sure to give you whatever tips I pick up along the way. For the map, I used this pic of the U.S. from Wikipedia, then in Paint I just drew it all with a line and put dots on the places I planned to hit.

[RubyDuby]

I avoid anything with strings... snap peas and bok choy's srtings get pulled out, but not as easy w the aforementioned celery.

don't mind the taste so much.

[DiaShel]

DiaShel, that's cool! I'll make sure to give you whatever tips I pick up along the way. For the map, I used this pic of the U.S. from Wikipedia, then in Paint I just drew it all with a line and put dots on the places I planned to hit.

Ohhh... clever. I was hoping for a program that I could click the map and it's draw a route. Damn!

[matt35mm]

Actually, you can go to maps.google.com and type in all your destinations. Go to the driving directions and then keep clicking "add destination."

I just did that and this is what it looks like (I added the line between Albuquerque and Seattle in Paint because I'm not going along the road for that--I'll be flying).

[DiaShel]

^ Genius! I had no idea you could have so many points on it. That's quite a lot of stops!

Oh and Matt, I live in an apartment in my parents basement so if you stay with me, you're gay for the night. Trust me, it'll just be easier that way.

[matt35mm]

How gay?

[DiaShel]

I just mean I'll say that you are when I tell them a guy is staying over and they do this . My parents are just like that. They don't trust straight men at ALL but have always let me do whatever the hell I want with my gay male friends. Don't worry, if you do actually meet them they won't quiz you or have you make out with a guy to prove yourself

[beanstew]

That has all the makings of a great sit-com.

[matt35mm]

Haha, all right.

[xabcdefx]

If you end up staying in santa Barbara id love to make you food! im not a good cook but i do love baking! who do you know here that your staying with?

[matt35mm]

I'm not actually sure who I'm staying with in SB now. I was planning to stay with friends who study at UCSB, but then realized that they'd probably be gone for Winter Break by the time I arrive (mid-December).

Anyway, I'd love to meet you and hang out with you around SB. Plus I can't say no to vegan baking! Thanks!

[xabcdefx]

Oh dang. Id ofer you a place to stay but i live with my moom and shes not very welcoming! hah sorry!