As I begin writing this, it’s 10:47 PM MST. We got home from our honeymoon yesterday at about 4:00 PM, and it’s been a wild ride even for just the first day. But surprisingly, a fairly successful ride so far.
Our first hurdle was getting home from the airport. We knew we’d have to figure that out right away, and were praying we wouldn’t spend hours at the airport begging as our first act home as newlyweds. Miraculously, we didn’t have to. After some rejections from cabs, we went to the train station and asked one of the only people on the platform if they’d ever heard of bitcoin. No, you haven’t? Well that’s fine. We’ll explain. It wasn’t much later that he agreed to buy us train tickets in exchange for bitcoin! SUCCESS! From our first contact at the station to no less.
Since then most reactions have been similar. “Do you accept bitcoin?” A lot of folks cock their head and raise an eyebrow, wondering at first what we’re talking about and what kind of scam we’re pulling. But after an explanation, and a little personal cajoling, we’ve had a lot of support if not outright “yes” responses.
Today we talked to gas stations and grocery stores. No breakthroughs yet, but we have some solid leads. We set up home Internet through our neighbor. We’ve been sharing a connection for months and paying through them. We found not one, but TWO restaurants in Provo that agreed to accept bitcoin. A local farm has agreed to sell us produce. And while we haven’t found a cell phone and service plan yet, I think the answer to that is right around the corner. I can feel it. Also, we desperately need to figure that out to make other transactions smooth.
So the only things we’ve really secured are some food and an Internet connection. We won’t starve, and we won’t be totally unplugged.
And for now, I’m calling that much a big win.