Best food & lodging travel books according to redditors

It's a matter of ingrained habit. It's like wearing a seat belt in a car or a helmet when riding a motorcycle. If you refuse to wear a seat belt, you're just taking an unnecessary risk out of habit. You may drive 100,000 miles and never get a scratch, and then that one little miscalculation puts you through the windshield.

Have you ever read Duffy Littlejohn's book, Hopping Freight Trains in America? You should get your wife a copy. Littlejohn sugarcoats trainhopping a lot, but the information in it is definitely worth a read. I learned to hop trains the old school way in 1970, but I still learned a lot I didn't known from Littlejohn's research.

https://www.amazon.com/Hopping-Freight-Trains-America-Littlejohn/dp/094462734X

While the popular opinion on this sub is to get a more experienced traveler to teach you, if you really do your research about it, I mean really be invested to reading up on the subject, as long as you're careful you can do it. I would suggest the book Freight Hopping in North America by Duffy LittleJohn. That book will teach you everything you need to know. I don't know how much time you have before you need to leave, but I would take some time to read that book and other things online if you aren't able to find someone to go with you. Either way, good luck on your travels, freight hopping is a beautiful thing!

edit: [book link] (https://www.amazon.com/Hopping-Freight-Trains-America-Littlejohn/dp/094462734X)

I find it a bit distracting to hear his voice in my head when read him!

I found that also while reading the introduction to Bill Richardson's Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast. His voice did not carry over into the narrative, however.

I have a copy of this book signed by the author.

Side note. I've read other books dedicated to riding freight trains, this guy has good info. His general warning of how dangerous it is should not be taken lightly. Here's a few resources if you're stupid enough to try:
https://expertvagabond.com/hitchhiking-america-part-2/
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/094462734X/

Always good to keep your eyes peeled. A good guide book, aside from experience around trains, is Hopping Freight Trains in America by Duffy Littlejohn. It has a wealth of knowledge regarding trains and train yards. A good read worth checking out. http://www.amazon.com/Hopping-Freight-Trains-America-Littlejohn/dp/094462734X

Have you read Duffy Littlejohn's book? If so, can you say whether or not it's accurate?

I really enjoyed reading "Skywalker: Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail".

I learned everything I know about the riding the rails on my own, through research and some help from member of STP. You'll learn as you go, especially through your "mistakes" along the way. You might be able to find a road dog to teach you the ropes once you're on the road but you'll probably never find one online. With that said, always keep people at arms length.

A decent starting point is Hopping Freight Trains in America by Duffy Littlejohn. It helped me quite a bit but take it with a grain of salt. Railroad maps are easy to read and are invaluable on the road. A CCG is nice to have too if you can find one.

I just came across this one - The Appalachian Trail: History, Humanity and Ecology by Robert Browne https://www.amazon.com/Appalachian-Trail-Robert-Browne-ebook/dp/B01DI4MMV4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I would highly recommend Science for the Airplane Passenger to be kept with you next time you fly.

I meant this one.

Riding The Edge by Dave Barr. About as real as it gets.

https://www.amazon.com/Riding-edge-Dave-Barr/dp/1879854112

I am a huge fan of these three particular Bill Walker books. I really enjoy his voice.

Also, I second /u/mistermcsqueeb's suggestion of A Walk in the Woods. Bryson is an overall fantastic writer as well.

I found this book to be a really good primer on getting by down there: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982310137/
It covers a lot of the basics of getting around/traveling/driving and talks about camp spots but is thin on surfing info. It is also a few years old now and things/businesses change pretty rapidly down there. Definitely a good primer to the non-surf stuff. If you're in SD you can borrow my copy.

If you can find a copy of the Baja Almanac, that's nice to have too.
A lot of the roads from the 1 to the small towns along the coast have been getting paved in the past few years, so getting around has gotten a bunch easier. It is rainy season now, so expect construction/wash outs on the roads. BajaNomads.com has decent updates on road conditions.

I enjoyed this one. The same author did one for his PCT thru-hike, but I think it wasn't as good.

I'll also second dec92010's recommendation for A Walk in the Woods.

Nutrition in the fast lane