Phlosphr You and I were in the same places about the same time frame lol. I was in Eugene Oregon for a few months working the cannery, picked roses in (of all places) Roseville Cali, Strawberries, oranges and plums all along Cali all the while sleeping in a tent and either thumbing rides from truckers (REALLY easy for a single gal to do 
) or hopping freight trains (And I have scars to prove it! ) Being young and reckless was fun but, like you, I’m in my mid 30s now and couldn’t imagine (not for long anyway) doing it again. I’m too old for that stuff now. Altho… memory lane is aweful fun to wander down… sigh
Yes, Phlosphr you do, and I sure did enjoy reading the little snippets you included in your post. Also, I appreciate the link to the Krakauer book about Chris McCandless. I had heard about the story and am looking forward to reading about it in depth.
To you and the others who were kind enough to reply to this thread I would just like to say that I truly enjoy meeting people of all walks of life, but unfortunately with very few exceptions I meet them while they are flat on their backs in my hospital. Don’t misunderstand me. I love taking care of sick folks and I love helping them to feel better. It’s just that I’d also like to see them when they’re happy and not feeling bad.
This is why I always get that “romantic” feeling when I travel. Whether it’s back home to Germany or just on the way to Florida’s beaches. I go through some very pretty towns (Eufaula, Alabama being just one) and I always wonder what the people are like and how neat it would be to just interact with them for a few days and then move on to the next place.
I would dearly love to stop in a small town, go to a bar and just sit and watch and listen. Eavesdropping? Maybe, but if I choose not to become personally involved, I don’t see the harm.
Johnny Cash once described his Dad as a “working hobo”. I know the times are different, but boy what a dream, huh? 
Thanks!
Q
Quasi - The times are what you make them ol’chap. If I walked through life never taking the time to sniff the roses or watch the wind in the trees or build a tree house…I’d feel I was missing out on the finer things life has to offer. I believe it is an ingrained human faculty to want to seek out the simple things in life. This can be easily seen through the feelings you have when you look out over a massive expanse of landscape, and suddenly feel wonderful…
I was thinkin’ . . . If I didn’t have my Mom and my cats to worry about and I lost my job, I might take off and Visit Friends. I have friends in L.A., Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, London, Sydney, and Wales, and I could spend a week with each of them . . .
I started doing this when I was 30 and consider it the beginning of my mid lilfe crisis. I’m now heading rapidly toward 34 and still doing it with no end in sight. I’m in a different situation to most though in that I had earned enough money to support myself without working before I left. The feeling of freedom is exactly the same though.
I spent 6 months driving west to east across the US, and then back again. It was probably the most enjoyable 6 months of my life. I’m not really into “roughing” it so stayed in hotels all the time. I spent time exploring both big cities and small towns. As I have an English accent, meeting people in small towns was wonderful, kind of like being a celebrity for a few days.
Doing this in your own country is fun, doing it in another country is a truly mesmerizing experience. I travelled to Australia for a while and around Asia for quite a while. No car or possessions, just hopping on trains and buses when I wanted to move. It is impossible to describe how liberating and enjoyable that is.
Now into my 4th year of travelling I’m in a motorhome travelling around Europe and still having as much fun as I’ve always had. I still need to travel around South America and large parts of Asia (Russia and China especially) so I figure my mid life crisis still has another 5 years to run.