INTO ILLINOIS

I stopped into Deb's Squeeze Inn in Edgerton for lunch and was still feeling tired from the previous few days' effort. I decided to order a cheeseburger to replenish some lost nutrients before I take on the next leg into Janesville which was only 14 miles away.

After eating and hydrating, I head down the road and onto county roads to get me to Janesville. I am a little cautious due to the non-existent shoulder. The scenery looks very familiar and not much different than it looked thru most of SD. I am imagining this is what most of IL will also look.

After walking toward Janesville for awhile and my body already starting to feel the days effort, I am fortunately picked up by a kind gentleman named Jeff. He asks my purpose, I explain, and he thanks me for my service in the military. Our conversation then progresses to his interest in football and making bets on the games to what is important in life; goals, interests, and staying happy. I enjoyed our brief conversation and after only a few minutes, we are in Janesville.

Janesville is much larger than I expected (60,000 pop) and with my experiences in other large towns, I am not looking forward to the result; spending more money. I ask Jeff to drop me off in the downtown district and he comments that that will take me way off the direct route to Beloit and Rockford, IL, so he makes a decision to simply take me into Beloit which was only 8 more miles from where we were. I reluctantly agree and was thankful. My feet were not doing so well today.

We pass thru Beloit and Jeff takes me to the south of town and into IL. I hadn't expected that, but he drops me off at the Ramada Inn instead of downtown and explains that downtown is just adjacent to this hotel. I thank him for his assistance and he departs after we wish each other much luck in our personal endeavors.

I check in and am amazed that the cost of the hotel is half of what I have spent all the way thru WI. Is this the beginning of my fortune changing already since I have now left WI and have entered IL? It looks promising. I drop off my gear, clean up, and decide to go for a walk thru town.

I work my way back into WI and downtown which was about a mile walk and see all the old buildings. They don't look as old or as well maintained as some of the other communities I have visited and again I think my theory holds true. This downtown is NOT near any highway. Now, as I proceed, I see an Irish Pub across the street and decide it is time to get something to drink, I am parched.

I enter Suds O'Hanahan's Irish Pub, I meet the owner, Tom. He comments about how I am adapting to the device I am using to update my Facebook which leads into what my adventure is all about. He then asks if I was recently in Madison because a story was on TV about a guy who had hitchhiked across the US recently and returned. I commented that I had that guy's story beat if he hitchhiked; I am backpacking. He makes a phone call and before I know it, I am on the phone with Hillary from the Beloit Daily News who wants to run a story on me and my trek. While I am conducting this interview, Clint shows up to take my picture. Wow! After traveling thru 3 states, I am now a celebrity. My fortune definitely appears to be changing.

After all this, I hang out for awhile, order a few black and tans visiting with the bartenders, Pete, Jen, and Courtney and converse with them and a few other customers and after a pleasant evening, I get a ride back to my hotel.

Thanks to all of you in Beloit for entertaining me and allowing me to enjoy my last experience in WI. It is now time for me to move on to the next state.