While waiting for the next ride to materialize, Alex and Emma spent countless hours on the road making up songs about their names, the combination of which struck them both as very musical. In the beginning of their adventure, they didn’t accept rides from trucks of any sort. Both believed that Truck Drivers nursed a secret agenda targeting hitchhikers. But gradually they came to appreciate the long distances covered. That merited a few funny songs as well. Emma presented herself as the rebel – the first in her family to defy tradition and chose a public university over the Ivies. Alex was the first in his family to go to college. His Puerto Rican Mom couldn’t be prouder. So there was a certain gap that needed filling in. The soundtrack of their childhoods for instance couldn’t be more different and that appealed to both of them. On their first night it rained. Despite being raised in the Bronx, Alex was once a boy scout and so he improvised a lean-to from the tarp he had naturally packed. Under the cozy covering, Alex made his moves. Emma gently explained that they were just friends.  By the time they hit PEI (Prince Edward Islands) Emma was smitten. While sharing freshly caught lobsters, Emma tried her hand at flirting but got nowhere. It would take Emma and Alex years to work through bad timing and missed signals. But that’s another story.