- Steinbeck starts off with some further thoughts on his journey and his motivations, fears, etc., plus some thoughts about masculinity.
- Then (finally) we get his memories of the day he left on the trip. His first steps involved a few ferries to get him to Connecticut.
- On one of these ferries, he struck up a conversation about submarines with a young man who worked on them. Apparently Steinbeck was a little tweaky about submarines.
- Once back on land, Steinbeck headed north. He stopped at a liquor store to stock up for any guests/friends he might make along the way.
- He stopped in Deerfield, Massachusetts, to visit his youngest son. Apparently, his tripped-out truck attracted a lot of attention. He was worried that the kids would stow away in his truck (they didn't, though).
- He then drove into Vermont and New Hampshire.
- One night, he stopped to buy some eggs from a farmer and asked his permission to camp by the stream there. The farmer agreed, and Steinbeck invited him into his "house" for a drink.
- When the farmer arrived, they talked current events for a while. It seems that people were pretty preoccupied with nukes, Russia, and the Cold War at around this time.
- Then we get more of Steinbeck's general reflections on the people he encountered in New England and the best way to approach observing and interacting with them and their cultures.
- Inspired by his love for Joseph Addison, who recommended giving readers a sense of the author, he goes into some detail about himself and his background.
- He describes a fairly amusing encounter between Charley, a Pomeranian, and her owner. Apparently, Charley terrified both of them.