The bus speeds across the American landscape. Sal says, "I was going home in October. Everybody goes home in October." Part 1, Chapter 14, pg. 103. The bus stops in Oklahoma and Sal meets a girl with whom he necks all the way to Indianapolis. After he runs out of sandwiches, she buys him lunches. She is headed towards upstate New York and they make a date at a hotel in the city.
When he leaves the bus, he is weary but he has to hitch 300 miles to the city. He meets an old man he thinks is a ghost, so he follows him on the road. The man talks incessantly and is almost hit by multiple cars. It begins to rain and the pair split.
Sal sleeps in a railroad station. In the morning he is starving and gets a ride from a man who thinks that being near starvation is good for your health. After a while, the man gives him bread and butter and they arrive in New York. Sal is surprised to find himself in New York City even though he has to walk the last few miles home. When he gets home he eats everything in the cupboards. While he has been away, Dean has stayed with Sal's aunt, but now he's living with Camille in New York.
