Hitchiking?

Use your finger (not thumb) to point in the direction you want to go...very common...mostly pick-up trucks will give you rides cuz you can just jump in back..hitching is a viable way to get around....but you'll want to buy a vehicle after a couple weeks of that...STT is a real pain without your own...JMHO....

A couple of weeks ago a young man with a very promising future picked up a hitchhiker and he was shot and killed for his car. You will not find as many people stopping for hitchhikers and in this day and age its just stupid. The time for this island tradition has come and gone.

Betty is right about picking up riders; something I won't do since the murder.

i spent over a year hitching from cane bay over the beast up to the main road to catch a 2 dollar taxi to get to f'sted,always during the day,in all that time i only had one whack job pick me up and he wanted me to pray the rosary with him so i got out at the stop sign at the corner where you turn to go the meat store annaly farms. as far as picking people up,only people i know.

HItchhiking is neither reliable nor a wise way to get around.

When I first arrived in the 80's I'd do it in a pinch, and even then I was warned by one gentleman who picked me up that it was not the best way for a young lady to move about.

As you come to know more people, you will get to the point where if you are stranded on the side of the road, you end up getting picked up by a friend or someone with whom you are already well acquainted. But, for a virtual stranger, I don't think it's a good idea to do this anywhere.

I only pick up people I know and I would NEVER hitchhike myself.

There are a few bad people everywhere, and many nice ones. You could meet a bad person hitching a ride, or they could find you in your home or office or the grocery store. But most people are NICE, and hundreds of people all over these islands get a ride from a more-or-less complete stranger every day. The people who hitchhike regularly are always grateful for the rides. It was a very sad and weird situation that that courthouse clerk was killed recently, but it certainly was an unusual case. I think it is great that people can hitch a ride here, and I give folks a ride in the back of my truck whenever they put up a finger. Regular hitch hikers know to pay attention and tap on the window or thump the top of the cab when they want out. Other vehicles know the situation and never honk in complaint. Save gas, use somebody else's!

"Endeavor to live so that when you die, even the undertaker will be sorry" -Twain

I still say it's nuts for a female to pick up a hitchhiker or BE a hitchhiker.

A little off topic but back in the day I was always prepared to walk the entire distance to my destination. I never stood in one place and tried to hitch a ride. I would walk and if someone gave me a ride, great. If not, I viewed it as exercise. There were more times than I can count when I walked from town to Northside and vice-versa. There were other times when I walked the entire way from Mountain Top to town and vice-versa. I would time myself and try to keep a pace of under 15-minute miles. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, I found walking uphill easier than walking downhill.

As Antillean put it, hitchhiking does have the added benefit of green-thinking. But I also think that walking in the islands is a great way to stay in shape.

Just breeze past them won't take the chance with hittchers.

It's unfortunate, but women, alone, need to be careful. I can tell you that as a male, I totally overlook this in so many ways... my wife once educated me:
- she travels on business, and is sometimes traveling alone.
- at a hotel, I won't think twice about parking the car in the parking lot and walking to my hotel room...
- if my wife is alone, she has to be very careful about where she parks the car and how she walks from the car to the hotel lobby (and only the lobby).

It's a different world for women... please be careful, we men like having you around...

It's too bad this is no longer a viable option, especially for women. I've been to other islands where *everyone* does it. It does get easier as you get to know people, because chances are a friend will come along and pick you up, as someone mentioned. In anything but a very small community, though, I agree with those who say the risk is too great... you just never know what kind of nutjob you might encounter next. It's too bad... it used to be a great, adventurous, interesting form of transportation.