Adventuring: A review

Ooof, leaving again tomorrow and still no updates, sorry folks! Below is the abridged version of my adventures thus far, full length novel coming out sometime.. this decade. Due to my tremendous abilities to immediately forget anyone's name after meeting them, the players will be as follows.


The Drivers
- The Room-mate
- The Old Fishers
- Telephone McGee
- Gas Station Saviour
- Officer Republican
- Doc. Appointment 1
- Groceries and Cigs
- Mr. Ex-wives
- Monsanto and Isaac
- The Guard
- THE Driver
- Obese, Dew and Sugar
- Luke the Student
- The Dysons
- Mr. Pharmawesome
- Senor Healthcare
- Tom

The Stops
- Madison, WI
- Beloit, WI
- El Paso, IL
- Gridley, IL
- Chenoa, IL
- Fairbury, IL (sleep!)
- Gilman, IL
- Watseka, IL
- Kentland, IL (kind of)
- Remington, IN
- Monticello, IN
- Logansport, IN
- Peru, IN (sleep!)
- (Scary-ass Walmart)
- Ft. Wayne/ Highway 24
- Ft. Wayne/ Highway 33
- 80/90 @ Exit 91
- Tom's in Cleveland

The Road
- I39 to 24 to 80/90 to Cleveland
- 601 miles, 17 rides, 4 states, 3 days

The Adventure/

1) Madison -> Beloit, WI
  - I cheated. The first ride out of Madison, and I took an early morning exit with Paul (?), one of Kelly's roommates down to Beloit where I started the first leg of my adventure in earnest.

2) Beloit -> Beloit to El Paso

The original! Thank you Best Western.

- THE AWKWARD PHASE. Aka, where I realize I have no cardboard and sulk around like a creep until I (definitely not) discretely acquire a sign-sized cardboard from the Best Western dumpster down the street. After walking back and forth (ala 3 or 4 miles) I decide it is probably time to stick out the 'ol thumb. After 30 minute and a vague recollection of my Washington Island mentor (thank you Daniel!) talking about writing town names, I had my 'Rockford' sign rocking out and ready to go. Sure enough, <20 minutes later my first ride arrived. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Two older retirees, returning from a Fishing trip up north and en route to Missouri to visit a friend not only picked me up, but provided coffee, conversation and a great first experience.


3) El Paso -> Gridley, IL

Illinois - enough said.
(That day consisted of trying to get as FAR away
 from this town as I could)

....aaaand not going to make it out of Cleveland today if I keep writing so suffice to say.. (don't worry dad, I've written all of the adventures down on a super-sturdy piece of extra high-grade printer paper to cherish forever and ever) Anyway, suffice to say that Illinois can suck it. ESPECIALLY the po-dunk town of Gridley. Gary, Indiana > Gridley, Illinois, if that tells you anything. Ok ok, Illinois sucked, Indiana and Ohio were awesome. People have met and surpassed my expectations for kindness and goodness of character, and it continues to blow me away. Each and every ride is a new life story, piece of history from the area, and adventure in and of itself.  More fun details regarding my adventures with Obese, Sugar and Dew, but that's deserving of its own post. Until D.C. do we meet!

M@