Road Tripping to the New England Area.

Big Road Trip to the North East. I was feeling uneasy about carrying weed on a road trip out east. I’m headed through multiple states with different Marijuana laws. So, I decided to offer my Facebook friends the opportunity to meet the Mile High Potter and let them share what they are smoking. I’m offering a BFP, Big Fucking Pipe, if they load and smoke the BFP with me. Once smoked out of, it’s theirs. I can’t take a dirty pipe with me down the road. I met some really cool people along the way, and sometimes at unusual times.

Upon returning from the Washington / Oregon road trip, the vehicle I was borrowing took a few door dings. Though I did not cause the damage, I am responsable. Well, my brother will tell me that he plans on selling the vehicle and begins fixing some of the minor damages and gets rims and tires for it. He mentions he plans to keep the mileage low, as to get more for it. This meant, I was done using this vehicle.  I was resolved to go to the North East. I wanted to attend an Iron Pour in Scranton, PA. So, I made a list of repairs that my vehicle needed, prior to traveling. Before I do maintenance to my truck, my brother will offer his vehicle for one last trip. Remember this trip goes farther away than the others have and my truck has broken down several times prior or during other road trip attempts which caused me grief. Of course I jumped at the offer. I loaded the vehicle with such enthusiasm. It will be twenty miles from Topeka, KS when the dash lights light up and the vehicle drops out of cruise control. I tried to read the display, which looked like paragraphs of issues. I saw a sign, rest area one mile and I stopped there. Slowly the power failed and the alarm was a wee whimper prior to the battery completely dying. I called for a tow to Topeka. Auto Zone will lend me tools to remove the battery. After charging, a diagnostic is done. It turns out to be the alternator. I’ll purchased another battery and head home. I was waiting for the original battery to fail again and replace it with the new one. I made it back to Denver and returned the vehicle back to my brother. I gave him the money he lent me for the trip.

I returned home feeling down. I had made promises to be in particular places at particular times. I felt so depressed, I stayed in bed for two days longing to be on the road. Most people already thought I had left. I tried to weigh my situation. I spent most of my money on gas going to and fro. The repairs and maintenance were not made to my truck. My plans included earning money along the way to pay admission for the 8th International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art which I’m suppose to perform in. I felt like I let everyone down including myself. As it turns out, I’ll sell four Lynard Intaglio prints at the studio in Denver and borrow against it to fund another attempt. The money I obtained was just enough for gas and cigs, until i could make some sales of BFP’s. I’ll have a flat tire early on, thinking I can’t afford any more issues like this.

Because I was running behind my original schedule, I kinda just kept going. I knew I wanted to meet up with a military buddy of mine, preferably at a reasonable hour. My first attempt to make a sale was in Missouri. I ended up meeting Seth at Eye Candy in Columbia, MO. Now with renewed confidence, I puttered through Missouri to meet up with Mike in St. Louis. We served in the Army together. I’ll meet his wife and have dinner at Roma’s Pizza 121 E. Bethalto Dr, Bethalto, IL 62010 a family owned pizza place that was voted best pizza in the mid west. After dinner, I’ll push on towards Chicago during the cooler part of the night. I was trying to keep the temperature down on the truck while packing in some extra miles in the mean time. I’ll settle down at Funk’s Groove Rest Area, a historical maple grove, for the night. It seemed close, but not to close to Chicago.

I change my plans often and decided to check out the Peoria area. It looked like they had a few shops worthy of a BFP. I popped into Smokers Den not long after they opened. In a town called Normal, how cool, huh. I really enjoyed this visit. After some face timing, a decision was made as to how many they wanted. I was happy to fill their order. He even gave me a t-shirt. By now, the Heat and Humidity in Illinois seemed to increase exponentially. BTW, No AC and both windows are down. I drive with the heat on hoping to shed any excess heat off the engine, because that’s a problem. And I don’t have a radio.

So, I’m cruising to Peoria and I see two Orange sign on both sides of a west bound highway saying K-9 drug units ahead. This caught my attention. About a mile later I see two yellow signs, saying “be prepared to stop ahead” just after those signs there is an exit to a rest area. I felt compelled to stop there, but I kept driving on. I didn’t see another sign or police car ahead which made me think they are probably searching people who pull into the rest area. I thought how sneaky that was. The first store I stopped at had a handwritten note on the door saying, Went to Summer camp be back Tuesday. I thought that was fucking odd. I continued on to the next store, Feeling Groovy. Met Nancy and Paul. Nancy could see the heat and humidity was getting the best of me. She would bring me a cold wet washcloth and two bottles of cold water. I was so grateful to her. She had so many stories to tell. I was asking about Champs and other glass shows. Nancy was so helpful telling me about the people she has met, like dabbing granny and all the cool glass blowers she has met. She even has their artwork displayed and has photos of her with the artists. I brought up the story of Summer camp and they informed me, that was a huge music festival just up the road and Paul confirmed my suspicions about the k-9 incident. I really enjoyed visiting Peoria.

I figured, I better get back on track, so that I can meet up with Joey in Chicago. I see a place called Brown Bag video, an adult entertainment store. The sign said, Noveltys. If they purchase my BFP’s, it will be a first for me. Turns out, Justin and the others loved them and selected a variety for a few of their stores. I had a proud Artist moment as I carried my BFP’s into the store.

Heading on into Chicago, I make a visit to some shops in Cresthill, Il. The first shop I arrived at had customers, three young guys and I usually browse around till its my turn. I don’t want them to feel rushed. It gives me time to kinda access what they have as far as pipes and types of merchandise they have on hand, like cigerettes, drinks, posters, jewelry and apparel, plus I like to hear what kinds of questions they have. Well, This guy said no immediately after those customers left. so, I head outside to chat with them. Hell, if they have weed, ill give them a BFP. As it turns out, It took some coaxing to get them to roll down the window. I’m sure they were thinking I was the law or some thing, so I didn’t bother asking those questions. I kinda told them my story about how I make pipes and If there were any other stores around that I might be interested in. They pointed across the street. I was kinda shocked. It didn’t register on my phone as a head shop. I went over and just went in to see what it looked like. I can go to the truck and get some pipes if they are interested. Its called Rocky Mudds Beads & Gifts and it is filled with unique items of all kinds. They have a rock area for metaphysical to geological stuff, to metal sculptures of fantasy, stuff that lights up, some cool novelties. In my heart I really wanted my pipes here. I felt they fit that kind of Novelty. Well I want to thank Fia and Julie for making that possible.

I’ll bypass all the chicago stores and head straight to Joey’s place and get High. It’s a holiday weekend and most store owners are not anyways available. Plus, I enjoy joeys company, I’ve known him since ceramics in college. I basically gave up due to the Holiday and decided to hang out with friends. I’ll buy a bag of weed after arriving and meet most of his house mates. Joey is determined to take me to the nearby headshops the next day, he thinks they will do well there. The evening is hot and humid and it seems cooler outside than inside. The day Prior, there was an altercation on the stoop which cost joey a few windows and some beveled glass from his door. When I arrived, they just finished caulking the replaced glass. Seemed like a perfect time to smoke a joint. We chilled out, Mohomad played his guitar. I’ll trade him inverters, his didnt push as much power as mine. I only needed it to charge my phone in an emergency. He needed to power his guitar and amp, he uses a dolly with a twelve volt battery to power the inverter that runs the amp, phone and guitar so he can play music on the street.

After a little wake and bake, we head to joes grill for breakfast. It’s a small breakfast place with few seats but continually crowded with customers, mostly a line for to go breakfast. They cook it on a grill right in front of you. I loved it. Later that day we will find our way to South Side Smoke Shop II where Bri and Jen will pick up some BFP’s for both stores. After that we head to Smoking Buddha Shop where I have difficulty finding parking nearby. I’ll chat with Also and Dan. They wanted to see them. I tell them I’ll be back. I bring a box of Large BFP’s and they wanted to see the medium ones too. It’s a long way to carry pipes. They suggested I park right in front of their store which clearly says no parking. He assured me it was ok. So I walk to the truck and joey is on foot somewhere, but I’m moving the vehicle closer to the store. They purchase some pipes and I find joey nearby and we head home to smoke a bowl. Once at the house we walk to the store. It’s a pretty small store, looks like a convenient store but packed full of merchandise. It turns out there is a butcher shop there and we get some meat for the grill. We decide we were going to need more weed. Joey decides to hit this guy up. He’s sitting on a lawn chair next to a metallic green cutlass. I’m watching from the truck as Joey approaches him and starts a conversation. The police pulled right up to them both and joins their conversation and I realized that wasn’t going to happen. Mohamad hooked us up again, and we smoked the meat and the weed.

By morning, I’m ready to head out. While I was driving, I saw a sign advertising a windmill in Holland, Michigan. I had to see it. It was a quick in and out. My goal was to hit up all the shops between Chicago and Detroit. I’ll end up south of Grand Rapids at a shop called The Twisted Monkey. Brian and Jessica helped me out and I took a sweet pic of Jessica holding a purple BFP.

I’ll roll into Detroit and meet up with Ryan. Now, When he rolls a joint, he maxes out the papers diameter He truly rolls the fattest and most consistent joints I have ever witnessed. And who by the way has the largest music collection I know of. Well he takes me to a late night to go diner. Apparently they have been robbed before and have thick glass separating the staff from the customers, with a little turnabout window to receive your food. The food however was delicious. The next day he introduces me to his friends that have an art coop. It’s in the process of completion and when I visited, they were pouring aluminum. we had picked up some borax for him on the way there. He was using charcoal with a Kirby vacuum as the blower. He melted the aluminum in an old cut in half twenty pound propane tank. The aluminum will melt prior to the steel. It’s as basic as you can get. They are curious and experimental with big plans ahead. I admire their go for it attitudes.

I had said I would stop and visit with two friends from Facebook . However, in the confusion I thought it was really just one so I headed to Canton, OH. to meet Franny and friends. I reassure them I’m coming. I’ll get there after dark, closer to eleven pm. There was four of them waiting. They were such great sports about it. Franny picked the BFP she wanted and we began to smoke. I confess, I become quite the chatterbox. Mostly because I want to tell people about my trips. I was having fun but it was late, so I gave each lady a smaller BFP and said goodbye.

I stop at a rest area for the night. When I got up to pee, the lady parked next to me asked if i could give her a jump. I guess they fell asleep with the ignition on. Because I’m in my vehicle, I know I have cables. So I said, sure. As it turns out I will not have any auto issues for the rest of the trip.  My next visit is in Lockport, NY. So, I stop in Buffalo, NY and check out Decades Psychedelic Daze. Renee and Sam wanted BFP’s for both stores, Decades Psychedelic Daze and Decades Too. Now I have BFP’s in New York State.

I make the call to John in Lockport, to let him know I’m in his area. I swing by and he’s happy to see me. I’ve known him for over twenty years. He was my brothers good friend. He saw me make some of the first BFP’s and Lynards. I must admit he seems pretty proud of me. I visited him at home and his house is a perpetual Christmas theme. He is adamant about me signing his BFP for him. I’ve been waiting for this day. I break out the gold and silver markers and draw Lynard on it for him. He is so stoked. He reminded me about the Lynard t-shirts I had made years ago. He said he gave his to a kid that worked with him named Lenard who smoked which seems appropriate. Well Lenard had weed and we went to smoke with him. He was even wearing the t-shirt I made. I knew then, he was getting a BFP. Once we were in our proper state of mind, we went for a hike. Probably the best local tour of Lockport you can get. Followed up by a lot more smoking.  By now, I’m doubting if I will see the Niagara Falls. As the Sun set I knew I was missing out on seeing the falls. As I left, I made the decision to go anyways. I didn’t know they had lights on at night. After seeing it at night I knew I wanted to return.

I had already missed two days of the International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art, ICCCIA when I rolled up into Scranton. I was to assist Phen, a fellow Denver Artist, with his performance piece. It’s a Giant wooden wheel that is propelled via a ten speed bike. Once the wheel is rotating Phen pours molten Iron onto the wheel. Its spectacular at night. I really like being apart of the event. But what is really great is that there is a performance each night for over a week. Usually multiple performances from Artist, Schools and Facilities from all over the world. I’ll stay in Scranton for the week then head on down the road. But while I’m here I might as well go see Dunder Miflin Paper Company. I really like the humor in the show the Office.

I changed my route again. I wanted to continue north but got a call from a couple in Delaware. So, I decided to head south to visit a Facebook friend in southern Pennsylvania and would head north along the coast after Delaware. Along the way I stopped in at Utopia, It’s a cool Head Shop at 404 Northampton St. Easton, PA 18042. Cory and Miller helped me out.  When I talked with Cory, I mentioned that Two Chainz smoked my BFP on his show Most Expensivest Shit. He replied that he couldn’t get but a few if they were to expensive. I laughed and replied they aren’t that expensive and he ended up getting quite a few of them. So if you’re in the Easton area check them out.

My next stop was much-anticipated. Facebook friend Bob lives near Allentown, Not really, and I was looking forward to visiting him. He has a great sense of humor and I enjoy his posts. He sent me his address and said the door on the side of the house is unlocked and to just come on up, and I did. I had sent him a BFP a year ago. so I ended up giving him the other two sizes. I think he is the only person who has all three sizes of the BFP. He was ready to load it up, full. Hell, I had to interrupt him from loading more weed in it. We opted to smoke a smaller version of the BFP instead. He offer me some edibles with a warning and I happily accept his gift. These would come in handy later on.

I continued on to Delaware and arrived pretty late in the evening near Dover. I was greeted with smiles and we chatted and smoked through the nite. They offered to put me up for the night. But I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone and said, If I could sleep in your driveway that would be cool and I will leave when I wake up. They had no problem with that. I mentioned that I signed a pipe for John and they liked the Idea so I got my Gold pen and wrote and signed the BFP. Well when I turned in for the night I must have crushed the pen in my back pocket cause my clothes were covered with gold, even my wallet. lol.

I left early and headed north to Wilmington. I was going to meet a new friend from face book. He replied to some of my posts, when I had a flat and posted whoever can guess where I break down next gets a free BFP. He offer to replace my tire for free. But he was in Delaware. lol. I checked him out on Facebook and all I could see at his address was a Prison. No doubt this disturbed me. I wondered is this a set up? They say Curiosity killed the Cat, but that Cat got me fucking high, lol. He even paid for the BFP. I was pleasantly surprised.

I headed towards Philly. Now I’m sure I could have sold more in Philadelphia but I couldn’t find parking to save my life, let alone be close to the stores I wanted to visit. I worked the outskirts of town which is New Jersey. I ended up meeting Mike at Flavor Smoke Shop, 5301 Marlton Pike W, Merchantville, NJ 08109. Mike was cool and liked the BFP’s and the Medium sized ones too. As much as I wanted to visit Atlantic city, I had to head north towards NY. Along the way I spotted ScyFli Smoke Shop and Glass Gallery 4201 Church Road, Store #8, Mt Laurel, NJ 08054. Mark and Michelle chose a few red and purple BFP’s these were from my latest firing. I was holding out til NY to bust them out but when I opened the box at the store I realized they were in it. They loved them. I must admit, they are some of the first to go from a box.

As I approached New York I had a few things I wanted to do. I haven’t seen the statue of liberty before and wanted to do that before it got to late. I didn’t have to actually visit it. I just wanted to see it with my own eyes and get a picture of her and my BFP. Granted I didn’t get to close but I could see her. This made my day. I’ll get lost in Hoboken and say to my self, Do you really think you will find a place to park? The odds were against me and I came to think this is a waste of time. I watched my odometer roll over 200,000 and decided to pass over NYC on this trip. Now I really know what to expect as far as parking goes. I’ll spend the night in Connecticut and plan my assault on Boston. I wake up to jack hammers and road construction. I was surprised to see a smokeshop nearby that opens early. Norwalk Smoke Shop 365 Westport Ave. Norwalk, CT 06851. I time my arrival for the morning. Zack and Brian finished with a previous customer and I explained who I was and what I was up to. I was expecting them to purchase one pipe and off I would go to Boston. They really loved them and wanted eighteen BFP’s. This gets my attention for such a small reserved store. It turns out they have other stores they were going to stock them with. At this point I’m hauling in almost all the inventory I have to ensure they get the colors they want. Now I’m thinking I’m not going to Boston, I’m headed home. Surely I can sell the remaining dozen on the way back.

I had turned down a few people along the way due to where they were at. But now it seems like I could stop by and smoke and give away a few to those people. However, I was unable to find their messages from the posts. From now on I’ll have to have them private message me. I drove through New York State hoping I would get a response from my new posts.  but that didn’t work out. I returned to Lockport and revisited with John. He was out of weed but I had those Brownies from Bob. Thanks again, Bob. The next day I revisited the Niagara falls in the daylight.  I wanted to visit a guy in Canada, but I didn’t want to have to explain the BFP’s at the US border.

By now I’m retracing my steps back to Detroit. I’m driving along the great lakes and decide to stop and get some boat photos at a local marina. Here I will randomly meet Steven. He’s blowing bubbles over the lake. Big Bubbles. We chat and of course Colorado will come up due to my license plate. I’ll tell him my story of the BFP’s and I’ll give him a small one. Something to tell his friends about. He lets me send a few giant bubbles across the marina then gives me a bottle of his bubble solution. I was grateful. As I approached Cleveland I was reminded that I had missed one of my Facebook friends when I came through last time and made a point to visit her. She arranged for a place to meet up at and sent me the address. When I arrived there were four of them and I was happy to see them. after some introductions we started to smoke a few blunts. we never loaded a BFP unfortunately. It was blunt after blunt. I’ll end up giving both the ladies a BFP. As I left I thought I would take a break by the lake. I hung out till sun set then continued on.

Once in Detroit, I was put to work trimming. No complaints here. More like fun. My buddy wanted to visit some friends farther north and I had a Facebook friend I planned on visiting. So off we went to explore the thumb of Michigan. I met up with Taz and her friends and family. When it comes to smoking a BFP’s, the more the merrier.  Her brother liked it so much he got one for himself. We will make several stops along our trip visiting people. I’ll meet Sharon who may be in a wheel chair but has a heart of gold and a new BFP.

Back on the road again, heading to… Kalamazoo. A Facebook friend Derrick, wants me to stop by. He says, I have to be at work by noon. so I’m hoping I’ll get there in time. And I do. Him and his wife greet me and we go inside. He asks what do you like to smoke? He has a variety. I’m grateful, so it doesn’t matter to me. He picks a pipe he likes and loads it up. Derrick has great weed and is a talented tattoo artist.

With Kalamazoo in my rear view, I’m headed to South Bend, IN. I skipped South Bend on my way out, mainly because she didn’t have any smoke and partly because she mentioned I had to go through security then an elevator. I felt shitty about it and decided to visit her anyways. I’m glad I stopped by. They were so kind and nice to me, granted they just woke up when I arrived. We didn’t smoke but I did give her a BFP and I gave a smaller version to her house guest.

I’ll warn Joey I’m headed his way. I got a half ounce to burn by morning. The group was cool with smoking at the start but as the night progressed they seemed to be content. So whenever someone new showed up I’m like, want to smoke a joint? I’ll burn the last three joints in the morning prior to taking off.

I’ll make my way to St. Louis. I tried to visit the Cahokia Indian Mounds when I first came through a couple of weeks prior but due to the time of my arrival, it was closed. Knowing I would be coming through on my way back, I figured I could pick it up later.  Well, later is now. It’s a big Place. I climbed monks mound to the top and checked it out. There’s not a lot to see now but it must have been pretty impressive back in time. I like ancient ruins and this place is one of few ruins that we have in the United States.

By the time I pass Riley Kansas, I spot a hitchhiker. I pick him up and he says he’s from Kentucky, in a southern accent. His sign says DINVER. He spells it just like he pronounces it. I’ll explain our homeless situation and give him advice on the resources that I’m aware of. plus a cooler, water, and a warm jacket.

Here are some additional photos