1999-10-16 Well, the defining leg of my trip has begun. I am on my way out of Chicagoland--no small feat. Many of the roads resemble lava beds, and many of the residents shout at me in totally incomprehensible words, such as "ughabughaboy" or "he ya ohha e." I'm sure they mean well. The cars on this side of Chicago also seem to give me more clearance. I guess that's because if somebody hit me, it would knock all the rust off their car and then how would they stay warm in the winter? I seem to making pretty good time, although I'm still not pushing myself too hard. I didn't leave downtown until 11, but I think I should be well out of urbanville before dark. I sure hope so. I basically left downtown on Halsted street, which ran straight into Highway 1. Unless traffic get's rediculous, I'll probably be on 1 until near the southern end of Illinios. I consider this leg of the trip defining, because #1, I'm finally getting a reasonable distance from Milwaukee, and #2, I'll be able to see how many miles a day I can expect from myself so I can plan the rest of my trip accordingly. Visiting everybody in Chicago was fun, but I didn't get much sleep. I am wishing I could hear a little more variety in responses when people ask why I'm here and I answer. I'd like just once to hear, "Cool. I did that once. Was a good time. Have fun." I'm also putting together a little Top ? of the most dramatic emotional outbursts from people concerning me on this trip. Will your name be on it? I know I've got a few individual emails to respond to. I'll try to do that tonight or tomorrow sometime.

Illinois