Madison, WI to Home: 454.0 miles
I woke up to a cat leering at me - which is not unexpected at my sisters. But it was almost ominous.
Once I got over the cat I started the coffee maker and poked around online. The weather looked good for the trip home, which was a nice change from the previous day.
My sister and I talked for a bit while having our morning coffee before it was time to leave. I was on the road around 6AM (WI time). Madison traffic hadn't picked up yet and the temperature was almost perfect in the mid-60's. I headed south.
There is one Illinois Road Extortion Booth (aka Toll Booth) that I have to go through. I dutifully pulled into the toll area only to see that there is now no way to pay cash. I looked for a sign telling me what I should do, but all I saw were signs screaming at me to not stop. As if I needed yet another reason to dislike northern Illinois around Chicago (don't worry, Southern Illinois is still all right). So I drove on through and saw a hand written sign with the web site of where to pay. Granted I couldn't stop to actually write it down, but I was torqued off at this point anyway. In all fairness, it took me only a few minutes to pay once I got home - but it is still extortion since Illinois roads aren't any better for all the tolls they collect.
I continued on eventually making my way to I-74. It was getting really warm by this point, but traffic was light all day so I was mostly enjoying being on the interstate. The boringness of it gave me time to think. I was really grateful to have been able to see the my ancestor's farms. And I was especially grateful to have been able to meet my Dad's cousins. The world is an amazing place - if we let it be.
I must have had the perfect amount of coffee in the morning since I was alert and felt good all day and didn't have to stop until an entire tank of fuel had been burned up.
The Illinois state police were clearly out in force. I wasn't too worried about this since I wasn't really speeding above any worrisome level unless a cop had already decided he hated blue motorcycles. I did see a few cars who zoomed past me pulled over a short time later. Poor bastards...
As I got into Indiana it got hot, like summer-time hot, 90F with humidity to match. This early in the year I almost like it though. Getting through Indianapolis was again tolerable, if not fun. Soon enough I was on the curvy roads getting close to home. Somehow all the farm equipment stayed out of my way which is a blessing I'll take this time of year.
I've had lots of time on the road to think about this trip. Unquestionably I am who I am because my Great Grandparents were who they were. This is, of course, a banal platitude - but having seen the farms makes this real. I'll have more time to think about this over the coming days and weeks. For now, I'm just grateful. Grateful to have been vaccinated so I could safely take this trip. Grateful to the people who helped me set this up. Grateful to my relatives who put up with me for a few hours or overnight. And grateful to my ancestors ... for everything.
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