Well after a long night of driving I found a camp site to camp in… I didn’t get there till 2am… I could barely keep my eyes open… I followed the signs for camping off the highway into a small town called Kingsville… It was so dark I could barley see and being exhausted didn’t help at all…

Finally… I made it to this secluded area, which I thought was a camp site… actually I didn’t give a shit at this point… I just wanted to crash and it was starting to get dangerous driving in these conditions… So I pulled my RV into a spot, fired up the Generator, popped in “The Twilight Zone,” smoked some of my sleeping medicine and crashed…

Well, I slept like a log… I kept on having this reoccuring dream about a cop waking me up, parked behind my RV… only to wake up around 10 am to tapping on my window… It took me a moment to adjust as I slowly came out of my dream world…

I hopped out of bed and screamed “One minute!” as I threw a shirt on… Low and behold, there was a cop standing right next to my driver’s window… But instead of the cop car being parked behind my RV, like in my dream, his car was parked in front… Very weird because I was having the cop dream just as he woke me up… So I was really confused… Was I still dreaming?

Anyway, I hurried over to the window to see this big, muscular cop dressed in a uniform that looked like it was two sizes too small for him. His hair was neatly cropped into a military high and tight… I knew right then that I was not dealing with a friendly man here, considering I was in Ohio, I have long hair and also have out of state plates…

I slid the window open and addressed the cop politely… He immediately lectured “You are not supposed to be parked here!” With his hand on his holster, a few feet away. I explained to him that I was exhausted from driving till 2 am and followed the signs to the camp site. He pointed about 300 yards away and said “That is the campsite, where you are parked is not allowed.” So I went on to explain that it was very dark, I was very tired and just wanted to go to sleep. I didn’t realize I missed the campsite, it was so dark, so I took my chances parking here. I apologized up and down, being completely respectful considering I had a little pot sitting on my nightstand in my bedroom.

He then asked for my license, so I gave it to him confidently and asked if he would like to see my registration also. When it comes to a driving record, I haven’t had a ticket in 16 years (knock on wood)… So there is no way he can find that as an excuse to give me trouble… I am also a 40 year old man with no criminal record at all…

So, he called me in… right in front of me… on the walkie pinned to his chest. The lady called back and said I checked out. He handed me my license and told me to get out here… I thanked him and told him I just need to grab my shoes and I will be on my way.

I wanted to take a picture of the place I camped in but the cop pulled up about 300 yards away and started talking to these women. They were pointing at me and were obviously the ones who called the police.

So, I figured I wouldn’t take my chances and got the hell out of there. As I approached the women and the cop, I made sure to slide my window open and say “Have a nice day ladies.” They just looked at me as if I was a criminal and went back to talking to the cop… No wave, no simple hello, just evil sharp looks with no response…

Now, here comes the soap box folks… so get ready! I understand the cop was just doing his job and I understand the ladies called because it does look suspicious when a RV is parked where it shouldn’t be… But after he checked me out and saw I was just a guy sleeping in his vehicle, he still treated me like a criminal and I have a fucking problem with that! Now, if I felt a little frosty that morning I may have mentioned that there was not a single “No Parking” sign posted, so how am I supposed to know it’s illegal to park there? Especially since it is yards from an actual campsite! Not one single sign!

I am an American god damn it!!! I have just as much right to visit and stay in your town as anyone else!!! Your job is to protect and serve, so when you see someone is completely harmless and is a law abiding citizen, treat them that way! Don’t continue to treat them like a criminal!

These types of judgments and cliques are the reason people hate you small town idiots! If I was the cop and saw that the guy I was concerned about was actually a decent American, I would have at least apologized for the rude treatment and maybe asked about his/her trip. Instead, he continued to treat me like a criminal and basically stated that if I don’t get out of his town, he was going to incriminate me further.

I waved goodbye to them and was very polite, they are the ones who decided to be unfriendly and rude. Now I’m a white man with long hair could you imagine if I was African American? I guarantee that cop would have escalated the situation further if that was the case. I know some won’t agree but I truly do believe that. Look how they treated a law abiding white citizen…

This is one of the things I hate about this country. A town that has signs for camping on the highway treat the ones they don’t feel look right like criminals and don’t want them in their town! It’s disgusting and I will never return to that shit hole again! I just wish I had the balls to fight with that cop but the consequences could have been harsh and could have ruined my trip all together, so I decided otherwise. But let me tell you this, I will not put up with this crap much longer… If these small town cops think they can bully me, they have another thing coming! So expect this issue to come up again!

Anyway, here’s a picture of that town as I was leaving… It’s not much of a picture but then again, it’s not much of a town! Good riddance Kingsville, Ohio… If I do come back, I will make sure to leave my pot behind and park exactly where I parked before… That’s if there are still not any “No Parking” signs there…

Well, on a lighter note this trip was getting old and I was not happy, so I decided to make it home before the the end of the day.

I definitely wanted to get the hell out of Ohio, so I didn’t stop driving until I entered Pennsylvania. I still needed to take a shower and brush my teeth, so I decided to go visit Lake Erie…

I knew I was on the east coast when I saw this crap on the ground…

Here I am in Dunkirk getting a natural hair blow dry after showering in my RV. I love that I can park anywhere and shower. No one knows the difference… It’s so awesome. There’s Lake Erie behind me… Very beautiful but it was too cold and windy to really enjoy it… I will have to make it back here sometime…

 

I knew right away I was in NY because when I stopped for gas, an older guy started to give me crap about my Red Sox jacket… He told me to take it off, it was burning his eyes… Then he went onto trash talking Ortiz, that’s when I had had enough… I explained to him that Ortiz is one of the best DH’s this sport has ever seen, then I walked out calling him a Douche Bag.

Well, as I was pumping my gas, he comes out and takes a more conciliatory note… He explained to me how he liked the Yankees so much more when the sons didn’t run the team… I went on to say how much I loved Joe Torrey and how disappointed I was that they got rid of him because the team didn’t make the playoffs one year… He agreed and all was fixed… There were no sorries, just two men settling their differences by agreeing with each other… I wish a lot of people in this country would try doing this… Especially the political parties… It’s not about who is right or who is wrong… it’s about people coming together and making this country better than it already is…

Here I am heading towards Albany, NY… getting close to home now…

Driving through Syracuse, NY… My hair was a little flat today… That natural wind blow dry was not a good idea… lol.

Hit a little rain in Whitesboro, NY… It’s nice to see rain again…

As darkness came… I crossed the Hudson River…

Charleton, Massachusetts folks! I’m in my home state! I entered around 10 pm… It’s going to be a late one but at least I will be waking up in my bed at home!

Here’s Braintree! It’s 11:51 pm and I am about 45 minutes from home. This was the last picture I took. I got home and woke up my Mother, who gave me a huge hug and had a drink with me before we called it a night.

It’s so great to be home. Now to get this RV unpacked and ready for a year long trip. I will be here for about two weeks, so I will keep you updated on my progress…

I will leave you with a picture of “The Millennium Falcon” parked in front of my Mother’s house… Can’t wait to see her full potential on a year long travel across this beautiful country… It’s going to be an adventure, that’s for sure…