A man without a country or bed?

If you asked anyone what was going on this weekend, everyone would say "why, nothing at all." When I'd proceed to tell them there are no beds left for under about £70 in both Derry~Londonderry and Belfast, there eyes bulge in astonishment as they proceed to go through the list of hostels and hotels the area that must have a bed. None of them. Not for two cities. And the ones that were £70 were likely fully booked too (and all the way across town so I'd have to pay for a taxi too)- really only leaving ones in the £150 range. I left Londonderry hoping to find a bed at my old hostel in Belfast- nothing. I met a nice mother and daughter on the train that did everything they could to help me find a place- they loaned me their phones and tablet- but nothing was available. I was so exhausted by this point, I had been on my feet for over 10 hours, most of that time going up and down hills with a heavy backpack- I fell asleep, but occassionally heard them phoning friends and hotels for me. It was so kind of them.

Now here's where the lesson comes in to play, so everyone listen up. Some would think it's my own fault- I should have booked a room way in advance to prevent this from happening. While that may be true, I don't believe that's the take-away from this. Before I left Belfast yesterday morning I put on my Chris Thayer hat. I went up and asked the guys at the station about where to go, even though I had an idea of what to do, and just generally chatted them up and charmed them- always trying to make friends wherever I go. The station supervisor, Don, turned out to be from PA, so we were able to chat for a bit about that. Well when I arrived at the other station in town at 10:00 at night, there was an old gentleman and a young guy that both spent about 30 minutes phoning places for me. I was so surprised by their dedication and kindness. All the while I'm keeping my spirits up-front being nice and friendly and joking around as much as possible.
They can't find anywhere. They phone central station- where I came from yesterday morning. They get Don on the phone and he remembers me from that morning. He had me come over, and first offered me a chair in the station to sleep on. Then offered me the floor in his office with a heater. Finally another girl from Israel showed up and he gave us the employee lunchroom, with couches and a TV. He spent a good amountb of rime looking for an emergency blanket (which I told him wasn't necessary) but could only find these heavy reflective coats (which make a great blanket by the way). He locked the two of us in the building with security and let us stay the night. Five star couch, I swear. If I could take one with me, I would (the security guard offered). It was flat and saggy and old, and would probably be terrible to sit on, but when it looked like I may be sleeping outside in the cold, there's no better you can ask for. This morning I woke up when employees started coming in- who offered to buy me coffee. So that was a really roundabout way of saying the lesson of the day is talk to everyone, be nice to everyone, and be who you want to meet. You never know when you may be in trouble and already have a good standing with who your begging for help from.

All I have to say is I love Belfast, and it's people. And it's worth a return trip just to rethank everyone who helped me. Unbelievable kindness. Just wow.

Headed out to Giant's causeway, hoping for a better day today. They said I shouldn't have trouble finding a bed out there- but recommended I call ahead. I'm not sure this will necessarily change how I travel the rest of the trip- honestly I doubt it would at all, but I suppose I'll take it into consideration?