Just stop a lot if you want to meet people. Make small talk, be open about your travels, ask locals where the cool spots are. Since it's summer, you could make a point to check out some public trails, lakes, and national or provincial parks. You'll definitely find people there.
For accommodations, unfortunately summer tourism is big business in "cottage country" and the cheap spots, even for a few days, were likely booked months ago. You may be able to park overnight at a campground for a decent price, though. But I suggest you still keep looking at B&Bs and motels just in case something pops up last minute.
Here's a tip I heard from a person living in their car: if you can't find a place to stay, try looking for a large parking lot (like a Walmart or something) with a big transport truck parked at the front somewhere; that often means it's okay/low-risk to park overnight.
Yeah, there are so many Japanese shows out there that only have subs because people liked them so much that they wanted to share them. It's basically the reason that anime and manga even became relevant in the west.