“I never thought I’d be sleeping on cardboard under
a bridge,” Adam Hopkins randomly texted me late at night on November 15th from, well, under a bridge that covers the Washington Street DIY
park in San Diego. While working on Adam’s “All-Terrain”
Push.ca feature prior to his departure, he briefly mentioned the ambitious
and virtually solo Greyhound trip that would take him all over Canada and the
US for 2 months. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical at first.
“The trip
started in late September,” Adam wrote in a recent email. “I headed to AM
Getting Paid in Montreal then hung around till October 1st before
meeting up with my buddy Gary Vic from Thunder Bay. We picked up a Greyhound
pass and away we went.”
The
following is a highlight account from The
Road Warrior himself:
Adam at Philly's very skate-famous Love Park.
Destinations
“In order
and so far, I’ve been to Montreal, Boston, North Hampton in New Hampshire, New
York City, Philadelphia, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New
Mexico.”
“My grandpa isn't
doing very well so I bussed 38 hours from Philly to Thunder Bay and spent some
time back home with the family. Going to Winnipeg also delayed the trip, since
Greyhound cancelled the route to Minneapolis and forgot to update their maps.
So I had to backtrack to T-Bay and get a ride to Duluth, MN so I could enter
the States again. It was such a delay. I got on the bus for a day-and-8-hours
to Albuquerque, NM to make it to the warmer climates and make up for lost
time.”
Adam takes a moment to capture an overview of FDR – Philly's epic DIY haven.
Epic Spots Skated
“The Big-O and
Olympic Stadium in Montreal; C-Bowl in Boston, MA;
Courthouse, Black Hubba, and I got to experience Harold Hunter Day at the LES
park in Manhattan, New York; City Hall, FDR, South Philly bowl and Pop’s Playground (amazing DIY street
park) in Philadelphia; Forks skate
plaza and the Woodsworth building in Winnipeg; Alamosa park
(most unique design I’ve ever seen), and sick ditch spots in Albuquerque NM.
Backside ollie
at the Forks plaza in Winnipeg. Photo courtesy of Cam Nikkel and his blogspot –
pancakesandskateboards.
Be sure to check out Adam in the opening
footy of Underworld’s
Store Wars entry, and stay tuned for his continued Road Warrior diary in
Part 2.