A Piece of Cardboard and a Sharpie Pt. 3

Okay, so we survived our first day of hitchhiking and were feeling pretty good about the next leg of the trip. In the morning, we walked directly out of the inn we’d slept at, held up our signs and put our thumbs out. It was exciting not knowing who we would meet that day.

After about ten minutes, a rental car with two guys pulled over: Nick and Jake.

The banana thumb.

Nick, who lives in Massachusetts, had surprised his son Jake that morning with a last minute father-son road trip. Jake had thrown some clothes in a bag and jumped into the car. They hadn't been driving long when they saw us.

“You guys just look like normal people,” Jake said. “That’s why we picked you up.”

Tom playing an invisible cello for Jake.

We felt at home with them right away, passing around the maps to discuss where we all wanted to go. Nick stopped often to check out views of the beautiful coastline. 

One of the stunning views that we stopped for. It was okay I guess.

Nick talked about his views on karma and quirks of fate. 

"I like to pay it forward," he said. 

He’d pull over and we’d all take pictures and soak up the stunning views.

We secretly nicknamed him St Nick for obvious reasons.

The car was comfortable and they were friendly. Tom and I didn't realise that things were about to get better… way better. 

Mid-conversation, Jake pointed out a sign for dune buggies and quad bikes. He suggested we check it out, and Nick agreeably swung the car around and drove into the place. We soon learned that there were some huge sand dunes nearby. Jake was really excited about the prospect of quad biking the dunes.

“Dad, let’s do it!” 

Nick shrugged and the two of them got out of the car to speak to the manager. 

Out of sight, Tom and I looked at each other. “I guess we’ll just hang around and wait while they do it,” I whispered. We figured it was worth it to wait and get a guaranteed ride south, even if we did lose some time. 

Nick stuck his head back into the car. 

“Want to do it, guys? I’ll pay.”

We were flabbergasted. 
“We can’t let you do that,” Tom protested. 

“Come on, I’m generous,” Nick replied. 

We didn't need much encouragement. We got some helmets, jumped on a bike and rode them around the back to the dunes!

Surrounded by a pack of wild ATVs.

The dunes were huge, and to get up to the top you had to get a good run up, and then keep increasing speed until you were full throttle. If you eased off at all on your steep ride up, you wouldn't make it to the top: you had to really commit. 

It was seriously exhilarating!

This photo is of one of the small dunes that we encountered early on: we have no pictures of the steep ones because we were too busy fanging it!

Going down the steep faces of the dunes felt like going on a waterfall ride at a theme park… except that it’s sand, and you’re somewhat in control. I felt the adrenaline rush through me and grinned like a maniac.

This is the best way to steer, right?

Nick was wonderful. He treated me like a favourite niece, zooming around me and offering helpful suggestions. When I nailed it, he gave me a thumbs up. Jake showed us how to do doughnuts in the sand and raced around like a pro.

Nick calmly poses for a photo, unaware that an unidentified biker is about to rear end him.

It was difficult to keep the handles still as my bike jumped along bumps at full throttle, and up a particularly steep dune, I could feel the handlebars moving a lot. I gritted my teeth and stayed at full throttle. 

Unfortunately, I flipped the bike and it landed on my leg. Oops.

The newly formed biker gang. Don't mess with these guys.

But rather than scaring me, I felt relieved. What I'd feared had happened and all I had was a few bruises. Nick, Tom and Jake sped over to help lift the bike off me and checked I hadn't broken anything: human or mechanical. Apart from the little flag that shows where you are to other bikers, I was good to go. So I got back on, rode down the dune, and swung around to try again.

Except this time, I made it.

Just doing some casual doughies.

So, what do you think? Have we convinced you that it's worth it to trust people and say yes to adventure yet? Leave a comment! We would also love to hear about adventures that you've had when you put yourself out there.