Myersville Town Councilman Brett Bidle with filmmaker John Waters

Cult film director-turned-America’s favorite hitchhiker John Waters has reached his final destination of San Francisco safely. Waters embarked on his cross-country journey—the basis of an upcoming book—and it took him “eight days and about 15 hitchhiked rides,” according to Arts Beat.

Waters’ first ride from Baltimore was courtesy of Myersville, Maryland town councilman Brett Bidle. Bidle actually thought Waters was homeless and told the Frederick News-Post, “He began to tell me who he was, but I didn’t believe him. But when we stopped and he left the car, I Googled him, and everything popped up.” Bidle ended up dropping him in Ohio—we imagine that’s where Here We Go Magic found him.

Bidle, 20, had been on his way to Joplin, Mo., to help with rebuilding the city after the devastating tornado there. He and Waters, 66, decided to keep in touch.

Bidle left Myersville again on Friday, driving 22 hours nonstop to Denver where he had planned to meet Waters.

Coincidentally, Bidle and Waters had stopped in the same hotel.

“I knew he was in Denver, but not in the hotel I booked into,” Bidle said.

The pair left Denver, stopped in Salt Lake City and drove to Reno, Nev., Bidle said. “He didn’t want me to drive him into San Francisco. He wanted to hitchhike. He wanted the adventure to see what real America was like.”

Waters gave Bidle the key to his apartment in San Francisco. “When I got there, he showed up an hour later.”

Waters told Arts Beat why he planned the odyssey, “My life is so over-scheduled, what will happen if I give up control?” and he sounded enchanted with who he met, “Pot smokers, cops, I got everybody. And everybody was lovely.” He tentatively plans to call the book, Carsick.