Special Edition

Leslie… Okay, now for the story of how and where I slept on Monday, the 28^th of February. It all began after Ian dropped me off at a petrol stop in Darlington next to a McDonald’s around 10pm. I was ultimately hoping to make it into Newcastle this evening, but the number of people on the road was dwindling… and fast! The first car that stopped is how I met Leslie and her friends. They lived in Darlington, but stopped because Leslie was curious why someone was standing in 0 degree weather at this hour of the night. When she realized I was American, she jumped out of the car and asked for a hug. I obliged because at this point I was laughing my ass off. They graciously offered me the opportunity to join them for the night. I politely declined in the hopes I would make it to Newcastle. I didn’t give them a second thought for about an hour when no one was stopping and I started doing pushups and jumping jacks to stay warm. At this point, I was seriously pissed that I failed to act in the spirit of my trip and go with them.

I was still carrying a bit of luck. Around 2am, another car stopped. Lo and behold, the window drops and Leslie pops her head out and screams, “You’re still out here?!” Somehow, they managed to add people in the car and it was full with no room for me. Not to worry, Leslie said, “Wait here!” I looked at her a bit cross and humorously asked, “Where the hell do you expect me to go?” She was taking them home and would come back to pick me up so I could have somewhere to go for the night. I’m still not sure how I got myself into this situation, but when she got back we stopped at the Tesco for a case of beer and started driving around Darlington (I assumed back to her brother’s). Along the way, some blue lights started flashing. Yea, those blue lights. My new friend ended up being booked for a DUI. Since I don’t have a license in the UK, one of the officers drove the car back to the police station. In all honesty, it was a bit of a sketchy operation on their part. We conversed on the ride and I told him what I was doing in the UK and where I was going, but he never asked me for my identification or anything. This might not seem odd, but he left me in the car with the keys while Leslie was being booked for the night. I could easily have stolen the car and driven to Edinburgh and then ditched it. Hitching over!

I figured that she would be in the station through the morning, so rather than leave I just slept in the car. It’s a lot more comfortable than on the curb, trust me! Things obviously work differently in England. They released her about an hour later even though she was still officially unfit to drive. The officer was then kind enough to drive her car back home. Talk about chauffeur service! By this time, it was about 4am or so and I was freaking exhausted. Soon, I would be able to drop onto the couch and pass the hell out. Nope! I ended up sitting in the living room talking with her brother until after 5 in the morning. I honestly don’t remember any of the conversation because I passed out in the middle of a sentence. I only slept until 7am so that I could catch the commuting traffic to Newcastle.

You obviously know because you're reading this after it has happened, but I'm putting it on the record... I was and am safe.