Portrait Project # 11 / by Dave Hileman

I met Kenneth on a dock along the Silver River in Silver Springs State Park, FL. He was paddling a very small, light weight vessel that was mostly canoe with a touch of kayak. Kenneth was most interesting. He said he was just a hippie gypsy. He is from Vermont where he works a bit each year as a painter to support his travels that he does most frugally. And successfully, he has been to 132 countries. Wow. We talked about places he has seen and the wildlife he enjoys so much. And he lives in his minivan or hitchhikes. Who knew people still did that. I used to hitchhike to work while in high school but even then it seemed less simple then what you read about a few years before that when it was more ordinary. I once picked up an Amish man in Lancaster County, PA who was carrying a huge watermelon. It felt virtuous - not the watermelon.

So after a bit, Kenneth bid me goodbye and paddled off to his next adventure.