On his first night in Portland, Nick Galusha thought he might have to go without a bed. He’d been planning to crash with a local college student he’d found through CouchSurfing.com, the international Web site that hooks up cash-poor travelers with generous hosts. But around 7:30 pm last Thursday night, those plans fell through, and Galusha, 20, was stuck in an unfamiliar city without a place to sleep. Luckily, some last-minute Internet machinations connected him with three friendly law students, who offered Galusha a place to lay his head — even though they had an exam the next morning.
This type of generosity is part of the reason why Galusha, of wheresnicknow.com, started his somewhat quixotic quest: to visit all 50 states on a budget of next-to-nothing, save the money that he collects from strangers. He wants to prove to himself that people, in general, are good. He also wants to demonstrate that we don’t have to be rich to take a vacation.
Galusha left his hometown of Rochester, New York, on April 30, hoping to “restore his faith in humanity” (which he claims he lost while working as a news producer for a TV station in Omaha, Nebraska, digging up and reporting on horrifying stories). When he took off, he had $50 — barely enough money for a tank of gas in the Chevy S-10 pickup he’s driving. So far, he’s made stops in Syracuse, Albany, Burlington, Manchester, and Portland, surviving on Saltines and random acts of kindness (and Big Sky turkey sandwiches, purchased for him by munificent reporters).
From Portland, Galusha planned to head south to Amherst, Massachusetts, then on to Providence, Rhode Island. He checks in with his parents every day — “they trust that I know what I’m doing,” he says.
But does he? It’s hard to say. Clearly, Galusha’s got some guts (and some late-adolescent angst, judging from the current playlist posted at his Web site). But most of his decisions are made by the seat of his pants. And there’s one quandary that will be particularly interesting to watch unfold: the question of how in the world he’ll get to Hawaii without any money. Keep tabs on the intrepid traveler at wheresnicknow.com.
